Art and Culture Workshop

Petrona Martinez,Abraham Laboriel, Justo Almario / Agosto5 2007 foto jcesar
La Puya Loca - Petrona Martinez / Agosto 5 2007 foto: jcesar
Taller Arte y Cultura wants to thank everyone who supported the Colombian Festival.
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Colombian Festival of Traditional, Contemporary and Popular Music
August 5, 2007 Ford Amphitheatre 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East Hollywood, CA 90068
The Taller Arte y Cultura invites you to the Colombian Festival of Traditional, Contemporary and Popular Music: “A Song for Peace,” which takes place on August 5, 2007 at 3:00 pm in the Ford Amphitheatre as part of its summer concert series, sponsored by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
The festival celebrates Colombia’s traditional musical roots by uniting voices from varied regions of Colombia, as well as those from here in the southland. It endeavors to honor to Colombia’s diverse geography, particularly the Amazon, which covers 35% of its territory and whose natural and biological resources deserve preservation and immediate attention.
Traditional Colombian music is a fusion of three distinct ethnicities: Indigenous, West African, and Spanish. In addition, each geographic region (Pacific coast, Atlantic coast, Andean mountains, the plains and the Amazon jungle) has developed its own cultural and musical identity with distinct musical styles and instruments.
Petrona Martinez The festival headliner will be the “Queen of the Bullerengue” Petrona Martinez, one of the most authentic practitioners of the Afro-Colombian song style known as Baile Cantao (sung dance). Petrona is one of only a handful of recording artists to successfully represent this Caribbean genre, and as such is responsible for keeping the Bullerengue tradition alive and well from the sandy coast of Cartagena to the bustle of the LA metropolis.
Born in the town of San Cayetano, in the state of Bolivar, Colombia, Petrona began singing “as soon as she arrived in the world.” She is the daughter and granddaughter of Bullerengue practitioners and learned the dynamic rhythms as a natural extension of her daily exposure to them. She was unable to attended high school due to her humble economic circumstances, so at 16 she married Tomás Enrique Llerena, with whom she had 7 children (5 girls and 2 boys). She often has the pleasure of their company on stage with her.
Petrona sings her own compositions which speak of her own life experiences of hardships and happiness, full of both tears and magic. Her music became internationally popular when, in 1997, a documentary was made about her life as a Bullerenguera entitled “Lloro Yo, el Llamado del Bullerengue” (I cry; the lament of the Bullerengue). Radio France International produced the documentary, and it label Ocora subsequently released her debut CD, “Le Bullerengue” (released in the U.S. as “Bonito Que Canta”) which was nominated for the Latin Grammy award in 2002. Her next recording “La Vida Vale la Pena” has received considerable airplay internationally, and her work is recognized in various publications on ethnic music. In Now in her 60s, Petrona has become the most important exponent and representative of Afro-Colombian folklore at its purest.
Justo Almario Also participating at the festival will be the Justo Almario Quartet. A native of Colombia, reedman, clinician, composer and arranger, Justo Almario has fused Latin, Afro-Cuban, South American, Funk and Jazz genres into his own humble offering. Mr. Almario studied at the prestigious Berklee School of Music before a stint with Mongo Santamaria as the band’s musical director.
Justo has also performed with Patrice Rushen’s Grammy Awards Orchestra, Freddie Hubbard, Roy Ayers, George Duke, Tito Puente, Machito, Dave Grusin, Ndugu Chancler, Alex Acuna, Abraham Laboriel, TOLU, Donald Vega, Harold Land Jr. Al Mckibbon, Master P, Bebe Winans, Queen Latifah, Charles Mingus, Chaka Kahn, Linda Rondstadt, Herb Alpert, Bobby Shew, John Heard, Lorca Hart, Billy Higgins and “Jose Rizo’s Jazz on the Latin Side All-Stars”. Always in demand, Justo’s complete list of credits is simply too extensive to mention.
A multi-instrumentalist of the highest caliber, Mr. Almario has mastered the soprano and tenor saxophones, clarinet and flute. Almario taught at the Henry Mancini Institute and has mentored inner city youth during workshops at the World Stage.
Mr. Almario was featured on “Let’s Get Loud”, a Jennifer Lopez DVD. He also appeared on “Ahora Si’, a CD by Israel “Cachao” Lopez that garnered two Grammys. No stranger to Hollywood, Justo was heard on the soundtrack of the Oscar-winning film, “Sideways”. In addition, Mr. Almario will be featured on the upcoming Andy Garcia movie, “The Lost City” and on the soon-to-be-released “Romance and Cigarettes”, produced by John Turturo and starring Susan Sarandon and James Gandolfini.
Justo’s ongoing involvement with Jose Rizo has proven to be very rewarding. This sizzling band recorded, “Jazz on the Latin Side All-Stars, Volumes 1 and 2” and “The Last Bullfighter”. He has also played on and produced TOLU’s Grammy-nominated CD, “El Bongo de Van Gogh”. Justo’s latest CD, “Love Thy Neighbor”, features his quartet playing original compositions as well as rare standards.
A man for all seasons, Justo was the featured soloist with the Los Angeles Master Choral at the Walt Disney Hall’s, season opener. He also performed at a Christmas concert, “Celebrar”, at the same venue.
Abraham Laboriel Accompaning Justo will be Abraham Laboriel, world renowned bassist and founder of the band KOINONIA. He was born and raised in Mexico City where he received his earliest musical training from his father, a gifted guitarist and composer. His first recording was at age 10 as part of a "rock and roll" group called "Los Traviesos". After performing in Mexico thru his teen years as both a musician and an actor, he moved to Boston where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Composition from the Berklee School of Music in 1972. During that time he recorded with faculty member, famed vibraphonist Gary Burton. He traveled with Johnny Mathis, Michel Legrand, and Henry Mancini and moved to Los Angeles in 1976 to begin a very diverse and fruitful studio recording career.
He has performed and recorded with many jazz artists including George Benson, Larry Carlton, the Crusaders, Ella Fitzgerald, Dave Grusin, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Al Jarreau, John Klemmer, Manhattan Transfer, Joe Pass, Joe Sample, Lalo Shifrin, Diane Schuur, Sara Vaughan, and Joe Zawinul. He recorded with Lee Ritenour, Ernie Watts, and Alex Acuna in a band called "Friendship" and has continued to record and travel with Lee and Dave Grusin for GRP Records.
He also has been much in demand for work with artists like Lionel Richie, Quincy Jones, Jeffrey Osborne, Chaka Khan, Robbie Robertson, Kenny Rogers, Kenny Loggins, Ruben Blades and countless others. He was in fact voted by his peers in the LA Chapter of NARAS as the "Most Valuable Player" in the Bass chair for the three years in a row, joining Ray Brown and Chuck Domanico in that honor.
Otmaro Ruiz Justo Alamario’s Quartet will feature Otmaro Ruiz. Pianist, keyboardist and composer. Since his U.S. professional start in 1991, Otmaro Ruíz has performed in virtually every major International Jazz Festival, being part of the most diverse musical situations, always of the greatest quality [complete Artist List is supplied below], ranging from straight-ahead jazz artists (Dianne Reeves, Frank Morgan, and Red Halloway...) to Pop-Rock (Gino Vannelli, Jon Anderson, and Lori White...) , from authentic Salsa & Afro-Cuban (Arturo Sandoval, Tito Puente, and Tolu...) to the most exciting Fusion (such as John McLaughlin, Frank Gambale, Alain Caron, and now "Jing Chi" which features: Robben Ford, Jimmy Haslip & Vinnie Colaiuta....), always maintaining his versatility as his greatest asset, which reflects the love and respect he feels for all styles of music.
Otmaro has recorded 3 solo projects: "Otmaro Ruiz plays Ryuichi Sakamoto" (MIDI Inc, 1991), "Distant Friends" (MIDI Inc. / Moo Records -1993 Japan/1996 U.S.) and "Nothing to Hide" (MIDI Inc./MMP Records – 1996 Japan/1999 U.S.). His TV jingles in Venezuela have won him the prestigious ANDA Award 3 times, and he has received the pretigious recognition from the "Venezuelan National Institute of the Arts" for his professional achievements in a foreign land. In 2000, Otmaro Ruiz was awarded a Grammy certificate for his participation on Dianne Reeve's "In The Moment – Live in Concert" and was nominated in the same year for his collaboration as composer/performer in Alex Acuña's release "Acuarela de Tambores. His work as a composer for the "Weston Woods Studios" children release "Chato and The Party Animals" won the "2004 Audie Award", the CINE Golden Eagle and the Bronze REMI at the 2004 Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival in the Children Production Category.
Presently, Otmaro teaches privately, and conducts Jazz Piano seminars and workshops in the United States and around the world, still finding time for recording sessions in Los Angeles, and leading his own trio which includes: Vic Stevens on drums and Chris Colangelo on bass. He works in his own pre-production/project studio in Santa Clarita, California.
HUAYUCALTIAHuayucaltia, a prominent pan-american ensemble from Southern California will be also performing. The sound of Huayucaltia (pronounced why-yoo-cal-tee-ah) is a fusion of the Andean, Afro-American, Jazz, Classical and Rock influences each group member brings to the band. Their name inspired by the Nahuatl word huayolcayotl, (which means kinship; unity and brotherhood) is what best defines their endeavor: to bring together diverse cultural experiences in order to create new musical expressions.
Playing both indigenous and contemporary instruments, their compositions take the listener on a timeless journey of sounds and rhythms, through the jungles and rivers of the Amazon, and high into the Andes.
The group got together in 1985 in Los Angeles, California, where they have acquired a large and loyal audience. The group has toured throughout the West Coast, Southeast and Midwest of the United States, as well as Perú.
Their latest acclaimed album “El Tiempo” was released at the end of 2006 by Moondo Records. Destinos represents Huayucaltia’s third independent album since Origenes in1996 and Despertar, a decade earlier. They have also recorded three albums on ROM Records: Caminos, Horizontes, Amazonas. Their work has been critically acclaimed in publications such as Rolling Stone Magazine and CD Review, and they won the 1989 NAIRD Award in the category of Latin Music with their album Horizontes.
The members of Huayucaltia hail from five different countries: Julio Ledezma from Argentina, Guillermo Guzma from Colombia, Hernan Pinilla from Colombia, Antonio Ezkauriatza rom Mexico, Ciro Hurtado from Peru, and Cindy Harding from the United States.
The LA Weekly’s Best of Los Angeles Music Awards recently nominated Huayucaltia as 2001’s best World Music/Recombinant and through the readers’ votes, MVP. (Most Valuable Performer).
Huayucaltia will be featuring Luis Pérez Ixoneztli, an specialist on pre-Colombian musical instruments. Luis has traveled over the years all over the countryside of Mexico in order to study the living musical traditions and learn directly from the living sources while collecting samples of musical instruments, music and songs. His collection of native Mexican instruments include archaeological artifacts representative of the different cultural groups in the area known as Mesoamerica, some dating more than 2000 years ago.
Juan Carlos Quintero Colombian born Juan Carlos Quintero, sets high standards with cross cultural sounds of his native Colombia with world beat rhythms and jazz. Quintero became a staple of NAC radio with tracks from his first two albums, a self- titled effort in 1990 and Through The Winds in 1992 on Nova Records.
Critically acclaimed records followed through out the 90’s that included “The Way Home” on Escapade records. Followed by releases through joint ventures with Robert Fripp’s label, DGM as well as Native Language Music releases featuring Medellin, Los Musicos, and Los Primos.
He worked in A&R and produced a handful of projects for Nova then worked in artist’s relations for Latin Percussion Music Group, a noted manufacturer of percussion instruments; he functioned as liaison with the company’s most notable endorsers, including Latin legends Puente and Irakere and members of Santana.
Quintero was also featured on Jazz on the Latin Side Volume 1 (2000) and Volume 2 (2001), all-star live recordings (at B.B. King’s Blues Club, Los Angeles) for Ubiquity/Cubop Records alongside Alex Acuna, Poncho Sanchez, Justo Almario, Otmaro Ruiz, Francisco Aguabella and Luis Cone, to name a few.
Folclore de Mi Tierra La Puya Loca The dance Company “Folclore de Mi Tierra la Puya Loca”, offer a repertoire of traditional dances of both the Atlantic and the Andean regions of Colombia whose rhythms include mapalé, garabato, el currulao, bambuco and sanjuanero, rhythms that come from the Pacific, Atlantic as well as the Andean region. The members of Puya Loca have worked for the last 10 years in Southern California and they participated in the 2006 video clip “Hips Don’t Lie” of the Colombian artist Shakira – where the virtuosity of some of the dancers exemplify the Carnaval of Barranquilla, one of Colombia’s greatest carnivals.
Also playing:
Joe Cumbe - Colombian songwriter living in Southern California
+For more information about Art and Culture Workshop call us at:
949 378-6681
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323 461-3673
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