PAUL CARLON & LOS AMÉRICAS

The Age of Exploration brought people from various distant cultures to the New World of las Américas, some by choice, some by force, some out of desperation. The musical results of this social fusion have since spread around the globe, inspiring innovation and genre-melding. The blues, rumba, maracatu, jazz, cumbia… all of these styles and more grew up in the fertile soil of las Américas, tied together by the influence of West African cultures such as the Yoruba. In Afro-Cuban chants, in the Afro Sambas of Baden Powell, and in the mythology of the Mississippi Delta, the orishas (deities) of African origin have made their presence felt and respected.

Transposing geography to the stage in the form of a band, Los Américas is made up of musicians from Canada down to the Caribbean, conjuring a parallel on-stage universe where Duke Ellington performs with Cuban timba godfathers los Van Van, and where Brazilian Maracatu powerhouse NaçÂo Estrela Brilhante accompanies blues legend Robert Johnson. Los Américas offers a sonic slideshow of variations on the theme of “who is American?”, striving to showcase the entire expanse of the Americas — North and South. The mind of a scholar will appreciate the intricate complexities of the musical arrangements, the body of a dancer will embrace the rhythmic impulse to move freely, and the soul of a traveler will bond to the familiar soundscapes that oscillate between various cultures.

The brainchild of saxophonist/composer Paul Carlon, Los Américas has grown out of Paul’s Octet, a group that established itself performing primarily Paul’s original compositions as well as arrangements of traditional songs and music by artists such as Billy Strayhorn and Baden Powell. Los Américas will continue in the same spirit as the Octet, taking as its jumping-off point the desire to mix orchestral jazz with styles from all over the hemisphere. How many Americas can you imagine?

Band Personnel and Instrumentation:

Paul Carlon–Tenor Sax, Flute, and Mbira

Anton Denner–Alto Sax and Flute

Dave Smith–Trumpet

Ryan Keberle–Trombone

Mike Fahie–Trombone

John Stenger–Piano

Edward Perez –Bass

William “Beaver” Bausch—Drumset

Max Pollak–Rumbatap

Christelle Durandy–Vocals

The Los Américas Family

The following are members of the extended network of musicians drawn upon for Los Americas worldwide:

Dave Ambrosio

Dave Hertzberg

Nicki Denner

John DiMartino

Matt Pavolka

Felix Sanabria

Mark Miller

Noah Bless

Jose Davila

Dana Leong

Alex Norris

Greg Glassman

Tatum Greenblatt

Joe Magnarelli

Erica von Kleist

Pete Smith

Buddy Terry

Ileana Santamaría

Sofia Tosello

DeShannon Higa

George Young

Curtis Abe

Brien Matson

Robert Shinoda

Dean Taba

Darryl Pellegrini

Sandy Tsukiyama

Santino Sgambelluri

Enrique Zender