Venezuelan-born Alí Bello has become one of the most dazzling and sought-after violinists, distinguishing himself for his versatility among different music styles in addition to his classical training and multidimensional improvisational skills. Since his surge from El Sistema, the musical education program of his country, and after building upon years of experience in New York, he has become a Latin jazz music figure to be reckoned with.

During his career, Alí collaborated and performed with such figures as  Johnny Pacheco, Dave Samuels, and Paquito D’Rivera.  He has also recorded with bands of great tradition such as Orquesta Broadway, La Típica ’73, and Africando as well as modern fusion bands like Alfredo Naranjo y El Guajeo, La Clave Secreta, and Los Jóvenes del Barrio.

Alí’s strings reach beyond the unique Afro-Latin rhythms. He has become a sultry sound in tango, performing with Grammy winner bandoneonist Raul Jaurena and Daniel Binelli, and a regular collaborator on scores with flamenco guitarist Pedro Cortés. His repertoire expands even further to include gypsy jazz and American folk music, as a member of Doc Severinsen's touring quintet. He has also infused the violin into popular rhythms of R&B, performing live with The Roots, Beyoncé, and Jay-Z. Alí can be heard arranging and collaborating dance beats with Grammy winner producer Louie Vega and artists Anané and Luisito Quintero, as well as recording with award-winning groups Aventura and Don Omar. His violin has backed up amazing singers of the stature of Mercedes Sosa, Susana Baca, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Alejandro Fernández, and Cheo Feliciano among others.

As a band leader, composer, and arranger, Alí can be heard directing his music groups, Alí Bello and The Sweet Wire Band and The Latin Jazz Liaisons, captivating audiences with a fresh perspective fusion of Latin jazz with many different Afro-Venezuelan and Caribbean musical styles.

His albums, “Connection Caracas - New York” and “Inheritance”, under the New York music labels Zoho Music and Tiger Turn, were reviewed as a Top 50 Jazz CDs by JazzTimes Magazine, ranked 4th among The Best CDs Released by JAZZIZ Magazine, and both albums were named Album Of The Week by the Latin Jazz Network, among other reviews. 

ANNETTE A. AGUILAR is a multi-percussionist specializing in Latin percussion, recording artist, educator, producer, and bandleader. She is a native of San Francisco, and her parents are from Managua, Nicaragua. 

Aguilar began studying and playing music at the age of 11, and at 16 began performing with renowned Latin artists including members of the Santana Band, Cal Tjader, and Pete and Sheila Escovedo (Sheila E). She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music from San Francisco State University, a Master’s from Manhattan School of Music (focusing on orchestral percussion), and a Master’s in Music Education from CUNY Lehman College. She works as a music educator in the South Bronx, Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music. 

Aguilar has toured around the world, worked on television and film, and has numerous recording credits. She has performed and toured with Stevie Wonder, Darlene Love, Casselberry & Dupree, Tito Puente, Mose Allison, the Grateful Dead, Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, and Toshi Reagon, with whom she worked on the opera The Temptation of St Anthony. The production's European tour included a 5-week residency and performance at the Paris Opera House. Aguilar has worked on several Grammy Award-winning Broadway shows, including In the Heights, Smokey Joe's Café, The Cape Man, Street Corner Symphony and The Chronicle of A Death Foretold. 

In 1992, she founded the Latin and Brazilian jazz group Annette A. Aguilar & StringBeans, which was selected as Latin Jazz Ambassadors by the U.S. State Department, the Kennedy Center and Jazz @ Lincoln Center. They have toured South Africa, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar. 

Aguilar was the principal timpanist for the Bronx Symphony from 1997-2013 and is currently a timpanist/percussionist with ADCA Orchestra (Association of Dominican Classical Artists). She has produced three CDs through her label Eagle Seek Salmon Records. 

Annette A. Aguilar Music

KAYLA FACCILONGO is a Bronx native multi-disciplinary vocalist of Puerto Rican descent.

In 2020, Kayla became a member of the BronX BandA, a Latin Jazz ensemble led by Grammy winning artist Arturo O’Farrill for Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education. With the BandA, she has collaborated with musicians from the New York Philharmonic, performing at Damrosch Park as part of Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City.

Kayla recently made her Carnegie Hall debut singing with New York City Opera for the American premiere of Vessels of Light by Lera Auerbach.

Other notable appearances include Carmen and Hansel & Gretel with Narnia Vocal Arts Festival, The Mikado with Bronx Opera, the world premiere of the jazz musical The Wages of Sin, as well as the world premiere of Gracchus at Stamford Center of the Arts in the summer of 2023.

Kayla holds her Bachelor of Music from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College & Master of Arts from the Royal Academy of Music.

LEONOR FALCON is a violinist and violist who grew up in Venezuela, where she was classically trained and began playing in orchestras at the age of six. She was a member of the chamber music group Virtuosi de Caracas and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela. She also recorded session work and was active in the local music scene performing with many pop, rock, and Latin groups.

Falcon holds an MA in Music Performance from the Conservatory of Geneva, Switzerland, and an MA in Jazz Performance from Queens College. She performs around New York City in jazz, avant-garde, Latin, and classical music ensembles. She has collaborated and performed with Willie Colon’s band, Akua Dixon’s Quartette Indigo, Sirius Quartet, and Arturo O’Farrill's Latin Jazz Orchestra, among others.

Falcon released her solo debut album Imaga Mondo in 2017 on FalconGumba Records, a label she and Juanama Trujillo founded. She and violinist Sana Nagano formed the experimental strings duo Peach and Tomato, releasing their debut album, The Ultimate Pairing, in September 2019. She plays jazz, original new music and Brazilian music as a member of the Veer Quartet and OKwarteto. Her avant-rock trio CHAMA recently released a new video for their single “Hexagono.” 

Leonor Falcon Music 

Leonor Falcon Youtube

You would be hard-pressed to identify a musician as comfortable with classical music as he is with jazz, indie rock, folk and reggae. You would be equally hard-pressed to identify a musician who can rock with Levon Helm on weekends, fly to Istanbul for a command performance, pack the house weekly in New York at Nublu, make recording sessions, wax eloquent about music history and the fundamentals of musicianship, tour with friends in support of their fledgling bands, and still find the wherewithal to record a big band piece from scratch in the remaining spare time unless you happen to know Clark Gayton.

Clark Gayton was born in Seattle, Washington. He received a scholarship to attend the Berklee School of Music in Boston, Massachusetts and graduated in 1984. He moved to Oakland briefly before moving to New York in 1987.

In New York, Gayton has worked with some of the finest jazz musicians in the world, including Charles Tolliver, Lionel Hampton, The Duke Ellington Orchestra, and Ray Charles. Gayton recently toured with Bruce Springsteen as part of the Seeger Sessions band. He has recorded and performed with renowned artists including Prince, Rhianna, Quincy Jones, Sting, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, and Santana. Additionally, he is a strong advocate for musicians' rights and has been a panelist for discussions about the online and independent music industry.

Clark Gayton Music

BABA ISRAEL was raised in New York by parents who were core members of the Living Theatre. He explored spoken word, hip hop, and experimental performance at venues such as the Nuyorican Poets Café, working with artists such as Akim the Funk Buddha. 

Israel worked on community theater projects and festivals in Australia and co-founded the theatrical hip hop band Meta Bass 'n' Breath. He received a grant from the Australia Council for the Arts to produce the Hip Hop Theatre production The Bridge, which was performed in nontraditional venues and toured juvenile detention centers. Israel began his career as an arts educator in Australia and has worked with Urban Word, BAM, and the University of Madison. He has also worked as a cultural ambassador, delivering workshops and performances across Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, and in Gambia and Turkey. 

Israel has released albums and collaborations with artists including DJ Logic, Ming and FS, Zion I, P-Money and longtime collaborator Yako 440. He is co-founder and artistic director of Playback NYC Theatre Company, which brings theater to hospitals, prisons, homeless shelters, theaters, and festivals. The company supports immigrant communities in Long Island through performances and workshops funded by the Hagedorn Foundation.

Israel has toured worldwide and performed with artists such as Outkast, Philip Glass, Rahzel, Lester Bowie and Vernon Reid. His debut solo show, Boom Bap Meditations, toured the U.S. and Europe and was supported by the Ford Foundation and The Hip Hop Theatre Festival. Israel was also a featured performer in Full Circle's Soular Powered at the New Victory Theatre and is a longtime collaborator with Jason Lindner. 

Israel was artistic director/CEO of Contact Theatre in Manchester from 2009 to 2012. During his tenure, he created flagship festivals, directed and produced touring productions, and programmed seasons that focused on innovative and diverse work. Israel is also a core member of the hip hop/soul project Soul Inscribed, which was selected as part of the American Music Abroad program and toured Russia, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Mauritius in 2016. 

Israel is the Cco-artistic Ddirector of the Performance Project, based at University Settlement and curator of performance for HI-ARTS. He holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College.

Baba Isreal Music 

Grammy Nominated Juanga Lakunza is a versatile trombonist and composer in both Jazz and Latin Jazz languages who has a profound knowledge in a variety of music styles.

Growing up in a musical family he earned a Classical Music Degree (Pamplona, Spain), Jazz Bachelor (San Sebastian, Spain), Jazz Master Studies (Rotterdam, NL), Jazz Master Performance (Jersey City).

Since moving to NYC in 2016 he has performed with bands such as the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Arturo O  ́Farrill & Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Mambo Legends Orchestra, John Benitez Quintet, Luisito Quintero & 3rd Element, Lance Bryant &

Shout, Dave Schumacher “Cubeye”, Goussy Celestin  ́s Ayiti Brass, Eddie Allen Aggregation Big Band, SOLJO, Tito Nieves, Jerry Rivera, Willie Colon, La India and has shared the stage with luminaries such as Wynton Marsalis, Jon Faddis,

Paquito D ́Rivera, Donald Harrison, Bobby Shew, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Pedrito Martinez, Lakecia Benjamin and Allan Harris to name a few.

He is a currently working on his own personal Project “Juanga Lakunza Quintet” and he is one “most in demand” trombone players in NYC due to his unique style and versatility on the trombone.

Horacio Martinez is an Argentinian multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, and arranger. From an early age, he toured Latin America with the UNESCO choir (EMA) and various ensembles. In 2006, he performed at the Honoris Causa for Mercedes Sosa and the Oscar winner Gustavo Santaolalla in Mendoza, Argentina. In 2010, Horacio won the Pre-Cosquin Festival in Mendoza. He performed at the Festival Nacional de la Vendimia in 2011 and 2012. From 2008-2012, Horacio was also a member of the award-winning group Markama and performed with symphonic orchestras. He traveled to China with the UN Singers in 2017. That same year, he toured Europe promoting his solo album, De Jujuy a Brooklyn, and recorded for Residente’s (former singer of Calle 13) singles Hoy and Yo te quiero a ti. Horacio has recorded three albums and produced music for films, dancers, and other artists. Horacio works out of his home studio in New York City. He is a teaching artist at Casita Maria in the Bronx and leads the music ministry at St. Peter's Church in Manhattan. 

Berta Moreno is an awarded jazz saxophonist, composer, songwriter, and bandleader from Spain most known for her original compositions and work blending Contemporary Jazz, World Music, Afro-Latin music, and improvisation.

Critics usually define her as "Driven and Determined"- Downbeat Magazine; "a storyteller"-

WBGO or "a highly thoughtful and precise soloist, with well-planned statements that don't waste

any notes" - All About Jazz.

With an extensive career, she has been touring and performing as a bandleader and side woman

in some of the leading jazz festivals, including Jazzaldia Heineken, North Sea Jazz and TD James

Moody Jazz Festival, and some of the main venues and theatres, TV and Radio programs both in

Europe and US including NPR, WBGO, NJPAC, The Town Hall NYC or The Kimmel Center. She has shared the stages with some of the most established jazz musicians, such as Arturo

O'Farrill, John Patitucci, Steve Wilson, Troy Roberts, Francisco Mela, Shai Maestro, Manuel

Valera, Jon Faddis, Pedrito Martinez, and Santi Debriano.

Berta's album "Little Steps" won a Global Music Awards- Gold Medal- for Best Jazz Album in 2017

and a nomination by the IMA Awards (US) and MIN awards (Spain) for Best Jazz album and

composition. Her recent album "Tumaini" is in the TOP 20 Best Albums 2021 by NPR Alt. Latino

and her composition "The Beauty of the Slum" is a Lennon Award winner at the John Lennon

International Songwriting Contest 2022.

She is deeply involved in the Jazz, Latin, and World Music scene, both as a player and a composer, performing weekly at Birdland Jazz Club with the multi- Grammy award winning “Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra”, and teaching in organizations such as the Afro-Latin Jazz Alliance and S’Cool Sounds in New York.

Juan Carlos Polo is a Peruvian drummer, composer, and educator based in New York City "that has come to meld Jazz improvisation techniques into his drumming and makes a fine display of his virtuosity on his playing” (Latin Jazz Network). Juan Carlos has worked and collaborated with prominent musicians such as the multiple Grammy Award-winner, pianist, and composer Arturo O’Farrill; tap dancer Ayodele Casel; cellist and composer Akua Dixon, and Hip-hop legend Grandmaster Caz. He has performed at major festivals across Latin America, including

“Ciudad Emergente Festival” in Buenos Aires and the Varaduoro Festival in Brazil. Polo has also been awarded the 2021 New York City Artists Corps Grant and has received grants from the Jazz Foundation of America and the Louis Armstrong Foundation. He holds a bachelor’s degree in classical percussion from the National University of Music in Peru and a Master's in Jazz Studies from The City University of New York, where he studied under the tutelage of saxophonist Steve Wilson. His playing is an unconscious tendency

grounded in multiple styles and regions.

As an educator, he is vigorously working with the most preeminent nonprofit organizations in New York City (empowering  black and Latino youth through music): The Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education, and Jazz at Lincoln Center, in which he provides instruction and facilitates workshops in public and private schools all around the five boroughs of the city.

LEO TRAVERSA is a native New Yorker and distinguished musician and educator. His extensive knowledge across musical genres and cultures, along with his mastery of playing techniques, makes him one of the most versatile and proficient bassists on the scene today. Traversa has performed and recorded with a wide array of international artists including Tania Maria, Don Byron, Astrud Gilberto, and Ben E. King.

Traversa is a faculty member at Columbia University and a founding member of the Bass Collective. He has been active in the New York community, providing songwriting workshops and music education in hospitals, prisons, detention centers, schools, and senior centers in his role as a teaching artist for Carnegie Hall’s Weil Institute.

Leo Traversa Music

JUANMA TRUJILLO is a guitarist born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela. He has performed with several Venezuelan bands and artists including El Regaño, Domingo en Llamas, Gustavo Medina, and Monsalve y los Forajidos. In 2005, he moved to Los Angeles, California and had the pleasure of performing regularly at major Los Angeles music venues with Gary Fukushima and Emilio Terranova, among others. Since moving to New York City in 2014, Trujillo has been active in the Jazz and Improvised music scene, playing with artists such as Francisco Mela, Ras Moshé, Mimi Jones, and Guillermo Gregorio. He has performed with multiple musical ensembles in venues all over the world, including Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Venezuela, Austria, and Slovenia.

Trujillo is positioned at the cutting edge of improvisational and experimental creative music. He has the ability to generate emotive and powerful musical statements that transcend the scope of typical structures, analysis, or preconceived systems, and engage not only the ears but the mind and spirit as well. Because of his boundless curiosity and constant study, he is capable of working comfortably and successfully in many genres of music. His compositions are challenging, clear, cohesive and profound. Trujillo continually strives to innovate among his contemporaries while incorporating the mastery of his predecessors into his forward-leaning artistic explorations.

Juanma TruJillo Music