John Santos
Born in San Francisco, California, November 1, 1955. Percussionist, composer, writer and educator John Santos was raised in the Puerto Rican and Cape Verdean traditions of his family, surrounded by music. The fertile musical environment of the San Francisco Bay Area shaped his career in a unique way. His studies of Afro-Latin music have included several trips to New York, Puerto Rico, Cuba and Colombia.
He has performed, recorded and studied with acknowledged masters of the Afro-Latin and Jazz idioms such as Cachao, Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Lazaro Ros, Armando Peraza, Eddie Palmieri, Patato Valdes, Francisco Aguabella, Orestes Vilato, Rene Lopez, Max Roach, Walfredo de los Reyes, Milton Cardona, Roberto Borrell and Chocolate Armenteros. He was the director of the Orquesta Tipica Cienfuegos (l976-1980) and the Orquesta Batachanga (1981-1985). From 1985 through 2006, Mr. Santos directed the Machete Ensemble, a world-class Latin Jazz band of international renown that recorded nine CDs, mostly on his own Machete Records label. In 2003, he recorded the duo CD La Mar, with Cuban piano phenom, Omar Sosa. This experience has provided a solid foundation for Mr. Santos' ground-breaking work in bringing together styles, rhythms, concepts and artists from different generations.
Widely respected as one of the top writers, educators and historians in the field, Mr. Santos is a member of the Latin Jazz Advisory Committee of the Smithsonian Institution and has contributed to the international magazines Percussive Notes, Modern Drummer, Modern Percussionist, and Latin Percussionist. The San Francisco Bay Area community in which he still lives and works has presented him with numerous awards and honors for artistic excellence and social dedication.
Tags
Interview
Album Review
- Tribute To The Masters by Jim Santella
Extended Analysis
Album Review
- Papa Mambo by Chip Boaz
Multiple Reviews
Album Review
- Filosofía Caribeña Vol. 1 by James Nadal
Interview
Read more articlesJanuary 31, 2012
The Grammy Travesty Continues: Commentary from John Santos
April 20, 2011
Last Weekend in DC... Delights of the Garden
February 22, 2011
John Santos: Breaking Down Barriers in the Latin Music Continuum
May 14, 2008
Omar Sosa and John Santos Reunited @ La Pena
March 03, 2008
12th Annual Jazz on 4th St, Berkeley, CA Line-up Announced May 18, 2008
February 16, 2008
The John Santos Quintet and the Cuban Danza^3n - Two Important Concerts...
October 05, 2005
Latin American Songbook, featuring John Santos and Maria Márquez
A walking encyclopedia of the history of Afro-Latin music and the societies that created it, Santos is a leading authority on the music -OAKLAND TRIBUNE
Santos has placed the Bay Area on the cutting edge of Latin Jazz -EAST BAY EXPRESS
Santos has been faithfully carrying the Latin Jazz torch on the other coast for years. He has generally been a sparkplug for a wave of musical invention at the vo rtex where Jazz, Latin and other ideas meet -JAZZ TIMES
Primary Instrument
Percussion