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| Bobby Sanabria Voted Percussionist of The Year by Drum! Magazine Renowned drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, educator, Grammy nominee and native Nuyorican Bobby Sanabria was just voted Percussionist of The Year by the readers of Drum! magazine. The publication, which is read worldwide, is a leading periodical dedicated to the art of drums and percussion. Known for his versatility as both a drummer and percussionist, Mr. Sanabria beat a field of other acclaimed players including Giovanni Hidalgo, Alex Acuna and Marc Quiniones. Read the current August issue of drum! and turn to page 63 to see a unique caricature of Bobby by famed illustrator Ismael Roldan who works for Time magazine and Newsweek. Mr. Sanabria recently came back from a three city clinic tour in Mexico which included Mexico City, Merida and the capital of Vera Cruz, Xalapas. Sponsored by Casa Veerkamp, Mexico's leading musical instrument distributor as well as Sabian Cymbals and the LP Music Group, Bobby's clinic/master classes were conducted to standing room only crowds who witnessed the performance of his one man tour-de- force, “Clave - The Journey.” The culmination of this tour was his headlining of the Xalapas Jazz Fest 2005 where he was accompanied by acclaimed master musicians, Oscar Stagnaro on bass and pianist Alon Yovnai. Bobby's appearance at the festival was met with two standing ovations and two encores. Upon Mr. Sanabria's return from his week long sojourn in Mexico he immediately went to work performing on timbales with the famed Larry Harlow & The Latin Legends Band at two festivals, the Bethlehem Musikfest in Pennsylvania and The Rochester Latino Music Festival in New York. Three-time Grammy nominee Larry Harlow is a famed producer, pianist, bandleader and member of the Fania All Stars, the famed Super Group of Salsa musicians that were assembled by the legendary Fania record company and brought NYC Cuban based dance music to the forefront in the 70s, 80s and 90s. His Latin Legends Band features a leading group of master musicians in the world of Afro-Cuban based music (Salsa) which includes virtuoso cuatro player Yomo Toro, Lewis Khan on trombone and violin and Mr. Sanabria on timbales. Before his Mexico trip, Bobby had the pleasure and honor of spending a week in Rotterdam, Holland conducting and playing drums with the Rotterdam Conservatoire Big Band. Rehearsals were for concerts at the Prinses Theater in Rotterdam and The North Sea Jazz Festival in Den Hague. The Conservatoire's Jazz Program director Ben Van Den Dungen invited Mr. Sanabria to coach the student orchestra on the intricacies and history of the Afro-Cuban Jazz Big Band tradition. Mr. Sanabria is uniquely qualified for the task, having been the drummer for the Godfather of Afro-Cuban Jazz Mario Bauza¹s Big Band for over eight years where he recorded three Grammy nominated CD's as well as touring extensively with the band as well as recording/performing with legends Tito Puente and Chico O'Farill's big bands. Besides rehearsing the repertoire of masters Bauza', Puente, O'Farill, Machito and his own pieces for the two concerts, Bobby also prepared a special arrangement of Frank Zappa's “Grand Wazoo” which incorporated cha-cha-cha and merengue elements into the world of Zappa. The result was an incredible display of the depth, power and creativity of the Afro-Cuban big band jazz continuum with Bobby at the helm. Rotterdam Conservatoire Jazz Program director Ben Van Den Dungen stated, “Having Bobby work with our students raised their level of musicianship to a level we never thought of. It was incredible. I saw the change immediately. It was like they were a completely different band. I'm so glad he agreed to participate in this special encounter. It won¹t be the last, we have to have him back.” If this weren't enough, Bobby conducted a special concert for the screening of the soon to air on PBS documentary, From Mambo to Hip Hop - Music & Survival in The South Bronx. The screening of the work in progress was held at the famed Point Cultural Center in the heart of the South Bronx area known as Hunts Point. For the occasion Bobby performed with his Quarteto Ache' a program encompassing the music represented in the film with the addition of master guitarist and tres player Ben Lapidus. The performance, which was held to a standing room only crowd after the screening of the film, brought together legendary percussionists Ray Barretto, Orlando Marin and Benny Bonilla on congas, timbales and bongo respectively with famed break dancers, Popmaster Fabel, Kid Freeze, DJ Charlie Chase and Bobby with his Quartet in an incredible display of cross generational unity. Directed by Henry Chalfant and produced by Steve Zeiltin, Elena Martinez, Marci Reaven and Dr. Roberta Singer of City Lore and co-produced by Bobby Sanabria, look out for Mambo to Hip Hop on PBS in 2006. Bobby continues his performance schedule with his own groups recently headlining with his nonet Ascension at the Tri-C Jazz Festival in Cleveland, Ohio and with his Quarteto Ache' headlining at the Columbus Jazz & Rib Fest in Columbus, Ohio. He will be on tour in September in Venezuela with Larry Harlow & The Latin Legends Band and then return to perform in October at Baruch College with his Quarteto Ache' and then to Puerto Rico with Mr. Harlow to perform at the Tito Puente Amphitheater. Bobby's writing skills are featured on Dave Valentin's newest release World on a String having contributed an extensive liner note / essay to the project which has been receiving critical acclaim. Bobby is also featured as a guest percussionist on Ray Barretto's newest release, Time is, Time Was and on the national ad campaigns for Reebok and Chase-JP Morgan. Mr. Sanabria has been asked to be the key note speaker at the prestigious Fordham University on September 16th. He will be addressing the Latino student body at the school. A concert with his Quarteto Ache' will follow after Mr. Sanabria's speech. Fordham is one of the oldest University's in the country with a distinguished alumni which includes Alan Alda, Denzil Washington and G. Gordon Liddy. It also happens to be located in the borough of the NY Yankees where Mr. Sanabria was born and raised, Da' Bronx. Bobby is also featured in the new book How To Grow As A Musician - What All Musicians Need To Know To Succeed by jazz radio personality Sheila E. Anderson. Along with Bobby, such luminaries as Ron Carter, Dr. Billy Taylor, Ruth Brown, Oscar Brown Jr. and others give practical and comprehensive advice on what it takes to be a success in the world of jazz. Bobby was featured in Ms. Anderson¹s previous tome, The Quotable Musician: From Bach To Tupac. Mr. Sanabria is an associate professor at the New School University Jazz & Contemporary Music Program and a professor at the Manhattan School of Music. He is the head of the Afro-Cuban Jazz resource team at IAJE, is a member of SAG, NARAS and LARAS and the AFM and a two time Grammy nominee for his own recordings. His latest CD, Bobby Sanabria & Quarteto Ache' is on the ZOHO label. write your comments about the article :: © 2005 Jazz News :: home page |