For the last several decades, the San Francisco Bay area has been credited with playing a pivotal role in the documentation, preservation, dissemination, and evolution of traditional Afro-Latino Caribbean music. These efforts have provided musical innovators with the opportunity to have an impact on the Latin music scene throughout the world, specifically in the development of Latin Jazz. One of the leading cultivators and contributors to this musical tradition is percussionist, composer, bandleader and educator John Santos.
Born in the Mission district of San Francisco on November 1, 1955, Santos is the offspring of Cape Verdean and Puerto Rican parents. As a youngster, Santos grew up surrounded by music and was initiated as a musician when he attended lessons at the local Boys Club. In Santos’ own words, “I feel very fortunate to have grown up in San Francisco where I learned the importance of diversity and cultural education.” Santos acknowledges that his step-grandfather, Julio Rivera, was key to fostering his musical education. Mr. Rivera had a musical group that performed Puerto Rican and Cuban dance music as far back as the 1930s. Around 1968, Santos played congas with his step-grandfather’s group—the very first group with which Santos performed.
During the 1970s, Santos listened to a great deal of American music as it evolved in the San Francisco area. He was heavily influenced by Carlos Santana and the group Malo, who played rock music with a Latin flavor, using instruments such as congas and timbales. Another group that inspired Santos’ musical development was Azteca, which also combined several musical styles (funk, rock, jazz) and utilized exceptional jazz musicians like Lenny White on drums, Victor Pantoja on congas, and Pete and Coke Escovedo on percussion, as well as a great horn section. In 1976, Santos briefly played timbales with the Carlos Santana Band, an opportunity that arose when Raul Rekow, a conga player with Santos in the group La Banda, joined Santana and arranged an audition for Santos.
Throughout the 1970s, Santos continued his musical development by leading an Afro-Cuban folkloric group. In 1976, he was asked to join Orquesta Tipica Cienfuegos. According to Santos this move was a crossroad in his career, where he began to focus on and emphasize the educational and scholarly aspects of Latin music. Under Santos’ direction, Orquesta Tipica Cienfuegos spent 10 months studying Cuban and Caribbean musical folklore before they made their first musical presentation in 1977. In 1980, the group disbanded after presenting The Chronological History of Afro-Cuban Music at the Victoria Theater in San Francisco. From 1981 to 1985, Santos served as the director of Orquesta Batachanga, producing two LPs, “La Nueva Tradición” in 1982 and “Mañana Para Los Niños" in 1984.
In 1985, Santos founded The Machete Ensemble, which he continues to direct. It has become a world-class Latin Jazz band of international renown. Machete is “perhaps the most innovative Latin Jazz group playing today outside Cuba. . . . Highly innovative, intimately explosive” (Lee Hildebrand, East Bay Express).
Machete represents Afro-Latin music in its full range from folklore through dance music and jazz, always emphasizing creativity in arrangement while preserving tradition and authenticity, “brilliantly integrating traditional Yoruba and Cuban forms with contemporary instrumentation and arrangements” (East Bay Express). Machete has appeared at the Havana Jazz Festival, Davies Symphony Hall (San Francisco), the Concord Jazz Festival, the Russian River Jazz Festival, Carnaval San Francisco and most major Bay Area jazz venues. Machete is “a band that cuts both ways—playing concert music that deserves cool attentive listening, and churning out sizzling rhythms that urge the listeners to rise up out of their seats and writhe in sympathetic motion” (Derk Richardson, San Francisco Bay Guardian).
In addition to performing with his own musical groups, Santos has dedicated much of his time to promoting traditional Afro-Caribbean music by producing musical events and developing educational programs that teach people the basic fundamentals and history of the music. He has hosted local radio programs such as "Quindembo," and is the creator of the "Roots of Salsa" series. His input has become an integral part of the San Francisco Jazz Festival where some of the themes have included "Tribute to Bay Area Latin Jazz Masters," "A Night in Havana—Tribute to Chano Pozo," “The Evolution of Afro-Cuban Music” and "Salsa Meets Jazz."
Santos is also recognized as an influential educator, writer, and historian in the area of Afro-Caribbean music. He has given lectures at Yale University, UCLA, The Berklee School of Music in Boston, San Francisco State University, San Jose State University, Long Beach State University, the Community Music Center of San Francisco, and La Universidad Inter-Americana de San German, Puerto Rico. He is currently on the faculty of the Stanford Jazz Workshop and Jazz Camp West of Rhythmic Concepts. He is a member of the Latin Jazz Advisory Committee of the Smithsonian Institution. He has contributed to the international magazines Percussive Notes, Modern Drummer, Modern Percussionist, and Latin Percussionist. In addition, the community in the San Francisco Bay area has accorded Santos with numerous awards and honors for his artistic excellence and social dedication.
A couple of years ago, I experienced Santos’ ability to articulate his skills as a powerful teacher and communicator. Santos had been invited to provide a series of workshops at a Chicago music studio. When he walked into the room, he was faced with about 20 -30 students with their drums eager to receive instructions on playing techniques. Instead, Santos told the group to set their drums aside, and for over an hour he lectured them about the history of the drum and its relationship to traditional Afro-Caribbean music, Latin jazz, and jazz. Students were amazed that they were provided not only with tips on different playing techniques, but also a wealth of information on the basic foundation of the relationship between the drum and Afro-Caribbean music. For the entire time that Santos lectured, students gave him their undivided attention and absorbed everything that he presented to them.
Santos’ philosophy about jazz and Latin jazz is contrary to popular belief in the United States. He feels that "jazz did not develop solely in this country, and Latin jazz is not a novel recent appendage related to the current popularity of ‘World Music’. The indisputable truth is that jazz and Latin American music are branches of the same tree which have borrowed freely from one another since the late 19th century."
This unique perspective— coupled with vast knowledge of traditional Afro-Caribbean music and direct experience as musician, composer, bandleader, and educator—is at the core of what John Santos will bring to the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus and to the community. His ability to effectively conduct seminars, clinics, and hands-on workshops will definitely have an impact on the entire community of Madison. I do guarantee that anyone who comes in contact with this musical innovator will have a better understanding and appreciation for traditional Afro-Caribbean music.
Carlos Flores
Puerto Rican Arts Alliance
Chicago, Illinois
2002
For more information see www.johnsantos.com