Grammy Nominees
Sammy Figueroa and his Latin Jazz Explosion will be heating up the American Midwest the second week of October. This Miami-based band, which displays the virtuosity and excitement of players from Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Cuba, returns to the Midwest for the first time in eight years. The tour will hit venues in Chicago, Cleveland and Ann Arbor.
Sammy will be joined by Venezuelan virtuosos
Silvano Monasterios (on piano) and
Gabriel Vivas (on bass), the primary composer/arrangers and musical directors for the band. Drummer
Ludwig Afonso(Richard Bona, Gonzalo Rubalcaba), trumpet player
Cisco Dimas and saxophonist
John Michalak complete the ensemble, all representing the very highest level of excellence in musicianship as accompaniment to Sammy’s always exciting percussion and ebullient personality. The band will mainly play original music with the addition of some music by Hermeto Pascual and Mongo Santamaria.
Sammy, along with his partner
Rachel Faro, will also be presenting two community-based workshops entitled
“One World, Many Rhythms”, one in Chicago at the Old Town School of Folk Music and one in Ann Arbor, sponsored by A Brighter Way, which provides support to formerly incarcerated individuals as they transition back to society and to those in recovery from addiction. These workshops are interactive and engaging, inspiring joy and togetherness.
This tour has been made possible with the support of
Jazz Road, a national initiative of South Arts which is funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation with additional support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Sammy and the band are deeply grateful for this support and look forward to greeting audiences in the Midwest.
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 9
TH: CHICAGO
Performance:
Old Town School of Folk Music
8:30 PM
THURSDAY OCTOBER 10
TH: CHICAGO
One World Many Rhythms (Workshop):
Old Town School of Folk Music
7 PM
FRIDAY OCTOBER 11
TH: CLEVELAND
Performance:
NIGHTTOWN
8:30 PM
SATURDAY OCTOBER 12
TH: ANN ARBOR MI
One World Many Rhythms (Workshop): sponsored by
A Brighter Way
3 PM
SATURDAY OCTOBER 12
th: ANN ARBOR MI
Performance
: Blue Llama Jazz Club
7 PM; 9:30 PM
