Benjamin Lapidus brings his guitar, Cuban tres, and Puerto Rican cuatro to the group as well as his experience performing with many of the top names in both jazz and Latin music. A graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Ben earned his Ph.D. in Music at the CUNY Graduate Center in May 2002. In demand lecturer and clinician, Ben's articles on Cuban and Puerto Rican music have appeared in books, magazines and scholarly journals. He currently teaches tres and guitar in the Jazz and Contemporary Music program at The New School University.
A native of New York, Felix Sanabria has been performing and recording for over twenty years with such renowned artists as Celia Cruz, Grupo Afrocuba de Matanzas, Lazaro Ros, Eddie Palmieri, Tanya Leon, Puntilla y su Nueva Generacion, and Michelle Rosewoman's New Yoruba, among others. Audiences throughout the U.S., Latin America and Europe have been thrilled by this master of Afro-Caribbean folklore whenever he plays his congas and batá drums.
Hector Torres was born in San German, Puerto Rico and grew up in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. He began playing percussion at the age of four and received his tutelage from family members who played strings, percussion and sang. From this rich experience he has gone on to play timbales with Ray Barretto, Sunrise, Orquesta Novedades, Conjunto Mayombe, Chico Alvarez, Grupo Caché, Conjunto Naborí, José Fajardo, The Moonrats, Rey Saba, Charanga Creación, Fuego '77, and Orquesta La Sorpresa, among many others.
Bassist Frank Cotto was born in Cidras, Puerto Rico and moved to New York City at the age of eight. After finishing high school at the prestigious Music and Art magnet school, he went on to study music at the world renowned New School. Frank was a founding member of The Authority and has worked with Arnie Lawrence, Bernard Purdie and Lew Soloff. He frequently performs with his band, Vaya and can be seen on Nickelodeon's Noggin with his unique children's musical group, Hot Peas 'n Butter.
When asked to label Sonido Isleño's music, critics and fans agree that it is Latin Jazz in the truest sense of the term: Sonido Isleño explores different ways of mixing Jazz and Spanish-Caribbean music, while making the music accessible, organic, and logical. This is the direct result of the New York musicians involved, who are completely bi-cultural, a benefit of being residents of the largest Caribbean city in the United States. Active since 1996, Sonido Isleño is the brainchild of Dr. Benjamin Lapidus and is made up of master musicians who have performed and recorded with a who's who of Latin music including Eddie Palmieri, Celia Cruz, Ray Barretto, and The Buena Vista Social Club, among others.
In an August 2004 interview with Nestor Gómez for Barranquilla's major newspaper, El Heraldo, Lapidus explained his musical concept: "Many people say that Latin Jazz must have certain characteristics. But I look for ways to put jazz into Latin music rather than making Latin music subordinate to jazz, which is the classic notion of Latin Jazz. I try to present musical situations that can bring folkore and jazz together in a straight-forward fashion, so that the listener doesn't lose the harmonic complexity of jazz."
Unlike other Latin Jazz groups that feature traditional jazz instruments, Sonido Isleño achieves its sound with string instruments and percussion. Their first album, ¿Quién Tiene Ritmo? (1998), was an instant critics' favorite and received solid airplay. El Asunto (1998) won the group more fans around the world and earned a position on many year-end critics' lists. The band performed on CBS - The Morning Show with Bryant Gumbel and Jane Clayson and made numerous radio appearances throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico to promote the record. In August 2000, EMI-Capitol released Real Latin Jazz - Percussion, Piano & Strings, featuring Sonido Isleño's "Jazz Changüí." This compilation of Latin jazz placed Sonido Isleño in the company of such Grammy award-winning artists such as Chucho Valdés, Eddie Palmieri, Poncho Sánchez, and Giovanni Hidalgo. Tres is the Place (2001) cemented Sonido Isleño's position amongst Latin jazz fans and radio programmers. Many critics named it in their top ten albums of 2001. The band performed in TNN's James Bond commercials and performed at various high-profile jazz venues in the U.S. and Europe. In 2004, Blue Tres was hailed by critics as their best album to date and the band performed throughout the U.S. and in Colombia to support it. Blue Tres made 4 top-ten lists for Latin Beat Magazine's year-end issue in 2004.
Sonido Isleño's newest release, Vive Jazz (2005), marks the next step in this exciting group's signature brand of Latin Jazz.
