ABOUT ENCUENTRO NYC
ENCUENTRO NYC unites New York City’s Colombian talent every year presenting nearly 60 musicians on one stage. Founded in 2003 by Colombian pianist, composer and bandleader Pablo Mayor, the festival celebrates the richness of the traditions of Colombian music, while at the same time supporting the innovations and developments of these traditions. Past artists have featured special guests Totó la Momposina, Plectro Trio, and such local artists as MAKU SoundSystem, Edmar Castañeda, Lucía Pulido, Marta Gómez, Samuel Torres, Hector Martignon, Pablo Mayor’s Folklore Urbano Orchestra, Gregorio Uribe Big Band, Grupo Chonta, Grupo Rebolú, Sebastián Cruz, Alejandro Flórez, La Cumbiamba ENeYe, Johanna Castaneda y su Grupo Llanero, Ricardo Gallo, and Chia’s Dance Party, among others. A grass-roots production of the husband/wife duo, musicians Pablo and Anna Mayor, ENCUENTRO NYC’s broader mission is to promote Colombian culture in the U.S.A., positively transforming the external face of Colombia through the voices of its artists young and old.

Sebastián Cruz official site | Sebastián Cruz on Facebook | Sebastián Cruz on YouTube

Guitarist, composer and singer-songwriter, Sebastián Cruz has led and been a part of many influential bands in the Colombian music scene in NY including Lucía Pulido, La Cumbiamba eNeYé, Samurindó, Los Aliens, and his own Coba, The Cheap Landscape Trio, and Sebastián Cruz Band. In this projects he has contributed his sound and vision through his compositions and arrangements. In the last year Sebastián has been exploring his singing voice. First singing in the subway, and later singing in restaurants around New York in order to grow as a singer. For this Encuentro Sebastián will create a brand new ensemble to rediscover some of his old songs. Some from the last phase of his band Coba, and others created for movies. This is a rare performance of very dear repertoire that has never been released, and seldom been performed.

Featuring:
Sebastian Cruz, voice and requinto
Iván Barenboim, clarinet
Ryan Keberle, trombone
Chris Vanvoorst-Vambeest, bass
Jonathan Gomez-Cornejo, percussion
Martín Vejarano, drums

CHIA’s Dance Party is a New York City-based Quintet. The band delivers a unique musical experience where infectious danceable grooves mix harmoniously with extensive compositional and improvisational work. The quintet performs original material inspired by the Colombian rhythmic and melodic traditions, yet explores different genres and compositional approaches. CHIA’s Dance Party has a distinct sound as a result of the diverse background of its musicians. Ben Stapp, an exceptional tuba player brings his vast experience in experimental, Jazz and classical music. Alex Terrier on soprano sax delivers the best, virtuosic sounds of modern jazz. Justin Wood on alto sax and flute adds adventurous and fearless contemporary sounds and concepts. Rafi Malkiel on Euphonium brings his Middle Eastern, Salsa Dura, and Colombian sounds to complement this stellar ensemble. All of these sounds are catalyzed by musical director and composer, Martín Vejarano on Drums.
 

WWW.CHIAMUSIC.COM

Colombian Born Guitarist Nilko Andreas Guarin has performed throughout the United States, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, Brazil, Germany, France and Portugal, and among numerous prizes is the recipient of the Colombia Exterior Award 2006, given to Colombians who have distinguished themselves outside of their native country, and “The Recognition award”, 2008 given by the city of New York for his contribution to the Arts.

http://www.aler.org/produccioninformativa/index.php/csm2/3151-artistas-latinoamericanos-dan-concierto-por-la-paz-de-musica-clasica-en-europa

Originally from Bogotá Colombia, pianist Ricardo Gallo and guitarist Alejandro Flórez have been generating several projects that relate contemporary musical expressions to the musical traditions of their homeland. In this duo project, they present their own pieces inspired by the music from the Colombian Andes. Alejandro Flórez plays in this project tiple and bandola, two traditional string instruments from the region. Gallo and Flórez explore the possibilities of improvisation and composition departing from the sounds of these instruments.
 
alejandroflorez.com
ricardogallo.com

Carrying the Zuleta’s family legacy, a long line of great Vallenato musicians, New York based pianist, composer, singer and producer Alejandro Zuleta, presents an exciting journey into this alluring Colombian musical tradition from the Caribbean coast of Colombia.
 

Traditionally played on acordeón, during the last couple of years Alejandro has explored ways of translating this Vallenato acordeón repertoire to the piano. The result of this exploration is the unique sound of the Alejandro Zuleta Vallenato Collective, that performs regularly at Terraza 7 (NYC). The band presents an exciting journey into traditional Vallenato music—filled with catchy melodies, contagious rhythms, and true to the spirit of “La Parranda”. The group also gives space for creative and engaging spaces of solo and collective improvisation.
 
www.alejandrozuletamusic.com

This powerhouse 12-member orchestra seamlessly fuses the danceable swing of traditional Colombian rhythms with the lush subtleties of contemporary jazz harmonies and unique arrangements. The ensemble is driven by a rhythm section deeply grounded in traditional Colombian music. Like a feisty chef, leader Pablo Mayor then adds explosive horns and soaring, colorful vocalists to produce a tasty, sultry, addictive blend! Pablo Mayor, pianist/composer/arranger/producer, has dedicated the last 13 years to writing, producing, and promoting Colombian music. And his medium to reach the global community is his orchestra Folklore Urbano. The band presents Colombian music in Pablo’s unique style—-elegant, sophisticated (think Duke Ellington), while all along adhering to a strict philosophy of groove. Pablo is a seasoned writer, and his experience playing in dance bands goes back to his teenage years growing up in Cali, Colombia. He’s been pianist and arranger for the 50-year old Cuban charanga band Orquesta Broadway for the past 13 years, and he’s been commissioned to write for Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro-Latin Big Band in NYC. FU showcases Pablo’s skill at orchestration and his in-born drive to produce music that stirs his audience to get up and dance if and whenever possible! (*note his frequent collaboration with Colombian dancer Daniel Fetecua and his Pajarillo Pinta’o dance company) The band is now an establishment in NYC, and has appeared throughout Canada, the USA, and Colombia at such renowned venues as: Chicago World Music Festival, Houston’s Miller Theatre, Detroit’s Symphony Hall (Festival of Colors), Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, Milwaukee Latino Arts, Festival International de Arte (Cali, Colombia), SunFest, Quebec City Summer Music Festival, Ottawa Blues Fest, Toronto Harbourfest, etc.
 
http://www.folkloreurbano.com

With the founding of Pajarillo Pinta’o in 2003, Artistic Director Daniel Fetecua Soto has started to investigate the fusion of traditional dances and rhythms of Colombian Folklore with the principals of modern dance and German tanz-theater. Pajarillo Pinta’o took its first steps as a traditional Colombian Folkloric dance ensemble while Colombian founder and artistic director Daniel Fetecua Soto was a student at the Folkwang Hochsule in Essen, Germany.
 
Later his choreography became shaped by not only his cross-cultural studies of Colombian traditional dance at Universidad Nacional in Colombia, but by his newly acquired experiences and training in dance-theatre, modern, and contemporary dance-notably, his position in the world-renowned Jose Limon dance company.
 
The culmination of this training and performance history has birthed a movement that interweaves the rhythms, music, choreographic structure and rites of the native dances of Colombia, with the lyricim and neo-expressionism found in contemporary dance.
 
http://www.pajarillopintao.org/

“Uribe shows his poetic lyricism and intelligent composing and arranging. He offers a fresh view of classic Latin rhythms.” (JazzTimes.com)
 
Born in Colombia, Uribe leads the high energy, 16-piece band that blends Colombian rhythms cumbia and chandé with funk and powerful jazz technique. Credited by The Boston Globe with creating “an intoxicating variety” of music, Uribe has performed with Grammy winners Carlos Vives and Arturo O’Farrill and has been interviewed by CNN, Univisión, El Tiempo, and The Miami Herald. Cumbia Universal will be released by prestigious Latin jazz label Zoho Music, which has released albums by Grammy-winning artists Ray Barreto, Arturo O’Farrill, and Bobby Sanabria. More information on Uribe and his buzzing band is available on GUBB’s official website. GUBB’s live performance consists of a remarkable combination of trumpets, trombones, and clarinets soaring over an amazing percussion section and the leader of the band dancing to the beat while rocking out on his accordion. GUBB revitalizes the sounds of the Colombian cumbia big bands of the 60’s by adding to Uribe’s original, more modern songs. The band features a unique combination of New York’s top musicians from all around the world, including Argentina, Canada, Mexico and the U.S. Uribe’s whirlwind travels began when he studied at the Berklee College of Music, where he was awarded the Steve Gadd Zildjia Scholarship Award in 2007. He moved to New York City in 2008 and soon established himself firmly within the heart of the city’s music scene. Uribe has since taken his music to The Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), Blue Note Jazz Club (NYC), the United Nations, and the Colombian Embassy to The Netherlands. In 2012, Uribe was named by Colombia’s government one of the 100 Most Outstanding Colombians Living Abroad. The list included Shakira, Nobel Prize winner García Márquez, and actress Sofia Vergara.
 
Cumbia Universal features a collaboration with 7-time Grammy winner Ruben Blades, and other guests including guests from Senegal, Israel, and Portugal. “Cumbia is considered by some a rhythm, by others a genre and still others a movement. In this album cumbia is rhythm itself: tension and release, ones and zeros, action and reaction, down beat and up beat…continuous movement. It is also future roots and a common past.
 
“Paint your village and you will be universal” was the Tolstoy quote that I mentioned to Juan Pablo when we met to discuss the concept of this album. I don’t remember how I came by these words but they struck a chord in me, as years before I had decided that my palette was a 16-piece orchestra and my village, Colombia. With sincere love I have painted the streets and houses of my village from afar, hoping that others will see in it their own.” -Gregorio Uribe
 
Gregorio Uribe Big Band official site

M.A.K.U. Soundsystem official site | M.A.K.U. Soundsystem on Facebook
| M.A.K.U. Soundsystem on Twitter | M.A.K.U. Soundsystem on Bandcamp

M.A.K.U Soundsystem is an immigrant band from New York City. With most of its members hailing from Colombia, M.A.K.U embodies an active quest for identity through sound and bodies in motion, and puts on a party for everyday people. Born in 2010 the band has independently released two full-length albums, one EP, and toured across the U.S. with their fiery grooves.

M.A.K.U’s distinctive sound is enriched with a variety of musical backgrounds brought to the table by each of its members. Although not inherently discernible there are hints of Colombian Folklore, Psychedelic-rock and Caribbean grooves. It all comes together through a D.I.Y. attitude of getting things done, from composing to releasing independent records; M.A.K.U is as much about the music as it is about a way of life.

On stage MA.K.U juxtaposes traditional Colombian percussion, drum-set, synthesizers, electric base, guitar and sizzling horns, creating an explosive performance filled with unshakable grooves. Lyrically M.A.K.U talks about the realities of everyday people, encompassing love, hardships, culture, and the immigrant experience, but with a positive, spiritual and sometimes humorous spin.

M.A.K.U released their first album at Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors’ La Casita in the summer of 2010. Vamos Bien is an experimental record made as the band explored different musical landscapes and collaborators. This album served as a stepping-stone for the formation of the band.

By 2011 the band consolidated its members and further developed its sound leading to the recording of their second record MAKUMBALA. This time the album was recorded directly to tape and with all musicians playing together, choosing the best out of three takes. MAKUMBALA was released at S.O.B’s as a limited 7-inch vinyl single, and a full-length digital download. The album art on this record was the result of collaboration with Brazilian street-artist Eder Muñiz, who took the ideas and concept developed by the band and turned them into a breathtaking mural. Photographs of the mural were adapted to fit the cover, providing the final touch to the band’s second musical work.

M.A.K.U’s third album M.N.D. (Music Never Dies) was released as a 12-inch vinyl EP at New York City’s Joe’s Pub in November of 2012. Through it the band illustrates its discovery and development of a shared musical language they like to refer to as “Immigrantbeat.” Recorded at Brooklyn’s The Bunker Studio in collaboration with Strange Weather, M.N.D. came together by choosing the best out of a few takes of the full band playing virtually in the same room, in an effort to capture the rambunctious energy of their live performances, and once again recording directly onto tape. The album art was developed in collaboration with members of a local New York band called The Peeps, and illustrates a combination of scenes described through the album’s lyrics with splashes of vibrant color and lively characters. This art was featured on Remezcla (an online Latin culture magazine) as one of the best 12 album covers of 2012.

In August of 2013 M.A.K.U released the official music video for the song El Jugo from M.N.D. In a raw and simple way the video aims to illustrate the struggle found in following artistic dreams while working extra to make a living in the hustle of New York City. Directed and edited by Max Ocampo, this message quickly reached a wide audience thanks to multiple shares through social media and a variety of music blogs and online outlets both local and internationally.

M.A.K.U is currently tightening new grooves and sharpening their moves for the completely independent recording of their fourth album to date, to be released in 2014.

M.A.K.U has been the recipient of the globalFEST Touring Fund in 2012 and was nominated and selected as one of nine artist to join the 2014-15 New York State Presenters Network Touring Roster. They have been featured in such prominent media outlets as Afropop, WNYC, NY Daily News, Village Voice, TimeOut NY, Remezcla (NY, Los Angeles and Chicago), Periscope, Sounds and Colours.

M.A.K.U has performed at universities, festivals and venues across the east and west coast including: SXSW (Austin, TX), GlobalFest (New York, NY), Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival (Lincoln Center, New York, NY), S.O.B’s (New York, NY), Joe’s Pub, (New York, NY), Le Poisson Rouge (New York, NY), BAMcafé Live, (Brooklyn, NY), Music Hall of Williamsburg (Brooklyn, NY), Brooklyn Bowl (Brooklyn, NY), Millennium Park (Chicago, IL), Old Town School of Folk Music (Chicago, IL), World Music Festival (Chicago, IL) Real Art Ways (Hartford, CT), Global Roots Festival, The Cedar, (Minneapolis, MN)
Echale Festival (San Antonio, TX) Levitt Pavilion (Pasadena, CA), Los Globos (Los Angeles, CA, Global Union(Milwaukee, WI), Concert of Colors (Detroit, MI), Musikfest (Bethlehem, PA), Small World Music Festival (Toronto, Canada) Swarthmore College, Princeton University, Darmouth College to name but a few.

Grupo Rebolú official site
Grupo Rebolú on Soundcloud

Is an Afro-Colombian musical ensemble comprised of some of the finest Colombian musicians in the United States. The group came out of the desire of Ronald Polo (vocalist/composer/gaitero) and Morris Canate (master folkloric percussionist) to promote the rich musical traditions of their ancestors; the Afro-descendents of Colombia’s Caribbean coast.

It is their belief that these folkloric traditions should continually evolve over time and with the ideas of new generations of folklorists, a belief surely reflected in their music.

The original compositions of Ronald Polo forge new paths for Colombian music while respectfully remaining faithful to its ancestral roots. In the process, they create a truly unique musical and cultural experience.

From traditional songs to original compositions, the entirety of Rebolu’s repertoire is loaded with energy, history and danceability. Their unique reinterpretations of traditional Afro-Colombian rhythms such as Gaita, Tambora, Chalupa and Bullerengue, among others, make it extremely well suited not only for festivals and cultural events, but also for nightclubs. We hope you listen and enjoy..