About Me
Alcatraz offers a panoramic picture of the music of the Peruvian coast, from the spirited afroperuvian festejos and poignant landos to the popular creole waltzes. The ensemble’s rendering of classic Peruvian repertoire draws upon influences of traditional Peruvian ensembles and artists from the earliest recordings to the present, including Carlos Hayre, Teatro del Milenio, Peru Negro and Susana Baca, fusing these elements to arrive at an original interpretation that speaks to the tradition and yet resonates in the present day. In addition to playing their chosen instrument, each member of the ensemble doubles as a vocalist and percussionist. Through their energetic and passionate delivery, the music emanates not from the five individual band-members, but from a spirit and tradition common to them as well as all musicians, dancers, and devotees of costal Peruvian music.Singer Sofia Koutsovitis is a specialist in the music of the South American continent, performing frequently with various folkloric Peruvian, Colombian, and Argentine bands in New York. She has performed in such venues as the Kennedy Center and the Blue Note and has been hailed by the great Luciana Souza as “wonderfully unique.†Percussionist Marcos Napa, native to Lima, has years of experience with the foremost ensembles in afroperuvian music: Peru Negro, and Eva Ayllón. A former dancer in Peru Negrito, he also performs and teaches afroperuvian dance professionally. Eric Kurimski, a Saratoga native, is the protégé of the great Peruvian guitarist Carlos Hayre. Owing to his studies and his extensive travels to Lima, Kurimski has become the most sought-after guitarist in peruvian music in New York. Drummer and percussionist Hector Morales, also hailing from Lima, has performed with many of the foremost artists in Peru including Marcos Campos and Mariela Valencia of Peru Negro. Bassist and arranger Edward Pérez spent two years in Lima, where he was a frequent collaborator with the great percussionists Julio “Chocolate†Algendones and Juan Medrano Cotito. He recorded many albums in that time and worked as an arranger for Manongo Mujica and Pilar De La Hoz. His style as an arranger has been shaped by his collaborations and close friendships with great Peruvian arrangers and bandleaders such as Sergio Valdeos (Susanna Baca), Roberto Arguedas (Teatro del Milenio), Jose Luis Madueño, and Yuri Juárez.
