Friday, October 28, 2011

The John Santos Sextet-Filosofía Caribeña, Vol. 1 ( Machete Records 2011)

Dazzling compositions, arrangements, and musicianship with a politically progressive edge that demands repeated listening because of its infectious rhythms and erudite intents.


Filosofía Caribeña Vol.1 (Machete Records 210) by San Francisco Bay Area based, five-time Grammy nominee, John Santos and his Sextet is a landmark recording for several reasons. It is the eleventh release on John's Machete Records label and documents the first group of original compositions from John's work-in-progress of the last year-and-a-half, Filosofía Caribeña, commissioned by the East Bay Community Foundation, the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, the Ford Foundation, and dozens of enthusiastic individual donors, in cooperation with the Eastside Cultural Center in Oakland. 
The May 1st release date in honor of International Worker's Day, gives a hint of the dominant political overtones of the thematic content. 

The John Santos Sextet is made up of some of the finest players, composers, and arrangers in the field:
Dr. John Calloway - composer, arranger, flute, piano
Melecio Magdaluyo - all saxes, flute
Saul Sierra - composer, arranger, bass
Marco Diaz - composer, arranger, piano, trumpet
David Flores - drumset
John Santos - composer, percussion, coro

Special guests:
Steve Turre - trombone, Claudia Gómez - vocals, Pável Urkiza - guitar, vocals, arranger, Joey DeLeón - percussion, Javier Navarrette - percussion, Willie Ludwig - coro, Beatríz Godinez Muñíz - coro,
Raul de la Caridad Gonzalez Brito - composer

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