Abel Zarate co-wrote the hit song “Suavecito,†which continues to be heard in movies and recordings by artists from all over the world … He wrote “Latin Lady,†which put Latin-music legend Willie Bobo back on the Smooth Jazz charts … and now, for the Zarate Pollace Project (ZPP), Abel teams up with Michelle Pollace to create Latin/Brazilian-flavored contemporary jazz with a positive and uplifting vibe.
Abel Zarate (guitar) has recorded and toured with the original Malo Band, Coke Escovedo, and Willie Bobo. He's played the North Sea Jazz Festival, Hollywood Bowl, Madison Square Garden, Avery Fischer Hall, the Montreux and Newport Jazz Festivals. He’s played alongside and opened for Artists such as Parliament Funkadelic, Weather Report, Chick Corea, Earth Wind & Fire, Dizzy Gillespie, the Escovedos, Cal Tjader, Tito Puente, Carlos Santana, Neal Schon, Mingo Lewis, Richard Bean and more.
Michelle Pollace (keyboards) boasts diverse credits, including orchestra member in Lou Harrison’s internationally renowned Gamelan Si Betty (Indonesian orchestra), keyboardist in a band led by Santana’s original percussionist/arranger Jose "Chepito" Areas, and co-leader of a blues-rock band with a former member of jam-band Kingfish. She studied classical and jazz piano with Martan Mann and Latin piano/arranging with Rebeca Mauleon. She is co-author of music-education book, Musicreation (www.fretnfiddlepub.com) and teaches private music lessons in the South Bay.
