6-class series co-presented by MoAD, YBGF and SFJAZZ

Wednesdays, August 10 – September 14, 7PM-9PM

CLASS 3: Puerto Rican Roots

‍Latin American music and musicians have played fundamental and innovative roles in the history and evolution of jazz. Jelly Roll, Louie, Duke and Diz are among the legions of jazz pioneers who acknowledged these facts. The Latin Roots of Jazz is the continuation of John Santos’ ongoing yearly series presented by the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, the Museum of the African Diaspora, and SFJAZZ, featuring live musical examples (in weeks one and six) in addition to selections from his legendary collection of audio and video recordings.

Puerto Rican musicians on and off the island have played an integral role in the history of Jazz from the very beginning. As Cuba’s sister island, Puerto Rico shares the same colonial history and resistance, forging a symbiotic relationship with Cuba celebrated by poets, dancers, musicians and statesmen.

As co-inhabitors of Harlem, New York’s legendary cradle of Jazz, and subsequently the Bronx and beyond, Puerto Ricans were active in the formative years of swing, be-bop and Afro-Cuban Jazz. That seminal role continued in Jazz-influenced styles such as mambo, do-wop and salsa. The Afro-Puerto Rican styles known as bomba and Plena have provided major rhythmic and melodic impetus for Puerto Rican interpreters of Latin Jazz in recent decades.

Multi-Grammy nominee, John Santos is an internationally-recognized educator, bandleader and percussionist. He was a Latin Jazz Advisor to the Smithsonian, SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director (2013 & 2014), and is current faculty at the California Jazz Conservatory (Berkeley) and the College of San Mateo.