The Twin Cities Latin Jazz Orchestra

Founded in 2014 by Geoffrey West Senn and Mac Santiago, the Twin Cities Latin Jazz Orchestra combines the drama of big band jazz, the rhythmic intensity of Latin music, and the virtuosity of eighteen of the Twin Cities’ most accomplished professional musicians.

Woodwinds: Pete Whitman, Clay Pufahl, Joe Mayo, Dave Brattain, Denny Carlson

Trumpets: Riley Helgeson, Geoff Senn, Josh May, Jake Baldwin

Bones: Pete Enblom, John Olson, Matt Echols, Mike Haynes

Rhythm : Joe Strachan (piano), Graydon Peterson (bass), Pete James johnson (drum set), Mac Santiago (congas), Craig Hill (bongos & percussion), Dylan Nau (guitar)

The combination of Latin and Jazz music dates back to the days of Jelly Roll Morton and his “latin tinge.” During the late 30’s and 40’s in New York City, the work of Mario Bauza with the Machito Orchestra and the famous collaboration between Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo solidified a new genre in the United States. Artists such as Tito Puente, the Palemieri brothers, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Mongo Santamaria continued to develop the genre through the 50’s and 60’s. Latin Jazz was ushered into the current age by musicians like Pancho Sanchez, Arturo Sandoval, Paquito D’Rivera, and Sérgio Mendes. The Twin Cities Latin Jazz Orchestra is proud to uphold Afro-Cuban, Mambo, Salsa, Samba, Bossa Nova and Boogaloo rhythms in the large jazz ensemble format, while investing in new voices by commissioning new works from the Twin Cities’ most talented composers and arrangers.

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