Cocomama
Cocomama is an international group of women based in New York City who are natives of such diverse places as Cuba, Israel, France, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Oregon and Wisconsin. They play “hard-hitting”, original Latin music deeply rooted in Afro-Caribbean rhythms. Inspired by their various musical and cultural backgrounds, their music draws upon jazz, World, Afro-Cuban, and South American traditions. Members of the band have played with such legendary artists as Machito, Dizzy Gillespie, Betty Carter, Sheila E., Celia Cruz, Ray Barretto, and Tito Puente.
Formed in 2008, Cocomama has performed at the Iridium Jazz Club, the United Nations, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park, the Cape May Jazz Festival, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and other popular venues throughout New York City. The group is now attracting a national audience following performances at the Spoleto Music Festival in South Carolina and the Michigan Womyn’s Festival.
Photo by Nivea Castro
Mayra Casales - Congas
Mayra Casales is considered to be one of the most versatile and well-rounded percussionists of her generation. Born in Havana, Cuba and raised in Miami, Florida, Mayra is the second middle child of four, all of whom are musicians. While very young, Mayra immersed herself in the Afro-Cuban musical culture of her environment. She proved her talents and passions, and gained respect as a percussionist; instruments normally reserved only for male musicians. Mayra has a fiery and loving spirit which can be felt in her enthusiastic playing. In Miami, Mayra studied with Carlos “Patato” Valdez. Before long she was performing with some of the biggest names in Latin and Cuban music such as Celia Cruz, Machito, Joe Cuba, Miguelito Valdez and Tito Puente. In 1978, Mayra moved to New York where she continued her musical journey, working with such legendary artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Wayne Shorter, Ray Baretto, Angela Bofil, Walter Bishop Jr., Jon Lucien, Phyllis Hyman, Carmen Lundy, Tania Maria, David Amram, and Grady Tate. She has contributed to recordings by Regina Bell, Kiara, Miki Howard, and Lita Gallaway. She has toured with artists such as Sophie B. Hawkins, Women of the Calabash, and Mauricio Smith. Some of Mayra’s other credits include playing the score for the movie “On Broadway” written and produced by Joe Brooks. She has done several jingles produced by H.E.A. Production Company by Bernard Drayton, as well as music for the “Cosby Show” on NBC television. Mayra has been touring and recording with Regina Carter for the past 8 years. She is also playing with Dave Stryker, Carmen Lundy, and Jon Lucien. Mayra has just released her first CD “Woman On Fire/Mujer Ardiente” on the Afraisa Label which has made it to #19 on the world charts. She is currently working on the music for her next CD.
Nicki Denner - Piano/Musical Director
Pianist/composer/arranger Nicki Denner has been a part of the New York Latin and jazz music scene since 1999. Before that, she was an active member of the Minneapolis music community for ten years. She has performed with Sheila E., Savion Glover, Candido, Doc Severinsen, Bobby Sanabria, Harvie S., Ray Vega, Pedro Martinez, Manolo Badrena, as well other jazz and Salsa artists in the United States and Europe. She has been a pianist for Lincoln Center's "Meet the Artist" program, Chicago City Limits (a New York City based improv comedy group) and "Broadway Underground" (an Off-Broadway production featuring New York's finest tap and hip-hop dancers). She has also composed for award-winning film and was commissioned by the New Jersey Tap Ensemble in 2004 to compose music for a piece choreographed by Savion Glover. Since 2001, she has led her own trio which features Jennifer Vincent on bass, and Willie Martinez on drums. In 2006, the trio released their debut recording, "Moliendo Café", which was named one of the "Top Ten Picks of 2006" in Latin Beat Magazine. Ms. Denner has released two other Latin jazz CD’s as a leader, “Don’t Just Stand There” and “El Médico de Coquí” featuring Julian Llanos, former singer with Latin music legend Arsenio Rodriguez. “El Médico de Coquí” spent six months in Latin Beat magazine's Top 20 Hit Parade. In 2007, it was re-released on Consilience Productions, a new record label promoting "progressive music for the socially curious". Along with performing, Nicki is also a devoted educator. As well as having a private teaching studio, she has served on the piano faculty of the Stanford University Summer Jazz Workshop, the Montclair State University Jazz Prep Summer Program and the New York City Tap Festival.
Sofia Tosello - Vocals
Sofia Tosello has performed and recorded with a number of artists in a variety of different settings– in particular, the spectacular Pedro Giraudo Jazz Orchestra, Jose Conde y La Ola Fresca, Alex Cuba,Thalia, The Christos Rafalides Latin Quintet and Cocomama. The venues she has performed are at the top of the list of quality places to perform in NYC including the Jazz Gallery, the Jazz Standard, Joe’s Pub, Central Park, Madison Square Garden, and the Zinc Bar. Sofia, a remarkable young singer hailing from Cordoba, Argentina, belongs to an exciting new group of South American artists who, by blending the traditional rhythms of their respective countries with a funky and sophisticated New York sensibility, are challenging the way Latin American song is done. In Sofia one hears the unmistakable imprint of the tango, the chacarera and zamba, but as an authentic daughter of the Diaspora from the South – having spent a good deal of her musical formation in the New York jazz/pop/Latin milieu – we also hear reflected in her voice an impressive range of sounds that only the global village of New York can produce: the downtown “world” jazz scene, bossa nova, Nueva Trova, son and the lesser known filin, an influential variation of the Cuban bolero made popular by Omara Portuondo and Elena Burke. Unlike many singers who define themselves via a national specific genre or a specific influence, Sofia prefers to see herself as a border-crosser, not bound by the logic of the genre. If pressed for a way to describe her musical aesthetic words like hybridity or mestizaje seem to suit her better. Sofia combines the best of today’s global currents in jazz and Latin American folk/popular music, while maintaining a profound respect for tradition – a feat seldom achieved in young artists in any musical field. As a child growing up in a small province in Argentina, Sofia was exposed to a number of different regional, national and international musical traditions. She recalls listening to a broad range of music- from the tangos of Troilo, the boleros of Armando Manzanero, the rock poetry of Fito Paez, to the bossa nova of Caetano and Gal Costa, and the swing of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. It was her interest in jazz and her desire to explore the international dimensions of Latin music that led her to relocate to New York at the age of 17 – a decision that would mark her profoundly. Once in New York, she chose to study at City College in order to learn her craft under the tutelage of the legendary singer, Sheila Jordan, from whom she learned the art of making a song one’s own. Sofia is now one of the most sought after vocalists in the field for club dates, concerts, and recordings.
Christelle Durandy - Vocals
Vocalist Christelle Durandy’s range as an artist transcends borders. She combines a collection of colors with a vast spectrum of Jazz, Latin, Caribbean and Soul influences. Christelle Durandy is committed to lyricism and musicality; her love for words and languages rhythmic concepts rings with authenticity. Her new project QuAtRes TêTeS, is a unique mosaic that draws upon a rich variety of material, showcasing her songwriting and composing proficiency. Christelle also heads Dos Cabezas, a duet with pianist Nicki Denner. Preserving her jazz stylings, Christelle brings her talent to diverse projects. She has been featured with the Paul Carlon Octet, Max Pollak ‘RumbaTap’, the all-female Latin collective CoCoMaMa, Chiemi Nakai ‘Sabrosongo’ and Vocalenssia, a potent vocal combination with singer Sofia Tosello in which Christelle exhibits her talent as both a performer and arranger. Her singing has graced the bandstands with Edward Perez, Paula West and George Mesterhaze quartet, Carlos “El Bola” Betancourt, Nicki Denner septet, Bujo Kevin Jones, Jo Benotti, Barbaro Teuntor Garcia, Mayra Casales, Company Erebe-Kouliballets, Yvan Montoya y Son del Fuego, Pepe Vasquez, Baptiste Trotignon, just to name a few. Christelle has emerged as a stunningly impressive, charismatic performer; she has continually garnered critical praise for her passionate live performances and hasmesmerized audiences worldwide. She is currently working on the first opus of Christelle Durandy QuAtRes TêTeS, ‘Face to Face’. New York based, Christelle Durandy began to perform at an early age with her family-based troupe in France. She is of Reunion Island and French West Indies ancestry. Christelle grew up exposed to a wealth of music thanks to the broad collection of discs of her parents. Under their guidance, she honed in on musical skills that she later developed during her apprenticeship in France, Cuba, Spain and the U.S.
Ariacne Trujillo - Vocals
A native of Cuba, Ariacne Trujillo has over 20 years of experience as a classically trained pianist, vocalist, arranger, composer, and musical director. As well as being a graduate of the Instituto Superior de Arte de Cuba, she has worked as a singer and dancer at the Cabaret Tropicana in Cuba and has been featured as a solo pianist with the Cuban Symphonic Orchestra. She has won several awards at international competitions in such places as the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Belgium and Cuba. In 2002, she was granted a fellowship for musical composition at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She was also invited by the Chamber Music Society of America and Bard University to tour various cities in the United States in 1998. As well as leading her own quintet for the past ten years, she has been the Musical Director, pianist and singer for La Bolá, a fourteen piece band based in New York which the Village Voice calls "modern Cuban music at its best". She has performed at the Beacon Theatre, the Apollo Theatre, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Outside of the United States, she has performed in Colombia, Mexico, Canada, Singapore, Japan and Israel. She has performed with Paul Simon,John Scofield, Paquito D'Rivera and Johnny Pacheco. Since 2005, she has been a member of the Pedrito Martínez Group, as a pianist and vocalist.
Jennifer Vincent - Bass
Jennifer Vincent, bassist and cellist, has been an active force on the music scene in New York City for well over a decade. She plays and has played and toured with the likes of Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln, the famed Boy's Choir of Harlem, Willie Martinez y La Familia, Son Sublime, the Xavier Cougat Orchestra, the Roberto Rodriguez Septet, Carmen Lundy, Harry Whitteaker (longtime artistic director and keyboardist for Roberta Flack), Jon Hendricks, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and many other jazz and Latin notables. Jennifer's sound has been characterized as "Cheerfully Blantonian" by the Village Voice. Her bass lines are featured on NBC's 75th Anniversary "Cosby Show Retrospective", and she can be heard on commercials for Lipitor, Marriott Hotels, and Olive Garden. She has played on many film soundtracks, including "90 Miles", a film which won Best Documentary at the 2003 Havana Film Festival. She has been featured on "City Arts", has traveled to South America as a Jazz Ambassador for the State Department, and plays for Lincoln Center's "Meet the Artist" series. All About Jazz has this to say about her: "Bass player Jennifer Vincent shows that she can stay with anyone when it comes to getting a bass to sing....." Jennifer, who started as a classically-trained cellist at Oberlin Conservatory, is equally comfortable in the jazz, Latin-jazz, and traditional Cuban musical idioms. Her bass teachers include jazz icon Ron Carter, Andy Gonzales, Ed Bennett, Buster Williams, and Cuban bass legend Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez of the Buena Vista Social Club, with whom she traveled to Cuba to study with. Jennifer delves into music that utilizes West African, Japanese, and Middle Eastern influences with artists such as Sogbety Diomande form the Ivory Coast, the Pan-Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble, and Algerian pianist Maurice el Medioni's "Descarga Oriental", which won the 2006 BBC Music Award for Best World Crossover. According to Songlines World Music magazine, "Vincent's thick, measured New York Latin Bass, so different from anything el Medioni has previously recorded with, is perfect!". For the past 5 years she has been touring the world over with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, carrying on the tradition of the longest-running and most legendary jazz orchestra in American history.
Jessica Rodriguez - Timbales
Pearl and Vater artist Jessica Rodriguez was born in NYC to Puerto Rican parents and, like so many other Nuyoricans, she was constantly surrounded by the sounds of Salsa from an early age. However, she was first inspired and motivated to play when, at age 13, she saw renowned percussionist Marc Quiñones perform at Madison Square Garden. Two years later, she began her study of timbales at the Harbor Conservatory for the Performing Arts in East Harlem. There, she flourished under the instruction of Tito Puente’s musical director Jose Madera Jr., Johnny Almendra, and Mauricio Herrera.
On October 21, 2003, Jessica and three other members of Ramon Rodriguez’s Harbor Latin Youth Ensemble were awarded scholarships from the Foundation of the recently departed Latin icon Celia Cruz. Of these four students, Jessica and two others were selected to perform with Venezuelan Salsa sensation Oscar D’Leon in tribute to Celia at the 2004 Billboard Latin Music Awards in Miami, Florida. Jessica was later featured with the Harbor Latin Youth Ensemble on Telemundo’s morning TV program Despierta America and in the January 9, 2006 issue of People Magazine. Within the same year she appeared in the PBS documentary “Mi Mambo”, a profile of the Harbor Conservatory and its young musicians and performers. In May of 2008, she graduated from Queensborough Community College, majoring in Music/Performing Arts.
Widely recognized as one of Latin percussion’s most promising rising talents, Jessica has been invited to sit in with the likes of the Grammy Award winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Nelson Gonzalez & Orq. alongside the legendary Nicky Marrero, Ralph Irrizarry, Chino Nuñez, Marc Quiñones and Bobby Allende’s Ocho y Mas, Papo Vasquez y Los Piratas del Caribe featuring the amazing Anthony Carrillo and Pearl percussionists Richie Flores and Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez, just to name a few. Jessica has toured with the international salsa group N’Klabe playing bongos and timbales. She is currently a member of CoCoMaMa, an all-female Salsa/World band with a growing audience and recent radio debut, as well as the Billy Carrion Orchestra, and has recorded with both.
Jessica has never been content with being recognized just because of the novelty of her being a female percussionist in a male-dominated arena. For this reason, she has dedicated herself to the music, studying and training incessantly, pushing herself to achieve a level of mastery that will bring her recognition in and of itself. Some are destined to succeed, some are determined to succeed. Jessica Rodriguez may be destined to succeed, but it is her determination that will eliminate chance from the equation as she continues in her pursuits as a percussionist.
Reut Regev - Trombone
Reut Regev, born and raised in Israel, has been living in New York City since 1998. She plays the trombone and the flugabone in various bands, including her own projects. She plays jazz (traditional and modern), salsa, rock, funk, Brazilian, blues, classical, contemporary, Jewish and Caribbean music. Among the musicians Reut has worked with are: Butch Morris, Igal Foni, Anthony Braxton, Groove Collective, Metropolitan Klezmer, Gloria Deluxe. Frank London, Eddie Bobé, Conjunto Guantanamo, Eric Revis, Adam Lane, Billy Bang, Michael Attias, Ras Moshe, The Cuchimbos, Dominic, Assif Tzahar, Kenny Wolleson, Reggie Nicholson, The Phantoms, Raulin Rosendo, Ray Santiago and many more.
Shannon Barnett - Trombone
Shannon Barnett is one of Australia’s most prominent trombonists. In 2007, she was named Young Australian Jazz Artist of the Year. She has performed with international artists such as Charlie Haden, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Eddie Floyd and Barney McAll, as well as local artists such as The Black Arm Band, Vada, Andrea Keller and Paul Grabowsky. During the past twelve months she has ventured into new territory; performing troughout Australia with Circus Oz, both upright and upside down. She also leads her own quartet featuring Christopher Hale (bass), Nashua Lee (guitar) and Ben Hendry (drums), all of whom contribute compositions to the ensemble’s varied and energetic repertoire. Shannon is "a wonderfully authoritative player with the technique to execute all her creative ideas” says Jessica Nicholas of The Age. Shannon currently resides in New York City.