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| EL CIEGO MARAVILLOSO/THE BLIND MARVEL: A Tribute to Arsenio Rodriguez SATURDAY MARCH 15, 2015 7PM ET BRONX MUSIC HALL Considered the most important musician in the history of Afro-Cuban based dance music (Salsa/Son), Arsenio Rodriguez was indeed transformative. A master of the mandolin sounding Cuban Tres, he was the the first to add the conga drum to band performance, the piano to play son/salsa, developed the multi-horn mambo concept and created the son montuno, the rhythmic foundation of salsa. Join the 24 piece multi-Grammy nominated Bobby Sanabria MULTIVERSE Big Band as they pay tribute to this legendary artist who made the South Bronx his home as they perform some of his most well know compositions with new forward thinking arrangements as well as those of artists that were influenced by "El Ciego Maravilloso (The Blind Marvel)" at the beautiful new place for all, the Bronx Music Hall where the performance will be recorded for release. Spotlighted in the concert will be vocalist Jennifer Jade Ledesma, a multi-lingual musical polyglot as well as Oreste Abrantes on vocals and congas who are both members of the Multiverse Big Band and featured on the orchestra's latest 2024 Grammy nominated release Vox Humana, renowned Cuban born vocalist Gerardo Contino, and tres and guitar master Benjamin Lapidus Opening this tribute concert will be a screening of the short film on Maestro Arsenio, LA VIDA ES UN SUEÑO by Cuban filmmaker, Arlety Veunes Toro. Ticket are an affordable $25 and are available at bronxmusichall.org and/or by calling 917.557.2354 For press, TV, radio interviews with Maestro Sanabria and/or the featured artists contact 917.557.2354 ARSENIO RODRIGUEZ (b. Ignacio Arsenio Travieso Scull in Matanzas, Cuba, August 31, 1911 – d. in Los Angeles on December 31, 1970) was a master of the Cuban mandolin like sounding guitar known as the tres. Also known as a masterful composer. He was as transformative in Cuban music as Louis Armstrong was in jazz recognized as the most important figure in the history of Afro-Cuban-based dance music. Rodríguez was the first bandleader to add the conga drum, piano and multiple trumpets to perform Cuban son music and developed a new hard driving rhythmic approach which he called son montuno which became the root of what became known as mambo thus forming the template for what today is known in New York City and the world over as salsa. Acclaimed as one of Cuba's most renowned bandleaders he was known by the sobriquet, "El Ciego Maravilloso" (the Blind Marvel) his blindness occurring when as wa child he was kicked in the head by a mule. In 1947 he came to New York seeking medical attention to possibly restore his sight but was informed that his optic nerves had been completely destroyed. This experience led him to compose one of his most famous works, "La Vida es un Sueño" ("Life is a Dream"). In 1950, at the age of 39, Arsenio moved to the New York forming a new band, Arsenio Rodríguez y su Conjunto de Estrellas moving back and forth between the city and Cuba. By 1952 he permanently made the South Bronx his home where he performed regularly at the Palladium Ballroom, Manhattan Center, Park Plaza, Hunts Point Palace and other dancehalls. His presence in the area led him to directly influence, inspire and mentor future salsa stars like Ray Barretto, Johnny Pacheco, Orlando Marin, Charlie and Eddie Palmieri, Willie Colon, Larry Harlow and the entire genre. In other words without Arsenio, there is no salsa. BOBBY SANABRIA MULTIVERSE BIG BAND This 24 piece orchestra is led by renowned drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, radio host, documentary film producer and educator Bobby Sanabria. Combining Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and other Latin American influences with funk, r & b, hip hop and jazz, this ensemble has been praised for its 21rst century forward thinking approach to the art of the big band and being being able at a moments notice to transform from a concert jazz orchestra to a swinging dance band. Whether playing original compositions, the music of Arsenio Rodriguez or Frank Zappa in addition to original compositions, this is not your ordinary big band. All of the orchestras albums have been nominated for Grammys including WEST SIDE STORY REIMAGINED which also won the prestigious ALBUM OF THE YEAR AWARD (2019) from the JAZZ JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION. Their latest CD, VOX HUMANA (2024) featuring Janis Siegel, Antoinette Montague and Jennifer Jade Ledesna on vocals was recorded live at Dizzy's, NYC and was also Grammy nominated. Notable performances include Lincoln Center Out of Doors, The Ravinia Festival, The Kennedy Center, the Verona Jazz Festival in Italy, the Chicago Jazz Festival, The Apollo Theater, a recent nationally broadcast PBS TV special and more. "…(Mr. Sanabria) expands the possibilities, moving the sounds of bands like that of (Puente, Machito), with all the heft and intricacy and clave-based dance rhythm, into the harmonically oriented sophistication of current New York jazz players. It's New York up and down, and back and forth across the last century, from the streets to the mambo palaces to the conservatories." -Ben Ratliff, THE NEW YORK TIMES "Sanabria is one of the most informed, astute and passionate champions of Afro-Cuban music on the scene today. Sanabria's big band smokes, fresh, high energy emotional, but unsentimental and strong. He is an artist ready to take his place in the continuum." - Fernando Gonzalez, DOWNBEAT "In total, the Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band forms an all inclusive sound suffused with Latin flavor - that successfully merges an energy that is street corner tough, and a power worthy to be unleashed in the finest concert hall. - Victor Cruz-Lugo, HISPANIC "There's every reason to hope that Steven Spielberg's remake of 'West Side Story' will improve upon the 1961 film, but I doubt if we'll ever hear a more thrilling interpretation of that immortal score than that of the Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band." - "Will Friedwald, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL BOBBY SANABRIA A native Nuyorican Son of The South Bronx, Mr. Sanabria has performed and recorded with every major figure in the world of Latin jazz, jazz and salsa as both a drummer and percussionist. From the founder of the Afro-Cuban/Latin jazz movement Mario Bauzá, to Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaría, Dizzy Gillespie, Chico O'Farrill, Ray Barretto, Candido, to Larry Harlow, Ruben Blades, Celia Cruz, and jazz luminaries as diverse as Henry Threadgill, Charles McPherson, Randy Brecker, Joe Chambers, Jean Lucien, The Mills Brothers, and others. A graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Sanabria received the 2003 Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award by Ivan Acosta from Latin Jazz USA. DRUM! Magazine named him Percussionist of the Year (2005); he was named Percussionist of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association in 2011 and 2013. In 2006, he was inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame. He was a recipient of the 2018 Jazz Education Network (JEN) LeJENS of Jazz Lifetime Achievement Award for his work as a musician and educator. In 2008 Congressman Dennis Kucinich honored his work as a musician and educator by reading his name into the Congressional Record and in 2018 the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus honored him as a musician, educator. Mr. Sanabria has composed the music for several award-winning, critically acclaimed documentaries - From Mambo to Hip Hip: A South Bronx Tale (2006) where he was also a producer, consultant and on air personality, Some Girls (2017), and La Madrina: The Savage Life of Loraine Padilla (2020). Other documentaries he has been featured in on screen and acted as a consultant, producer are, The Palladium: Where Mambo Was King (2003), Latin Music U.S.A. (2006), We Like It Like That: The Story of Latin Boogaloo (2015), and Let's Get The Rhythm 2016). In 2019 he was named Godfather/Padrino of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City. He is the Co-Artistic Director of the Bronx Music Heritage Center and the Bronx Music Hall. His lifetime dedication to spreading the history, culture, of jazz and Latin jazz to the general public as a performer, as well as educating a new generation of players, composers, arrangers, has no parallel. A member of Max Roach's legendary M'BOOM percussion ensemble, he is on the faculty of the New School (his 29th year) and was on the faculty of NYU and the Manhattan School of Music for 20 years. He is also the on air host of the Latin Jazz Cruise on WBGO FM and wbgo.org, the number one jazz station in the nation where he also is a featured contributing writer on the website. JENNIFER JADE LEDESNA, A member of the mighty Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band, Jennifer is a vocal musical polyglot able to sing in an incredible 11 languages. A native Bronxite of Puerto Rican, Dominican heritage she is an alumni of the prestigious LaGuardia High School of Arts and a graduate of the New School University Jazz & Contemporary Music Program where she earned her Bachelors Degree in Jazz vocal performance. A Montreux Jazz Voice Competition Finalist, Equity actress, & "Betty Carter Jazz Ahead" composer, Ms. Jade often performs at "Aux Trois Mailletz" in Paris, “Jazz Na Avenida” in Salvador da Bahia, & the legendary “Minton’s Playhouse” in Harlem, NYC. She's sung at Carnegie Hall in Bobby McFerrin’s “INSTANT OPERA!”, in the World Premiere Tour of “CHAPEL/CHAPTER” w the Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Co. JJ’s also graced the international stages of Switzerland’s CHORUS Jazz Club, Norway's “Silda Jazz Fest” w her group "RAJAFRO", Jazz @ Lincoln Center with Bobby Sanabria’s Multiverse Big Band, Saint Croix's “Take Five Fest”, Santiago de Chile's "Teatro Municipal de Las Condes", & Austria's PORGY & BESS, to name a few. Ms. Jade has performed with David Amram, Elew, Dave Valentin, Roy Hargrove, Wycliffe Gordon, Joatan Nascimento, Junior Mance, James Carter, Benny Powell, Candido Camero, Janis Siegel, & Wynton Marsalis, among others. She recently starred as Tempest in the feature film SINCE I LEFT YOU, “Tinima” in the opera-musical HATUEY: MEMORY OF FIRE!, & just returned from her summer tours in Brazil & Argentina! She is a featured vocalist on the Grammy nominated "VOX HUMANA" with Bobby Sanabria's Multiverse Big band. She has been the recipient of numerous Awards - The Kennedy Center. "Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Residency"; Original Composition. Washington, DC. - Carnegie Hall. Bobby McFerrin's "Instant Opera Young Artist's Concert." Improvisation. NYC. - "Montreux Jazz Festival International Voice Competition"; Finalist. Montreux, Switzerland. - IAJE Toronto. "MJF Kurt Elling Masterclass- Oustanding Musician Award." Toronto, Canada. - CBS 2's "Nueva Estrella Awards." Semi- Finalist. NYC. - "Jazz Diva Award." New School University. NYC. - "Ambassador of Song." U.S.-Brazilian Consulate. Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. - "Minorities in Medicine" Award. Weill Cornell Medical College. NYC. - "Ambassador of Peace." Central European Tour: Austria, Hungary, Czech/Slovac Republic. GERARDO CONTINO is a multi-disciplinary artist, cultural producer, and community organizer. A classically trained singer, Gerardo Contino began performing professionally in Havana, Cuba at the age of 19. Gerardo has toured the world with his music and now calls New York City home. He is the founder and director of Camino al Arte, a non-profit arts organization that connects and produces cutting edge cultural and educational opportunities for young and established artists across the United States and the Caribbean. A versatile singer and bandleader, Gerardo has performed with Cuban and American salsa, jazz, and big orchestra bands. In Cuba, Gerardo was lead singer for NG La Banda, the legendary timba and jazz band directed by Jose Luis Cortes. In the United States, Gerardo was a lead singer for the Max Weinberg Orchestra and for the Larry Harlow's Latin Legend's Band and has appeared as a guest with the Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band. Gerardo has also acted and performed opera, most notably in the Peak Performances’ Hatuey: Memory of Fire, a Yiddish-Cuban opera production. Gerardo created and directed Los Habaneros, which went on to become the 2015 "Best Band in Manhattan" (WNYC/NPR), and the 2017 "Best Cuban Dance Band" (NY Latin Culture Magazine). With Los Habaneros, Gerardo performed at The Kennedy Center for the Arts, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, top music venues in New York City, and festivals in the United States and around the world. As a cultural producer and community organizer, Gerardo has created multi-disciplinary public artistic productions around the U.S. and in Cuba. He has received the Manhattan Community Arts Fund for his productions in 2014, 2015, and 2018. Gerardo has also been a board member of the National Council for the Traditional Arts since 2020. In addition to his musical career, Gerardo received his education in law at the University of Havana and his Master's in Law at the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, with a focus on intellectual property and entertainment law ORESTE ABRANTES A native of the South Bronx born of Cuban/Puerto Rican parentage, percussionist/vocalist Oreste Abrantes started studying Afro-Cuban/Latin percussion at the age of 3 at the legendary Boys And Girls Harbor in East Harlem, NY. Today he has become one of the most in demand players on the scene. Also a talented vocalist, he is frequently called upon to sing lead or background vocals both live and in the recording studio. Oreste has become a noted leader in the salsa scene directing his own ensemble, Kidd Ore Y Su Orquesta. The orchestra has been featured in numerous venues such as Lincoln Center Mid Summer Night Swing, Summer Stage NY, Carnegie Hall, even out of the United States in places like the French Caribbean. He is a featured performer live and on recordings with Pablo Mayor’s Folklore Urbano, Chris Washburne’s SYOTOS, Gabriela Anders Los Dukes, Aurora Flores Y Zon Del Barrio (with whom he toured France), Eddie Muñiz’s Swing Sabroso, Willy Torres Orchestra, and now the multi-Grammy winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra where he’s the bongosero. His versatility as a percussionist and vocalist has also been featured with various folkloric ensembles such as Danza Fiesta and Milteri Tucker Concepción’s BOMBAZO Dance Company Oreste is the congeuro of the multi-Grammy nominated Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band where he is also featured as a lead vocalist alongside multi-Grammy winner Janis Siegel, Antoinette Montague, and Jennifer Jade Ledesna. The orchestra’s new critically acclaimed double CD recording, VOX HUMANA, was recorded live at NYC’s Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola and is being hailed as one of the finest releases of 2023! BENJAMIN LAPIDUS Born in Hershey, PA in 1972 to first-generation Brooklynites, Benjamin is a Grammy-nominated musician who has performed and recorded throughout the world as a bandleader and supporting musician playing guitar, Cuban tres, Puerto Rican cuatro, touchstyle/tapping instruments (Warr guitar and Chapman Stick), as well as organ. As a scholar he has published widely on Latin music, and he is a professor at John Jay College. He has performed and/or recording with luminaries such as Andy and Jerry González, Ibrahim Ferrer (Buena Vista Social Club), Pío Leyva (Buena Vista Social Club), Manuel “Puntillita” Alicea (Buena Vista Social Club), Bobby Carcassés, Orlando “Cachaíto” López, Juan Pablo Torres, NEA Jazz Master Cándido Camero, Larry Harlow, Ruben Blades, Típica 73, Pedrito Martínez, Pablo Menéndez, Bobby Sanabria, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Larry Goldings and many others. As the leader of the Latin jazz group, Sonido Isleño (founded in 1996), he has performed throughout North and South America, Europe, and the Caribbean while releasing five internationally acclaimed albums of his original compositions. In 2007 Lapidus served as musical director and arranger for Garota de Ipanema (JVC/Victor Japan) with Kaori Fujii and toured Japan twice. In 2008, he recorded Herencia Judía and in 2014, he released his eighth album as a leader, Ochósi Blues. Blues for Ochún (2023) is his ninth album as a bandleader. As a composer, Lapidus’ music has been recorded by musical groups in Cuba and Japan, and has been featured in documentaries and television. In 2015, Latinjazz USA awarded Lapidus a lifetime achievement award for his contributions to Afro-Latin music. In 2015, he wrote the liner notes, contributed an original composition, sang, and played electric guitar and Cuban tres on Andy González's Grammy nominated album, Entre Colegas. Lapidus earned a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology at the CUNY Graduate Center in 2002. He is a professor of art and music at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and on the Doctoral Faculty of the Graduate Center, CUNY. In addition, he has served as scholar-in-residence with the New York Center for Jungian Studies and the Jewish Museum during several humanitarian missions to the Jewish communities of Cuba between 2004-2016. In 2008, Lapidus published the first-ever book on the Eastern Cuban musical genre changüí called Origins of Cuban Music and Dance: Changüí (Scarecrow Press). In 2013, Lapidus won a prestigious National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) fellowship for his critically acclaimed book New York and the International Sound of Latin Music, 1940-1990 (University Press of Mississippi, 2021). His newest book, El hombre y su música: Lilí Martínez Griñan (Unosotrosediciones, 2024) is an edited volume with contributions from researchers in Cuba, Spain, and the United States. It is the first ever book dedicated to the history and analysis of Arsenio Rodriguez’s pianist who became the most influential player of that instrument in Cuban music history. Filmmaker ARLEY VEUNES TORO was born in a town in the province of Matanzas, Cuba. In a small town called Guira de Macurijes, the same place where more than half a century earlier Arsenio Rodríguez “El ciego maravilloso” was born. When the time came to choose studies, she left her hometown for Matanzas and then to the capital of Cuba, to study Journalism. Once in the city, she began to delve into music studies and cultural research. Working as an assistant director in video clips of Cuban orchestras and solo musicians, she discovered in that cultural environment the transcendence of Arsenio's work in Cuban music. Therefore, she decided to make this documentary in homage to the valuable contributions that Arsenio made to Cuban son, so well-known by specialists but ignored by many.“LA VIDA ES UN SUEÑO” is the result of that search in the roots of her people and her culture. > SATURDAY MARCH 15, 2015 7PM ET > > BRONX MUSIC HALL > > 438 E. 163rd Street > > Bronx, NY 10451 > presents > > Bronx Rising! > > > > EL CIEGO MARAVILLOSO - THE BLIND MARVEL: A Tribute to ARSENIO RODRIGUEZ - THE GODFATHER OF SALSA with the Multi-Grammy nominated BOBBY SANABRIA MULTIVERSE BIG BAND feat: Jennifer Jade Ledesna, Gerardo Contino, Oreste Abrantes on vocals and Benjamin Lapidus on tres > > In addition a screening of the film short LA VIDA ES UN SUEÑO by Arley Veunes Toro > write your comments about the article :: © 2025 Jazz News :: home page |