Based on the guitar sound, this musical group strives for a fusion between jazz and flamenco. With a line up wich consists on three guitarists and a percussionist, they manage to combine the rhythmic richness of flamenco with the freedom of expression and improvisation found in jazz.Formed around the year 2000, they have experimented with several instrumental combinations, using guitar-synths, string instruments, afro-cuban percussion, flute, sax, drums and the hand-clapping (palmeado) and foot-tapping (zapateado).Siroko is formed by Alfredo Cáceres, Rolando López and Alejandro Erdmenger on the guitars and Luis Pedro González on bass and flamenco percussion. They often play in a three-guitars and percussion format.The name of Siroko comes from the Italian word Sirocco wich is a strong wind in the Mediterranean sea that originates from the Sahara desert.They had presentations in several places in Guatemala and El Salvador. Like the Mosaico Cultural and Proyecto Cultural El Sitio projects in Antigua Guatemala, Centro de Cultura Hispánica in Guatemala City. They have opened concerts for artists like the spanish female singer Paloma San Basilio, and the smooth-jazz super group The Rippingtons.In the year 2004 they release their first production, entitled Mestizaje. Produced by Alfredo Cáceres and Byron Sosa. It features 9 songs, from wich six are originals and 2 are arrangements of well-known tunes in the latin-jazz genre, as Besame Mamá by percussionist Mongo SantamarÃa and Footprints, by saxophonist Wayne Shorter.Recently they played at the annual Atlantis Music Conference, in the Vivelo 2005 festival, in Atlanta, GA, United States. They were invited to the first talent showcase in the festival.Each member has distinct musical influences. Alfredo Cáceres has two other records under his belt: Incienso (flamenco) and Baracá (Latin-american songs), he is featured as a composer, arranger and co-producer. He has collaborated with well-known international musicians like Ed Calle and Dan Warren. He is the winner of the 1st. National Jazz Composition Contest http://www.certamendejazz.org , with his song Colores Urbanos, this event was organized the the Mexican Embassy in Guatemala and the annual Antigua Jazz Fest. Among the jury were important musical figures in Mexico, Canada and Central America, like Eugenio Toussaint, director of the Fermatta Musical Academy in Mexico, Germán Giordano who is a recognized jazz guitarist in Guatemala and a Berklee School of Music graduate and Bill Welychka, TV host and music critic from Canadá. He has played in several bands, ranging from pop to rock, to jazz and flamenco. Alfredo has attended many courses and mater classes with internationally acclaimed guitarists like Chuscales, Niño de Pura, Antonio Carmona, Juan Manuel Cañizares and Manolo San Lúcar, thanks to a scholarship he received from the Cristina Heeren foundation, in Seville, Spain. He also attended a special course with maestro Rafael Cañizares, in December of 2004. Alfredo latest side-project is his band 5Jazz, in wich he features modern arrangements of traditional jazz standards, the line up is drums, bass, guitar, keyboards and voice. He relies a lot on guitar synth sounds, thanks to the Godin guitars he uses.
