Qué Pasa!

Greetings from Seattle! Just returned from Alaska, the last state I needed to go to finally say I hit all 50 states. I’m really happy and proud of that. It was my dream to travel ever since I was a kid and I did it! Sounds childish, but believe me it was no easy feat. I have a new chapter in my life. I have become the newest member of the Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band. I am honored and blessed to be with this powerhouse band with such great players and great music and to follow some of my dear friends whom I share a deep affection with, David Romero Sal Cracchiolo, Ramon Banda and Papo Rodriguez. Thank you Poncho and of course to one my close friends, Francisco Torres. We will be going into the studio next week to record for Poncho’s upcoming album and I’ve got a lot of music to learn this week. As for my personal life my daughter is coming up on her sixth month and we are blessed with her health and happiness. I can’t to hold her when I get home! She has enriched our lives immensely and I feel so good inside, never better! I also want to pray for a friend of mine and am wishing a speedy recovery! Till the next Time…..

This post will be the last in a trilogy that I will be adding to my site so that I may bring you up on current events. Ok, I'm right now on a plane heading back home. Mentally I'm already there, just not physically. This run was quite mellow in comparison to our usual grueling schedule. I have to say that although I've never been too too crazy about France, my taste has changed! We were in a very famous city called Reims which is located in the Champagne region of the country and I don't think we were treated like royalty anywhere else, except for Japan. We stayed for four days in which we walked thru the city, ate and were treated to one of the finest champagne companies in the world. The name of the company is called Pomerrey and they make some pretty killin’ champagne! Now, I've never been a fan of it, but I learned a great deal about champagne and how it's made and their history goes back to the mid 19th century. We went below to the cave where it's made. They had bottles stored from as early as 1874. Can you believe that? We freaked out! It was amazing. Anyways, I can't wait to see my family and Sunday will be my first Father's Day celebration, a dream come true! It has made me think a lot about my Dad and wishing he was around to see this miracle of life that we created. Very emotional. I've been very much in communication with my daughter throughout this whole run. Before I left for the tour, I held her in my arms and cried like crazy, because I was so busy getting ready that I had very little time to spend with her. When I finally finished, I was so overcome with all these feelings for her and that I did not want to leave. These are precious moments indeed for all of us. Now that I'm coming home, I will hold her in my arms for as long as I humanly can. I miss her smile. Well, I think that's it for now. Hope to see you out at one of my performances. Come check these shows and Happy Father's Day to all those out there. Hasta la proxima!

Well, let's see. When I last posted, I said my week would be slow. Forget it! I received a last minute call from none other than Poncho Sanchez to fill in the bongo chair for the Annual Heineken Jazz Festival held in Puerto Rico. I was so happy and excited, not only to do the gig, but to see my cousins that I have not seen in 5 years and another cousin that I have not seen in over 20 years. Gaby, J.J. and Jackie, it was very emotional to see you all. I miss you guys tremendously and I'm planning to make a return in the near future with my new family. We can't wait! Right now as I write this, I'm in Oxford, England with Al McKay. We'll be also heading into new territory for me and the band. The band will also tour Warsaw, Poland and Albena, Bulgaria. The tour finishes off in France and we should be back by the 17th of this month, a little over a week. A minute doesn't go by without thinking of my little Lydia Sofia. She has melted my heart! Te quiero mamita! Lastly, I want to say thank you and I love you to my sweetheart forever Yadhira. You are the most wonderful gift that I have ever received.Mmua!

It has been a long long time since my last journal. This could take a while. My last post must have been in early March I'm guessing. On Thursday, March 30th at 8:04am, my wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and her name is Lydia Sofia. She was quite tiny weighing four pounds eight ounces and about 17in. tall. She arrived a few weeks before her due date, but I'm happy to say she is in great health. We stayed in the hospital for four days and returned home on the birthday of her grandmother Ofelia Lozano, my wife's mom. My mother -in law has been with us since the very beginning. I can't thank her enough for staying out here to help us, especially for the times that I've worked or traveled and has even blessed us with her cooking, she's amazing! Gracias mom. My mother Lucille came out six weeks after birth and was just amazed how much of the family resemblance she has. My mom thinks she looks like her, but we'll see. I think she's got a little of all of us honestly. Her cry sounds so beautiful and cat-like. That's the mother's side(LOL). We are learning so much and it's like starting over again. I always said I grew up late. Well now, I better be grown up now! It's not about me or my wife, but her! As I speak, she is nine weeks to the day and she's doing great. Mom also is doing great. She just started work again, so we're slowly but surely getting a routine together. It can be most difficult for two working parents, but we view ourselves as a very strong family with a strong foundation and we are committed to doing all we can for new member.

I'm slowly catching up with emails and letters and calls and I want to thank all that have sent their blessings out to us. It means alot! As far as me slowing down, I think I'm busier than I have ever been, maybe since college. I've been blessed with work and it doesn't slow down, except for this week.

Greetings,
Wow! It's been nearly a month since I've been gone, but we're in the final stretch of what has been an incredible tour of Southeast Asia. The tour began in Jakarta, Indonesia and this was my second time there, only this time I saw much much more of this land and its peoples. I have to say that this despite its economic situation and the amount of poverty that I saw, the people still went out of their way to say hello and and be as helpful as they could. Also, I felt Ithe strong sense of family unity and spirit that touched my heart immensely! It hit home! I attribute that to the fact that I'm now in the process of starting a family of my own and it has changed my outlook on life. You know, in this business, it's very easy to become disillusioned and forget about what's important and living away from family has perhaps been the most difficult thing for both me and my wife, but now with just weeks away, things are and have been changing for us. I never looked into the whole fatherhood thing mainly because of my being raised mostly by my mother and I look back in amazement as to how did she raise not only me, but my sister as well. My mother is my greatest hero and the most optimistic person I know and I plan on using that for my children. I can't wait!

I did go off for a second, but I feel it's important to share that with you. Ok, so getting back to Jakarta, we performed in several cities as well. They were Bandung, Semarang, Jogjakarta, Surabaya, and lastly Medan.. We were treated like royalty everywhere we went and the shows were all first class level despite the not so great equipment. it really makes you appreciate when you have really great equipment like our show last nite in Budapest. The tour ended On Friday February 17th in Geneva. The show was probably our best of the tour. It has been a increduble ride with Al McKay these last three years. We've seen many many places! Thank you Al and to all the band members and I'll mention their names;
Ben Dowling- Keys
Tony Coleman- Synths
Freddie Flewelen-Bass
Aaron Haggerty-Drums
Bruce Conte-Guitar
Ed Wynne- Saxes
Wendell Kelly-Bones
Bill Churchville-Trumpet
Michael Harris-Trumpet
Keith Rice- House Sound Engineer
Keiko Takeda- Stage Sound Engineer
And of course, Mr. Al McKay!!

Before I close this journal, there are two very important people who have "Crossed to the Other Side," Bassist Victor Venegas and perhaps the man who turned on the "switch" for me and perhaps 2 generations worth, my drum hero Ray Barretto. You two are so sorely missed in NY at this moment. I spoke with Ralph Irizarry yesterday and it was deep and to make a long story short, Ralphie said to me, Bro! You know Ray was not a guy who did liner notes, but he told me Joey, read the liner notes from the "SonCafe" CD. Well, I just read it and I urge everyone to read these words from an extremely intelligent, gentle human being who paved the way for so many percussionists and musicans all over the world! Que descanse papi, may you rest in peace Father. Thank you for changing my life!

The time is now 12:50am, Monday morning and the jet lag has been really affecting my sleep. I have much work to do so, it may be an all nite event .I'd like to tell you about a couple of performances coming up in the upcoming weeks. Hope to see you at these shows. It's great to be back home with the people you love and care for. To all my friends, peers, and colleagues, it's a blessing to know you. Until the next moment...

Here are some shows you don't want to miss!

Tuesday, Feb. 28 and Wednesday, Mar.1st. Pianist Chuchito Valdes, Catalina Bar and Grill,Hollywood, Ca. 8:00 and 9:30

Friday, Mar.3rd, Ramon Banda Quintet, Holly Street Bar and Grill, Pasadena, Ca. 9:00 till 12am.

Saturday Mar.4th, Larry Karush Quartet, Boston Court/Marjorie Branson Performance Hall. 8:00. Check out www.bostoncourt.com/zeb for directions

ALSO, DON'T FORGET, EVERY WEDNESDAY IS JUMPING AT MAMAJUANAS IN STUDIO CITY. WE HIT AT 9:30

More dates coming.....

Que Pasa!!

Happy New Year 2006! I want to wish all those out there a very healthy and prosperous one. This year is going to be full of surprises. Many of you may or may not know, but we’re expecting our first child this coming April and we decided to not find out the sex of the child, you know old school style. Most people find out before so they can prepare for the child’s clothing, etc. but nothing is better than this kind of surprise! Most importantly is that the baby is healthy, that’s all we care for! We feel it might be a girl though, we’ll see.

Musically speaking, there are some great things going on this month. Finally, the Al McKay All Stars we’ll be playing in the States this coming Tuesday, January 3rd at The “Taste of Pasadena” festival. We will be playing material from the Earth Wind & Fire repertoire. The show begins at 8:30 and I believe this is an all day outdoor festival that is sure to bring out everybody, young and older. Don’t miss this event!

Also, I will be traveling to my home NYC to perform with the AC Timba Jazz Project at the IAJE conference on January 12th. This group features some incredible musicians such as Bassist Rigoberto Lopez who played with Adalberto Alvarez Y Su Son in Cuba, pianist extraordinaire Gustavo Ramirez, and Drum phenom Raul Pineda who played on the Grammy award winning album “Live at the Village Vanguard” from Maestro Chucho Valdes. We have some very special guests as well. From the Bay Area, we have a tremendous musician, percussionist and singer Jesus Diaz and directly from NY, folkloric legend Mr. Orlando ”Puntilla” Rios. This is going to be an incredible show. I get a chance to see my family too and hopefully some music as well.

When I return to California, the NAMM festival begins and that’s going to be 4 days of craziness, but a great event to be at. All the top players will be there. If you’ve never been there, you should check this out!! Finally, I’ve recently started playing in town with a band called Rumbankete that plays a cross between Old School Salsa, Timba, and Funk. The band is led by trombonist and arranger Denis Jiron and they are the new “Buzz” in town. The band plays regularly on Wednesday nights at Mamajuanas in Studio City. Feel free to check out myspace.com/rumbankete for more info.

And now here are some dates for January;
Tuesday, January 3rd.- Al McKay All Stars, “A Taste of Pasadena”, Pasadena, Ca.-8:30 show
Every Wednesday- Rumbankete, Mama Juanas, 9:30 till.., free before 10, dance class from 7:30- 9:00. $5.00 admission after 10:00
Friday, January 6th, Rumbankete, Steven’s Steak House, City of Commerce, Ca. 9:00 till..
Saturday, January 7th- Rumbankete, Conga Room, Hollywood, Ca. 10:30
Sunday, January 8th- Phil Robinson Y Sonora Pa’Gozar, Rumba Room, Universal City Walk, Ca. 9:30

Check out my Links page for links to some of the venues above. More dates to follow.

Greetings,
Happy holidays to everyone out there! I sure miss my family back east, but hopefully next year we’ll go there so everyone can see and meet our soon to be newest family member, our first child. It’s going real fast! We are in our 20th week of the pregnancy and now the baby is beginning to move around. IT’S A BEAUTIFUL THING! On behalf of myself and my wife Yadhira, we want to say Happy Happy Holidays and before the year is done I will post my final entry and sum up the year in review and what’s ahead for 2006. I know it’s going to be quite a year and God willing a happy, healthy and prosperous one.

Oh, and lastly, Bassist Tony Banda is recovering after successful surgery. Tony is the anchor for the Poncho Sanchez Band and more importantly one of the most beautiful human beings in the world! For all those that were there for the recent benefit shows for Tony, it was truly amazing how many family and friends attended! I wish I had that many! Tony we are praying for you. We’re also praying and sending our deepest condolences to the Cracchiolo family on the loss of Sal’s Mother. Q.E.P.D/May She Rest In Peace.

I know December is busy for everyone, but if you can look out for these performances ahead:
Thursday December 1st, Ramon Banda Quintet with Justo Almario, Rene Camacho and Chris Barron
Silhouette Jazz Café
245 E. Olive Street
Burbank, Ca. 91502
818.556.5299- 8 to Midnight

Friday, December 2nd- “A Tribute to Cal Tjader”- Featuring Legendary Vibraphonist Ruben Estrada, 7 o’clock to 8:15 PM Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, Ca. For Tix and other info, call 310.434.3000
DON’T MISS THIS EVENT! It’s our second one this year and we’re hoping this can be an annual thing!

ALSO ON THE SAME NIGHT; Larry Karush Trio Plus-1 beginning at 8 o’clock with Chris Colangelo and Kendall Kay. I’ll be performing on the second half of this show.
Barnsdall Gallery Theatre
4800 Hollywood Blvd. L.A, Ca.
For more info, go to www.LarryKarush.com

Sunday December 4th- Jose Rizo’s JLS All Stars, Steamers Café, Fullerton, Ca. 2 Shows; 7 and 9:30 PM

Monday December 5th- Mark Towns Quintet with Carlitos Del Puerto, Jimmy Branly and Otmaro Ruiz- Spazio, Sherman Oaks, Ca. 7:30- 11:30, 1st Show Dinner Set

Tuesday, December 13th Banda Bros, Steamers Café, Fullerton, Ca. 8 to Midnight

More dates coming . . .

Greetings,
Hoping all is good with all of you! My wife and I just returned from vacationing in Hawaii. Wow, what a beautiful place to live. Lots of nature, the beaches and the bays, it was incredible. We went on our first luau together and that was so much fun. And the food, oh my.. Everything was great, but boy do they sure know how to cook their pork. Pork as you know tends to be dry, but they slow cook and that just makes it not only tasty, but juicy as well. Wow, I’m getting hungry as I write this. We also went snorkeling and just as we we’re about to get out of the water, we see this huge turtle swimming past us. It was such a high life moment for us. The way it moved, it was like slow motion. We stayed in Waikiki Beach and I have to say for as many tourists that come to this beach, it was very clean. We saw dolphins and all kinds of fish out there. We also took a romantic dinner cruise all along the coast of the beach and again, what an incredible place. On one of our last days, we took a trip to the place where surfing reached its fame, Waimea Bay.

We had seen a show on cable in the summer talking about this place and the huge waves that come crashing down like thunder. We found out that the big waves come in January and that’s when they have the surfing championships. We went anyway and we saw another turtle swim past us. I said to myself, this place is truly special! One thing’s for sure and that is we’ll be going back again!

It is now the fourth month of my wife’s pregnancy and it shows more and more each day. I can’t wait! I’ll keep you posted.

Here’s a list of some performances you might want to check out;

Saturday, November 5- JLS All Stars, House of Blues, Hollywood, Ca.
Sunday, November 6- Mark Towns Quintet, Mamajuanas, Studio City,Ca. Tuesday, November 8-Banda Bros, Steamers Café, Fullerton, Ca.
Tuesday, November 22-Live Recording of AC Timba, Catalina Bar and Grill, Hollywood, Ca.
Wednesday, November 23- Turkey Bash with the Banda Bros. Steamers Café, Fullerton, Ca.
Saturday, November 26-Estrada Bros, Steamers Café, Fullerton, Ca.

Check back again for more updates…

It’s been over three months since I last posted. Well, let’s see, I was on the road since the beginning of June and it ended June 12th. We went to Russia for the third time in less than a year. To me, that just blows my mind! I never imagined ever going there, but this is an insane business and I’m glad to be a part of it as crazy as that sounds. I have to say one thing and that is Japan is an incredible place and the people have such tremendous respect for musicians as well as being the most accommodating, back breaking people I have ever witnessed. Oh, before I forget I have to mention the group= Al McKay All Stars. We actually were the final act to perform at the world famous Blue Note Jazz Club in Fukuoka. It was a moment I’ll never forget! From Japan we went to Europe and were there for nearly two weeks, but fortunately the traveling was pretty easy. We visited some cities in Austria that were perhaps the most beautiful pieces of land that was ever created. It was a post card type of picture. I looked and felt dreamy. You know what? It had a milky sensation feeling if you can understand that. We played some great festivals this summer.

The news just gets better, drumroll bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz my wife and I are expecting our first child and we are just in bliss mode. It’s so surreal! We are seeing life change everyday for us and that is getting us excited about family life, something we’ve been wanting for some time. You see, both me and my wife have our families in Texas, NY, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. We’re the only ones out here and so we want to experience that feeling as well. In closing, I want to say happy birthday to my Dad who although is no longer with us, is keeping our spirits alive! Bendicion Pop. Till the next time.

Upcoming gigs
October
11th- Banda bros-Steamers
29th-Estrada Bros.-Steamers
14th- Orange county- with Bijon Watson
15th- Pianist larry Karush Quartet featuring bassist Chris Colangelo, Drummer Kendall Kay

Hey Folks,
May was a wonderful month especially the last week with my wife as we spent time together celebrating my birthday and Memorial Day weekend. We also received great news from Bay area percussionist John Santos and his wife Aida on the birth of their newborn baby girl, Avelina! We’re so happy for you and she was born on my birthday. Incredible! As we say in NY and PR ‘Vaya, but V is pronounced as a B {‘Baya}.

Also, my beautiful mom Lucille will be celebrating her birthday too on June 2. My mom has not aged and that has a lot to do with the Taino Indian DNA as well dancing 2 to 4 times a week for the past….. Happy Birthday Mom! Well hope to see you out there supporting live music. Check these dates out and say hello to me! Till next time….

Hey Ya,
May has always been a great month, especially if you’re a Gemini. Yes my birthday is coming to town, on the 28th to be precise. What is even freakier is the fact that my Mom’s birthday is 5 days later. We always had great birthday parties growing and this is the time of year that I reflect on the past. Blessings to all and please if you can, come out to one of my performances shown below.

Tuesday, May 10th- Banda Bros, Steamers Café, Fullerton, CA
Every Wednesday- Henry Mora's 23 piece Orchestra, Mama Juanas, Studio City, CA
May 14th-Estrada Brothers, Steamers Café, Fullerton, CA
Friday, May 20th-Saxophonist Scott Martin, Spaghettini Bar and Grill, Seal Beach, CA
Saturday, May 21st-Guitarist Michael Ripoll, Spaghettini Bar and Grill, Seal Beach, CA
Sunday, May 22nd-Jazz on the Latin Side All-Stars, Steamers Café, Fullerton, CA
Monday, May 30th-Vocalist Sandy Graham, Playboy Jazz Festival at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA check the website for times
Monday, May 30th-Mark Towns Quartet, Spazio Restaurant,Sherman Oaks, CA
Tuesday, May 31st- Sonolux, King King, Hollywood CA

As always you can my Links page to locate all performances. Check it out!

Hello again,
It’s been quite a while since the last time I’ve written. Well let’s see, I’ve been pretty much in town, working on various projects as well as teaching. I have to say that I really enjoy teaching especially when I have good students. It can truly be a most rewarding experience!

I will be going out of town this week with none other than Poncho Sanchez to fill in for new member Alfredo Ortiz and by the way, congrats to you Alfredito. For those who don’t know him, he is not only a tremendous musician, but MORE IMPORTANTLY, a beautiful person.

I want to send my deepest condolences to the Garcia family. Bassist Raul Garcia was a gentle spirit who was affectionately known as “Fatso.” He along with his brothers timbalero Rudy and pianist Robert were known as the Garcia Brothers, a latin jazz band in the spirit of Poncho Sanchez. Keep the music playing up there Raul. Que descanse en paz-rest in peace.

I want to share one last thing. I had the honor and privilege of recording with Grammy award winning organist Joey Defrancesco in August of 2004 with my close friends Ramon and Tony Banda who played their butts off, but a very special person who sadly left us shortly before the album release, and this album really was a tribute to his legacy, was Mr. Jimmy Smith, the most influential Hammond B3 Organist of all time. The album coincidentally is called Legacy. Check this album out. It is a must have! That’s all for now. Peace ...

Check out these gigs if you can.

April 19, Michael Whittaker Band with Joey Heredia, Keith Jones and Gilad Ronen-LaVeLee- Studio City, Ca.
April 20, Poncho Sanchez Band –Napa Opera House, Napa , Ca.
April 21-24, Poncho Sanchez Band -Jazz Alley, Seattle, Washington
April 25, Eliseo Borrero Quintet-Spazio Restaurant, Sherman Oaks,Ca
April 30, Poncho Sanchez Band at LaVeLee, Studio City, Ca.
May 1st, Bayalo! Cuban Festival, Inglewood, Ca.

Please check again for updates . . .

Greetings,
As I write this journal, I am returning to Los Angeles from performing in Jakarta, Indonesia. The people are truly wonderful, people who appreciate good down home music. I had the opportunity to see James Brown perform for the first time. WOW!! I could only imagine what he was doing back in the 60s and 70s!! I also had the opportunity to meet Blue and the members of the British R&B soul supergroup Incognito. I was actually on tour with their keyboardist Matt Cooper in late 2003 promoting their debut album called "The Latin Project" which is a collaborative effort with Producer Jez Colin. It was great to reunite once again. Hope to see you soon Matt.
If you've ever been to Jakarta, you know it's a third-world country, but the smiles that we saw on their faces when we performed---they seemed to forget about their struggles and enjoyed it immensly.
I was out with the Al McKay All-Stars and to be quite honest, the band was burning like never before. I actually would like to commend this stellar cast of musicians because they all played their hearts out. And even more remarkable was that we did not rehearse after being off for two months. Must give props to Bill Churchville who performed with us for the very first time. You were burning Bill! I believe that's all for now. Take care and thanks for reading my update.

Thursday, February 3rd, Mike Whittaker Band with Joey Heredia and Carlitos Del Puerto at La Ve Lee
Friday, February 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th, Charangoa at El Floridita Restaurant
Monday, February 7th, Spazio with Eliseo Borrero Tuesday, February 8th, Steamers Café with The Banda Brothers
Wednesday, February 9th, Phil Robinson's Sonora Pa' Gozar! at Monsoon in Santa Monica
Saturday, February 12th, Phil Robinson's Sonora Pa' Gozar! at the Copa Cabana in Pomona
Saturday, February 19th, Bill Cunliffe at the 5th Annual Newport Beach Jazz Party
Wednesday, February 23th, Bayalo at the Vault 350 in Long Beach

February 1, 2005

Greetings! I have just returned from the greatest city outside of Los Angeles-New York City! I spent a week with my wonderful family and also got a chance to see some great music. I want to say thank you Mom, My sister Jessica and her husband Ernie, my niece and nephew Cassandra and Tonio for making me feel special, I Love you all. The weather was extremely cold with lots of snow which made traveling quite challenging, but that did not stop me. I was treated to a super night I was invited by percussionist extraordinaire Bobby Allende. Bobby, thank you for the great night and tremendous playing. For those who may not know Bobby, he is the percussionist for Marc Anthony in both the Salsa and Pop band. By the way, the band that was playing was none other than the 2005 Grammy nominated Spanish Harlem Orchestra led by the legendary pianist, composer, producer Oscar Hernandez. Best of luck to you guys. Oh I must mention the other percussionists involved that night and they are Chino Nuñez and Jorge Gonzalez as well as bassist Maximo Torres. What a section!

The next evening, I went to the Newyorican Poets Cafe which a very famous place where many great poets have made the stage. You might be familiar with the movie Piñiero starring Benjamin Bratt about the life of this poet. If you have not seen this movie, you definitely should check it out. Again I was invited by long time friend, percussionist Tony Rosa. Tony lived in California and was there and instrumental in my early development as an up and coming musician back in 1996. Thank you Tony for your inspiration and our many memories when you were here. We miss you! The next day I went to see my cousin, Jose Mangual Jr. He's been a major influence both as a percussionist for Willie Colón and Hector Lavoe, but also as an incredible singer as a solo artist. We shared many memories both past and present as well as into the future! His father was percussion icon Jose Mangual Sr. who was a pioneer of the bongó and played with the Machito Orchestra and Jazz pianist Errol Garner. Thank you Jr. for the wonderful day we shared.

The next night was a special treat as my mother Lucille took me to see a Bomba and Plena group called Zon Del Barrio. This great performs Puerto Rican folkloric music as well Salsa in the style of the great musician, Rafael Cortijo(1928-1982). They even mixed it up some more contemporary styles combining some Hip-Hop and a little slice of Boogaloo. The group features a young up and coming singer named Hector “Papote” Jimenez whose maturity ranks much higher than his youthful 21 years of age. I’m very proud because he’s keeping our tradition alive and we need more of our youth to do remember where they come from. By the way, this group is led by Aurora Flores and her husband David Hernandez. Aurora has been a leading activist in spreading the gospel of Puerto Rican culture to the world.

My final night was spent at the home of Latin Percussion founder Martin Cohen where he had a big birthday celebration with family and friends and all the percussionist you can think of. Let me mention some of the names that were there. Marc Quiñones, Steve Kroon, Bobby Allende, Doc Gibbs, who by the way can be seen on Emeril Live, Pedro Martinez , Tony Escapa, Steve Thornton, Ralph Irizarry, Little Johnny Rivero , my cousin Luis Mangual and more which I can’t remember at this time. What a celebration it was and the playing was phenomenal. Oh yes, Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez’s Daughter Cita was there and she sang incredibly. It was great to meet her and all the other people I mentioned. I think that’s about it. One thing is for sure, it was a week to remember.

Last but definitely not least, on Wednesday February 2nd. Me and my wife will be celebrating our 3rd year of marriage. I’m so happy that I have my soul mate and best friend Yadhira in my life. I Love you Booby!! Thank you for all your support and encouragement. You have made me become a better person!! Well, until the next time…

January 9, 2005

Feliz Año Nuevo 2005! It's always great to start the year on a clean slate. I'm so excited this year. Japan was a phenomenal success as I was touring with Al McKay and played to sold out audiences at the Blue Note jazz clubs in Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka. Holidays would not be possible without families, but we have some special people we consider family and every year we spend the holidays with them and they are Mario and Gloria Baez and their family and also to Victor Baez and his family Jackie, Christian and Emilio for making us feel like family.

I also would like to extend a thank you to Martin and Vivienne Cohen, founder of Latin Percussion and Joey Heredia for inviting me to perform on the LP Holiday CD, Vol.4, A Passion for Music. You can check out this performance on Congahead.com to enjoy this and a host of other great percussionists.

Here are a few places where I will be playing this month:

Friday, January 14th at Spaghettini's with Scott Martin (Poncho Sanchez)
Saturday, January 22 with the Jazz on the Latin Side All- Stars at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State L.A.

Check my Links page for locations and other information. That's all for now. Please check back again for new dates. Ciao!

December 23, 2004

Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza, & Happy Channukah Everyone! May God bless you this holiday season. It's off to Japan for New Year's 2005 with Al McKay's Earth Wind & Fire Experience.

May 2005 bring much happiness and prosperity to all artists, friends and family!

December 6, 2004

This just in . . . Joey's composition, 1070 Elder Avenue, The Bronx, off of the latest Banda Brother's album Acting Up!, has hit the charts in Denver placing at #16 in Jazz 89-KUVO's Denver Hit Parade based on airplay of Latin jazz during the week and their Sunday salsa show as compiled by Arturo Gómez, Music Director. It will be appearing in the current December-January issue of Latin Beat Magazine.

December 3, 2004

Greetings from Moscow! The temperature is 12 degrees but the band is around 100. EW&FEx funkafized Mosconians and is now headed to the warm sands of the Islas Canarias. Joey is due back in LA on Tuesday night. He might even be back in time to go play at the King King. What can you say, the man is passionate about the music.

We hope everyone had a nice Turkey Day! We sure did spending it with our friends in LA. Thank you to the Baez family for always opening their hearts and home to us! Peace!

November 19, 2004

Joey is currently in Mexico City, on tour with singer/songwriter, living-legend, Juan Gabriel. They've been touring all over the US and Mexico since September of this year playing all of his hits including Amor Eterno, Querida, Noa Noa, Te Sigo Amando, and many, many more. He even sings Con Tu Amor in English! After each concert, Juan Gabriel spends a few hours meeting fans and signing autographs! Truly a humble person after all these years.

At the end of the month, Joey will then head out to a new destination, Moscow, Russia with Al McKay's Earth Wind & Fire Experience! McKay was part of the original group back in the day and is creditted with writing many of the hit tunes we've all come to love. The group then takes their Boogie Wonderland to Japan for New Year's!