Daily Dose Of Jazz…
DANIEL DIAZ 11.22.25
Daniel Díaz Fernández was born on November 22, 1963 in Lanús, Argentina. Living in Paris, France since 1997, he has collaborated with Juan Carlos Cáceres, on the single Tango Negro, and on the album Toca Tango. In 1993 he recorded his first album The Years Alone released by Green Linnet/Xenophile Records. The variety of styles in this album was mentioned by critics. He played most of the parts fretted and fretless basses, keyboards, acoustic and electric guitars, percussion, and more.
He continued this solo career with Segundo Ciclo, recorded in 1997, released by Dutch jazz label Timeless Records in 2002, and Swan Song, released in 2015, always with guest players from around the world. Both albums featured the cosmopolitan jazz-fusion style of the first one.
Since 2005 Diaz has been composing and recording for films, TV and documentaries. He works for French publisher and music library Cezame Music Agency for whom he composed and recorded more than 250 tracks and released 5 albums alone or in collaboration.
Since 2010 his music has been used on many TV documentaries and films. In 2022 his track “Club Recoleta” from the album Elec’ Tango was used on Tom McCarthy’s feature film Stillwater
Bassist, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, composer, Raúl Diaz whose last collaboration in 2023 with Raúl Barboza was on the album Souvenirs Panamericanos, continues to perform and compose.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Rolando Matias was born on November 20, 1957 in Cupey Alto, San Juan, Puerto Rico. A self-taught musician, he applies his formal training as an architect into his musical education. He started playing percussion at a young age at the local Bembes, a neighborhood gathering where rumberos jam and improvise together.
Rolando has performed or recorded with Chuchito Valdez, Benny Maupin, Leon ..Ndugu.. Chadler, Azar Lawrence, Othello Molineaux, Mimi Fox, Bobby Matos, Bobby Sanabria, Bill Summers, Lenny Castro, Eddie “The Chief” Clearwater, Kenny Neal, Duke Robillard, Cleveland Roberto Ocasio, David Sanchez, and the list goes on and on.
His projects vary from Rolando Matias & The Afro-Rican Ensemble, Afro-Latin-BeBop, Latin-Soulsa & Jazz RM:Intrin-x-ico, Afro-Jazz Rolando Matias & Cuba-son Salsa na ma!, and Afro-Latin-Hip/Hop.
Percussionist Rolando Matias, who plays congas, bongos, cowbells, bata drums, hand percussion, claves, guiros, and maracas, etc, continues to perform and explore music from the African Diaspora.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Tupac Mantilla was born October 21, 1978 in Bogotá, Columbia. Holding a Master of Music Honors Degree from the New England Conservatory, he won first prize at the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra’s Classical Soloist Competition in 2002.
As a scholar, Mantilla is associated with Stanford University and the Berklee College of Music. He gives workshops and lectures and runs rhythm/percussion oriented programs worldwide, through Percuaction’s Global Rhythm Institute (GRI), of which he is founder, CEO and artistic director.
Mantilla has appeared at festivals, institutions and venues and several percussion-oriented workshops and lectures for multi-national companies and organizations around the world.
Mantilla has collaborated and performed with artists including Bobby McFerrin, Bill Cosby, Esperanza Spalding, Zakir Hussain, Savion Glover, Danilo Perez, Tia Fuller, Julian Lage, Reinhard Flatischler, Kenny Werner, John Patitucci, Bob Moses, Cecil McBee, Medeski Martin & Wood, Lisa Fischer, Selene Muñoz, Jamey Haddad, Anders Koppel, and the Bogotá’s Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.
Drummer and percussionist Tupac Mantilla, who is the artistic director of the percussion group Tekeyé, continues to devote much of his time to his solo percussion project.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Angel ‘Cachete’ Maldonado was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico on Oct. 16, 1951 to a father who was a respected orchestra bassist. He began his musical studies with formal piano lessons, but had an early inclination to percussion and went under the tutelage of drummer Julio ‘Maco’ Rivera. His curiosity of Afro-Cuban music led him to the batá drums, and their religious and spiritual connotations, then to conga and bongo.
While on the island, he joined the popular band of Johnny El Bravo, then relocated to New York in the early 1970s. Once there he played with Carlos “Patato’ Valdés and Julito Collazo. This led him to become the featured bongo player with La Conspiración, then teamed up with pianist Larry Harlow. He remained for extensive tours of North and South America, and established his standing as a top tier percussionist. He performed with Eddie Palmieri, Louie Ramirez, Conjunto Libre, and Tipica 73, and recorded with Machito and Dizzy Gillespie.
Maldonado went on to play with Gato Barbieri, Weather Report, Freddie Hubbard, Jorge Dalto, Airto Moreira among others. In 1980 he started his seminal group Batacumbele, blending the Cuban songo beat with bomba and plena. Batacumbele had a compact but highly regarded recording output of five albums including a compilation disc. The release of the self-titled record was an instant hit and solidified his standing as a percussionist and bandleader.
Suffering a debilitating stroke in 2005, Cachete curtailed his performances which led to further complications. However, he regained much of his vibrancy and in 2010 Cachete Maldonado y Los Majaderos released Rumba Boricua Campesina to much acclaim on the island and in New York.
Percussionist Cachete Maldonado continues to lead his band at the local gigs and advance Afro-Caribbean music.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Fernando Álvarez Ariza was born in Santander, Columbia on October 6, 1977. He began his musical studies at the artistic culture department of Santander DICAS and continued his studies in harmony with Rito Mantilla and classical guitar with Silvio Martinez at the Universidad Industrial de Santander. He graduated with a Bachelor in music degree and took a workshop at Los Angeles International Christian University, strengthening his studies in electric guitar, jazz fundamentals, and production. He later received tutoring from guitarists Bruce Saunders and Pino Marrone.
He has done rock projects with the group Osmosis from Bucaramanga, Santander, with whom he recorded a single called Atrás de los Sueños with the collaboration of guitarist Mauricio Espinoza. His jazz projects include the staging of the work Santandereano by bassist José “Chepe” Ariza at the national festival Jazz al Parque in Bogotá.
He has shared the stage with Bruce Saunders, Eric Halvorson, Javier Colina, Héctor Martignon, Antonio Arnedo, Oscar Acevedo, Chepe Ariza, Gabriel Rondón, Sebastián Monsalve, Pacho Dávila, Ricardo Uribe, Oscar Serrano Prada, Lalo Ariza, Germán Sandoval, Sincopa Jazz Band, among others.
His recent album, Arquitectura Sonora, features Cuban saxophonist Leonardo Molina and trumpeter Jorge Méndez. He fuses electronic textures, improvisation, and elements of Colombian folk and urban culture. He has taught at the Gentil Montaña Foundation, Corporación Cristiana Universitaria, Los Angeles International Christian University, and is currently a professor at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Pamplona, Colombia.
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