Rochester’s own Mambo Kings, together since 1995, are enjoying great success as Upstate New York’s foremost Latin jazz ensemble, and have rapidly earned a national reputation for their explosive blend of Afro Cuban rhythms and jazz improvisation.
Since their orchestral debut in 1997 with the Rochester Philharmonic and Conductor Jeff Tyzik, Mambo Kings have appeared at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival and in Pops concerts with orchestras in Baltimore, Vancouver, Detroit, Dallas, Naples (FL) and Portland (OR), among many others, performing original compositions and arrangements by pianist Richard DeLaney.
Mambo Kings have appeared as featured soloists at the 2003 and 2008 Xerox Rochester International Jazz Fest, the Music In The Mountains Festival in Colorado and the Lewiston (NY) Jazz Fest.
Their last tour featured Mambo Kings with the Erie Phil- harmonic and the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra, as well as a return to Durango for the 25th Anniversary Season of Music In The Mountains and an appearance with the RPO in Jeff’s Birthday Bash
Mambo Kings released their third self-produced recording, Nostalgia, in July of 2008. Nostalgia, along with their previous releases –Live! (2005) and Marinera (2003) — continues to receive radio airplay in major markets throughout North America and Puerto Rico.
For more information, visit the band’s website at www.mambokingdom.com
Musical Director Richard DeLaney, a native of Lima, Peru, has been active as a jazz pianist, arranger and composer in Rochester since earning a Master’s Degree from the Eastman School Of Music in 1978. He was musical director and arranger for Orquesta La Muralla, Rochester’s legendary salsa band, for fifteen years before forming Mambo Kings. Since 1985, he has taught piano and jazz piano at the Hochstein School of Music, where he also coaches four student jazz combos.
Percussionist Wilfredo (Freddy) Colón (drums, timbales, bongos) has performed with Aretha Franklin, Tito Puente, Soneros Del Barrio, Johnny Rivera, El Cano and Paquito Acosta. He teaches percussion at the Eastman School Of Music’s Community Education Division and is much in demand as a percussion clinician in the Greater Rochester area.
Saxophonist John Viavattine has been an accomplished woodwind specialist in Rochester for many years. John has toured with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, including a memorable performance in Washington, D.C. at President Reagan’s 1980 Inaugural Ball. John has also performed with Chuck and Gap Mangione, Jeff Tyzik and the Rochester Philharmonic, The Temptations, Ray Charles, Patti Page, Connie Francis, Vic Damone and Lou Rawls.
Bassist Hector Diaz has been playing with bands in the Western New York area since the age of thirteen. He has performed with Ismael Miranda, Hector Tricoche, “El Cano” Estremera, Paquito Acosta, Zafra Negra, Luisito Rosario, Wendell Rivera and Johnny Rivera. While in the Army, Hector toured with an All Soldiers show throughout Army bases in South Korea.
Website: http://www.mambokingdom.com
Location: The Garber Automotive Group Main Stage
Time: –
Sunday, 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
