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LATIN JAZZ @ MONDO with Grammy Award Artist THE RAPHAEL CRUZ QUINTET in Concert

A special music concert comes to the popular LATIN JAZZ @ MONDO monthly series on Saturday, April 1, 2017 at 8:00pm. The acclaimed Grammy Award winning percussionist Raphael Cruz and His Quintet will perform at the concert venue at MONDO, located at 426 Springfield Avenue in downtown Summit, NJ. The quintet includes accomplished musicians; Jay Rodriguez on sax, pianist Carlos Cuevas, drummer Richie Morales, and bassist Donald Nicks.

You are surrounded by inspiring fine art at this intimate venue as you enjoy a monthly concert experience with the best of Latin jazz artists from NYC and beyond.

Multi-percussionist and Grammy winner Raphael Cruz was born on May 27th, 1947, in the Dominican Republic, in the town of Villa Vasque, located in the northeastern province of Monte Cristi. His parents arrived there from Cuba, later settling in Santiago de los Caballeros.

His formative years and exposure to countless strong music influences led Raphael to a level of excellence that few possess. He is probably the best kept secret in Latin jazz. Raphael has long been recognized by his fellow musicians as a gifted percussionist and bandleader, possessor of exquisite sensitivity and impeccable timing, a veteran who has shared both the stage and the recording studio with such legendary performers as Mongo Santamaría, Ray Barretto, George Benson, Paquito DRivera, Herbie Mann, McCoy Tyner, Bette Midler, Flora Purim, Harry Connick Jr., and Chaka Khan.

His album production, Bebop Timba, won him the prestigious Grammy award for musical excellence in 2004. It won the coveted prize for the Best Latin Jazz Recording. It is rich in beauty, nuance, controlled passion and unadulterated rhythm.

His most recent endeavor; Time Travel, is equally satisfying and includes quite an impressive guest list of stars: Sonny Fortune, Claudio Roditi, Dave Valentin, Raleph Vowen, Danilo Aviles, Stefan Held, Manuel Valera, Sergio Brandau, Pablo Vergara, Greg Murphy, Roman Diaz, Giovanni Valladares, Diego Lopez, Alexis Zayas, Victor Prieto, with special appearances by vocalists Pedro Martinez, David Oquendo and Chico Alvarez. This high-end production was handled by Raphael and Luis Damian Guell, who recorded and mastered all of his music albums. Starting with the Bebop Timba recording, Guell had a more direct hand in the way the music was recorded. The result has been sheer magic.

Mr. Cruz currently resides with his family in New Jersey and is a very active member of the arts community in the Hudson County area, often touring outside the area as well. To most of his friends and colleagues however, he is simply known as Raffi. His work as an innovative leader and producer is not yet finished. More projects are on the horizon. Meanwhile he continues to perform with his group and can be heard regularly at various jazz venues in the tri-state area and beyond. To his credit he has surrounded himself with a crew of equally adept musicians who form the nucleus of his working unit. Collectively they conjure up feelings that are refined and deep, hot and sensual.

Concert tickets are priced at $25. Reservations & info are also available by calling the Teatro Si box office at 908-301-9496 or purchase tickets in person at MONDO in Summit. We recommend enjoying a fine meal at one of several fine restaurants in downtown Summit before or after the show. Event proceeds benefit programming efforts at Teatro Si, a 501(c) 3 not for profit organization.