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Victor Mendoza, World-Renowned Latin Jazz Vibraphonist, To Make Special Appearance
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Eguie Castrillo |
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BOSTON, October 25, 2004 — Master conguero and Berklee associate professor Eguie Castrillo leads The Palladium Night Orchestra in a tribute to three of the seminal figures in Latin music, Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez, and Machito, Wednesday, November 17, at the Berklee Performance Center. The infectious rhythms of Castrillo's magical timbales will transport the audience back to another time and place, recreating the excitement and energy of the explosive Palladium era of the 1950's, when Mambo and cha-cha-cha were all the rage, and the electrifying orchestras of Puente, Machito and Rodriguez were the top three big bands in New York City. The music, with its high energy, became a catalyst for bringing together people of all races and ethnicities.
Song, Delta Air Lines' low-fare subsidiary, and Berklee College of Music are pleased to present "Song's Nothing Conservatory About It," an exciting eight-concert series, featuring jazz, Latin, rock, r&b, folk and other music styles. The second concert of the series, November 17, Eguie Castrillo's Palladium Night Orchestra-A Tribute to the Mambo Kings, begins at 8:15 pm at the Berklee Performance Center, 136 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA. Berklee welcomes WGBH-FM 89.7 as the series' media sponsor. The evening, which is part of Berklee's Latin Culture Week, will be hosted by Patricia Alvarado of WGBH's La Plaza.
General admission tickets are $20. Season tickets to the series, $100 for preferred seating ($75 for seniors), may be purchased at the Berklee Performance Center box office. There is a 10% discount on all tickets for WGBH members. For more information please call 617-747-2261.
Castrillo, who has performed with Tito Puente, Jennifer Lopez, Arturo Sandoval, and Paquito D'Rivera among others, and his 18-member group will bring the works of these luminaries to life in a re-creation faithful to the original arrangements. Castillo will be playing timbales given to him by Puente and used on Puente recordings, and educate the audience through music and memorabilia of the era. The Palladium Night Orchestra includes Berklee faculty Dino Govoni, Jeff Galindo, Ernesto Diaz, Wayne Naus and Darryl Lowery; students Uziel Colon, and Angel Subero; alumnus Pat Loomis; and acclaimed outside musicians, including Bobby Gallegos, Tim Mayer, and Alex Alvear. The concert will also feature special guest, vibraphonist Victor Mendoza. Mexican-born vibraphonist and composer Mendoza is considered by critics and fans around the world to be one of today's finest Latin jazz artists. His career is highlighted by performances and recordings with his own group and with such artists as Danilo Pérez, Michel Camilo, Claudio Roditi, Giovanni Hidalgo, Horacio "El Negro" Hernández, Antonio Sánchez, and D'Rivera.
Tito Puente is internationally recognized for his enormous and significant contributions to Latin music as a bandleader, composer, arranger, percussionist, and mentor. Popularly known as the "King of Mambo", he recorded more than 100 albums, won five Grammy Awards, and was featured in the 1992 movie "Mambo Kings." He was also presented with the National Medal of the Arts in 1997 and honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Puente, who has been credited with introducing the timbale and the vibraphone to Afro-Cuban music, also played trap drums, congas, claves, piano, and occasionally, saxophone and clarinet.
Pablo "Tito" Rodriguez played an important role in New York's thriving Latin dance scene of the 1950's and 60's and became an internationally renowned vocalist, percussionist, bandleader, composer, and producer. In 1949 Rodriguez signed to Tico Records, recording several albums for the label throughout the 1950's. He gained his greatest success in the early 1960's with the million plus selling song "Involvidable," and the acclaimed album Live at the Birdland, with Zoot Sims, Clark Terry, and Bob Brookmeyer. He also formed his own label, TR Records, which released four albums before he died of leukemia in 1973.
Grammy Award winner Machito played a huge role in the history of Latin jazz. His bands of the 1940's were among the first to achieve a fusion of powerful Afro-Cuban rhythms and jazz improvisation. Machito moved to New York City in 1937 from Havana and formed a group with Mario Bauza. His Latin rhythms soon influenced many of New York's jazz musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie, and Stan Kenton. He later teamed up with Charlie Parker and Flip Phillips on recordings that have been cited for establishing the Latin-jazz connection. Machito's band was also a stepping-stone for numerous musicians, including Johnny Griffin, Cannonball Adderley, and Herbie Mann.
Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music was through the study and practice of contemporary music. For over half a century, the college has evolved constantly to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. With over a dozen performance and nonperformance majors, a diverse and talented student body representing 70 plus countries, and a music industry "who's who" of alumni, Berklee is the world's premier learning lab for the music of today and tomorrow.
Song is an innovative low-fare service, which provides non-stop flights between the Northeast and key Florida leisure destinations, plus Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Juan, with over 142 daily flights on 36 Boeing 757 aircraft. All Song flights are operated by Delta Air Lines. Song tickets can be purchased by visiting flysong.com.
For editorial information or digital photos, the media may contact:
Margot Edwards
Office of Public Information
(617) 747-2004
medwards@berklee.edu
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