VIDEO: Student Saxophonist Samuel Batista
Panamanian alto saxophonist Samuel Batista is drawn to the honesty of Charlie Parker and Cannonball Adderley. His saxophone helps him express all the things that he can’t with words.
Samuel Batista was studying at the public arts high school of Panama when previous Berklee Presidential Scholar Jahaziel Arrocha brought him to play at the local jazz big band, There, he met saxophonist Carlos Agrazal, who introduced him to the Danilo Pérez Foundation. Thanks to the foundation Batista has had the opportunity to study with jazz masters John Patitucci, Wayne Shorter, Ben Street, Brian Blade, Stanley Jordan, Marcos Pignataro, and Tia Fuller, among others. As a volunteer at the foundation he has taught music to children and worked at the Panama Jazz Festival. Before enrolling at Berklee, Batista attended Berklee’s Five-Week Summer Performance Program and the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico.
Learn more about the Presidential Scholarship.