Search - John Santos :: Tribute to the Masters

Percussionist John Santos and his Machete Ensemble have won a devoted following in their native San Francisco Bay Area and among Latin-jazz aficionados the world over with their wide-ranging excursions into Afro-Caribbean music. Tribute to the Masters finds Santos and company paying tribute to individual icons like John Coltrane ("Syeeda's Song Flute"), Dizzy Gillespie ("Salt Peanuts"), and Miles Davis ("So What") as well as to various Afro-Cuban religious music and to different Latin styles in general. Aside from a musical career that includes work with Gillespie, Eddie Palmeiri, Tito Puente, and Francisco Aguabella, Santos has long been known for his scholarly contributions to the field of Afro-Latin music as a writer and historian. In that sense, Tribute to the Masters is a kind of historical survey of Latin music and a natural for Santos. The beauty of the disc, though, is that he and his breathtaking ensemble--which includes legendary guest musicians like bassist Israel "Cachao" Lopez and timbale player Orestes Villato--breathe life into homages to Afro-Cuban Santeria saints ("Chango" and "Iyesa") and fiery Latin-jazz workouts like "Moose the Mooche." --Ezra Gale