What we call Latin music straddles several genres, with one foot in the classical realm, one foot in folk and pop, and a third foot (third foot? sure) in jazz.
Which gives soprano Camille Zamora a lot of terrain to explore, which she will Thursday when she joins the Mambo Kings for this week’s Gateway Series concert with the Grand Teton Music Festival. Their “Havana Nights” program will start in 19th century Spain then cross the Atlantic Ocean to Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Uruguay and Mexico before heading northward into the United States, where many a jazz player picked up on the evocative rhythms and modes that are so characteristic of the music.
“What’s fun about our concert is we trace it as a journey,” Zamora said from her home in New York City. “Another fun thing too about the guys is we’re from all over. [Music Director and pianist] Richard Delaney grew up in Peru, and centuries before his family emigrated from the British Islands. [Conga player] Tony Padilla is originally from Puerto Rico. So we all represent different aspects of Spanish and Latin music.”
…The Mambo Kings — DeLaney, Padilla, percussionist Wilfredo Colón, saxophonist John Viavattine and bassist Hector Diaz — have performed together since 1995, combining Afro Cuban rhythms and jazz improvisation. Their reputation has spread far beyond western New York to play with orchestras in Baltimore, Vancouver, Detroit, Dallas, Naples, Florida, Portland, Oregon, and many place in between. They also have been featured artists at jazz festivals.
