#319 Juan Diego Villalobos- Vibraphonist, Percussionist, Composer and More!
Latin Grammy award winning Juan Diego Villalobos, has developed a varied career as a composer, arranger, and performer making him one of the most sought- after vibraphone players in New York. His album, Perspectiva (2017), is his first step towards reimagining jazz and Afro-Venezuelan music to create a unique new sonority based on their common roots.
Originally from Maracaibo, Venezuela, Villalobos comes from a musical family that initiated him in Venezuelan folkloric music at a really young age, and with whom he performed at different festivals around Mexico and Venezuela. In 2010, Juan Diego moved to Caracas to study at the Simon Bolivar Music Conservatory; at the same time he was part of the renowned Teresa Carreño Youth Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and performed across Europe, Asia and the US as a classical percussionist, sharing the stage with Christian Vazquez and the acclaimed conductor Gustavo Dudamel.
In 2014 he was selected among fourteen Venezuelan musicians to participate at “ Lang Lang & Friends”, a concert held at the United Nations Headquarters in NY city, in celebration of the 69th anniversary of its founding with special guests such as Sting, Alec Baldwin and Lang Lang himself. Simultaneously, Villalobos developed his knowledge of jazz which allowed him to present his compositions and perform with several jazz artists from and across Venezuela and the United States.
Under the tutelage of Stefon Harris and Joe Locke, Villalobos obtained a full scholarship (2018 - 2022) to study jazz vibraphone at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music; learning from luminaries like Buster Williams, Kendrick Scott and Miguel Zenon. During this time he also starts appearing at distinguished New York venues including Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Harlem Stage, Smalls Jazz Club and Birdland, as a bandleader and sideman, performing alongside Paquito D’Rivera, Arturo O’Farrill, Jeremy Pelt, Peter Erskine, Luis Perdomo, Andy Narell, John Beasley, among others.
Villalobos was awarded a Latin Grammy for his participation on the album Identidad by Venezuelan cuatro player Miguel Siso.
R.I.P.
Rest in peace to Rafael Padilla. A beautiful soul, talented musician, and loving father — Rafael worked with a bunch of high-profile artists, including greats like Al Jarreau, Alejandro Sanz, Andrea Bocelli, Céline Dion, Destiny's Child, Chris Isaak, Christina Aguilera, Gloria Estefan, Joe Cocker, Michael Bublé, and Shakira.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to Jessie Caraballo. Jessie was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on February 14, 1985. He has managed to forge a career that few people twice his age achieve. Currently playing with Latin superstar Marc Anthony, Jessie dazzles with his fluid style and technique.
Jessie’s God given abilities were seen early on, at age six, when he began
playing drums with the family band. By the time he was fifteen, he went on his first tour with the Christian band El Trio De Hoy. This began a professional career which would see him playing concerts and local clubs in the local Orlando, Florida area. By the age of sixteen, he landed a gig with Pop/Latin singer Brenda K Starr. This led to many other opportunities, including recording and performing with Huey Dunbar, Don Omar, Tito Nieves, Ng2, Jennifer Lopez, Domingo Quinonez, Tony Vega, Frankie Negron, Charlie Cruz, Michael Stuart, N- Klave, Jose Alberto El Canario, Samuel Hernandez, Ron Kenoly, Tercer Cielo, Vico C, Funky, Jan, Lilly Goodman, William Mcdowell, Sunny Paxson, Sisaundra Lewis, Eric Darius, Nick Collionne and many others. Jessie also has worked with noted producers, among them Sergio George, Ricky Gonzales, Angel Fernandez as well as such clients as Disney World. In 2005 Jessie did a nationwide tour called The Juntos Tour which featured Marc Anthony, Alejandro Fernandez and Chayanne. In 2006 Jessie did another Juntos tour which featured Marc Anthony, Marco Antonio Solis and Laura pausini. In 2007 Jessie did another Juntos tour which featured Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez.
Happy Birthday to Kai Stensgaard. Kai is internationally recognized as a leading concert marimba artist and composer from Denmark. KS specialized on marimba and studied at CSUN in Los Angels with Karen Ervin and in New York City with Leigh Stevens. KS is one of the pioneers in six mallet playing, and he has composed several works for six mallets. Amoung those a concerto for Marimba and Orchestra called “Concierto Mexicano” Many of his compositions and arrangements have been performed by marimba players all over the world. He has been giving concerts and clinics in Europe, USA, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Chile and Mexico.
He is the auther of the method for six mallet playing called “The Six mallet Grip” and has published 7 CDs and a DVD displaying his compositions and personal marimba style. He also premiered many works for marimba, among those a concerto for marimba and orchestra “Ballet in Dark” by Martin Knakkergaard. This piece was later choreographed for performance on the stage by a dancer from the Royal Danish Ballet. The project “Marimbas on Tour” is a concert tour he has done several times in Denmark and Mexico together with Marimba Nandayapa, Mexico. These concerts had focus on the modern marimba and the traditional Mexican marimba. -More
Happy Birthday to Fausto Cuevas III! Fausto is a native of Brownsville, Texas, where he began playing drums at the age of 11. He continued throughout grade and high school, making his way to Boston's Berklee College of Music, where he discovered his love for percussion and studied with Giovanni Hidalgo and Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez.
From Boston, Fausto traveled to Los Angeles where he currently resides.
In addition to performances at the famed Playboy Jazz Festival and The Blue Note in New York City, Fausto has recorded, performed and toured with artists & projects ranging from Latin to Legend, including Julio Iglesias, Celia Cruz, Teena Marie, Cheo Feliciano, Al Jarreau, Tito Nieves, Nestor Torres, Roy Hargrove, and Britney Spears (who he joined for her Onyx Hotel 2004 World Tour).
Fausto recently completed the Sugarwater Festival with Queen Latifah and the High School Musical - The Concert Tour; performed at the World Music and Lady of Soul Music Awards with Sheila E and Amerie; the City of Hope Benefit with Rickey Minor Band and Taylor Hicks; and the Tobago Jazz Festival with Natalie Cole, Vanessa Williams, Patti LaBelle, Najee, and Johnny Gil.
Happy Birthday to Tom Rarick! Tom is a percussionist with the Ceremonial Brass, The United States Air Force Band, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C. A native of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, his Air Force career began in 1997. A graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Rarick earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in percussion performance in 1996. His former teachers include Dr. Gary Olmstead, Dr. Jack Stamp and Mr. Ron Horner. Tom is also the percussion arranger for the Bluecoats Drum Corps.
Happy Birthday to Diego Alvarez! Diego is a master cajón player born in Venezuela. He lived 16 years in Spain where he developed his career alongside the most prestigious flamenco dance companies such as Joaquin Cortez, Antonio Canales, Sara Baras, Nuevo Ballet Español and Paco Peña among others. With more than 12 nominations to the Latin Grammys, winner of a Latin Grammy in 2010 for best Rock album of the year for "Sera" by La Vida Boheme. Promoting El Cajon as a universal instrument, showing its main roots the Peruvian and the flamenco. Now lives in Los Angeles California, where he continues working with different musical projects between flamenco and jazz.
Happy Birthday to Andy Bliss! Andy is a solo artist, conductor, curator, and educator who maintains a dynamic career of musical collaboration. Residing in Knoxville, TN, his performances have been heard locally at the Tennessee Theatre and the Square Room, and abroad in locations such as the Darmstadt Summer Course for New Music (Germany), the Banff Centre for the Arts (Canada), the Patagonia Percussion Festival (Argentina), the LiveWire Festival in Baltimore, and Stanford’s Cantor Center for Visual Arts.
His repertoire ranges from 20th-century masterworks by John Cage, Iannis Xenakis, and Steve Reich, to the performance and advocacy of contemporary composers such as John Luther Adams, David Lang, and Mark Applebaum. His passion for new music has propelled Andy to collaborate on new works with a wide range of today’s leading composers and musicians such as Christopher Adler, Christopher Burns, Evan Chapman, David Crowell, Nicholas Deyoe, Marc Mellits, Lewis Nielson, and Anna Thorvaldsdottir, among many others.
Last season, Andy returned to Knoxville’s Big Ears Festival, revisiting John Luther Adams’ Four Thousand Holes with the nief-norf Project and performing Become Ocean with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra; joined Atlanta’s Chamber Cartel for an evening-length performance of Iannis Xenakis’ Pleaides at the Goat Farm Arts Center; presented the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) International Convention’s New Literature Showcase Concert; appeared in solo recitals at the McCormick Marimba Festival in Tampa, FL and the statewide PAS Day of Percussion in Illinois; and collaborated in Lexington, KY with Dieter Hennings and an all-star cast on a performance of Pierre Boulez’s Le Marteau sans maître.
In the 2016-17 season, Andy will perform on double tenors in Brooklyn’s Panorama with the Crossfire Steel Orchestra; curates the PASIC Focus Day “Celebrating the European Avant-Garde,” a 6-concert event over two days; performs Jennifer Higdon’s percussion concerto under the composer’s baton; conducts the Eastern United States premiere of Mark Applebaum’s Rabbit Hole; directs a performance of Michael Pisaro’s Hearing Metal 3; and performs the world premiere of Constellations by Christopher Burns, an evening-length work for solo percussion and multimedia, written for Bliss.
Andy has made a practice of regularly working with younger composers, performers, and scholars, encouraging inquisitive modes of musical questioning and sustained collaboration with future generations. He is the Artistic Director of nief-norf, whose summer festival is now in its seventh year; there he performs, teaches, and conducts while curating a dozen concerts annually. The festival serves as a yearly contemporary music retreat, where more than fifty international participants enjoy an immersive environment of collaboration, experimentation, and support. Additionally, since 2011, Andy has served as the Director of Percussion Studies at the University of Tennessee, where he founded the Ensemble Knox (resident chamber percussion group), the UT Contemporary Music Ensemble, and the UT Contemporary Music Festival.
A devoted music educator, Andy has presented recitals, lectures, and master classes at the Northern Illinois University New Music Festival, Sewanee Summer Music Festival, National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy (NCPP), Association for Technology in Music Instruction’s (ATMI) National Conference, and the Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic, and has held residencies at the Universities of Alabama, Arizona, Kentucky, South Carolina, and many others. He currently serves the Percussive Arts Society as a member of the New Music Research committee and is Past President of the PAS Tennessee Chapter. Bliss has served on the adjudication jury for both the Music for All National Percussion Festival and the PAS International Percussion Ensemble Competition, and his method book Multitudes (Innovative Percussion) is a widely used pedagogical resource nationally. As a member of the Knoxville community, Bliss spends two weeks annually touring his Steelband and Brazilian Ensemble to Knox County public schools, fusing live performance with cultural and historical community engagement.
A native of Milan, IL, Andy’s percussion studies were mentored by James Campbell, Rich Holly, Robert Chappell, Orlando Cotto, Liam Teague, Cliff Alexis, and the Madison Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps. He is proud to be a Yamaha Performing Artist and thanks Zildjian, Innovative Percussion, Evans, Black Swamp, and Meinl Percussion for their generous support and sponsorships. When not performing or with his students, Andy can be found consuming as much baseball as possible––either watching the Chicago Cubs on television, or playing a game of backyard catch with his wife Erin, and their son, Donovan.
Happy Birthday to Nate Werth! Nate is one of today's most innovative and versatile percussionists. Hailing from Dyer, Indiana, his approach to diverse musical styles, as well as an inventive use of traditional and non-traditional percussion, defines his unique sound. Nate's musical career began at age 8 while taking orchestral percussion lessons. Soon after, he developed a love for all worlds of percussion. After years of practice, Nate decided to pursue a career in music. He subsequently attended the prestigious University of North Texas from 2001 to 2006, where he refined his technical skills and studied with legendary musicians and educators, including Poovalur Sriji, Jose Aponte, Gideon Alorwoyie, Paul Rennick, Christopher Deane, and Mark Ford.
After his formal studies, Nate quickly became a staple in the Dallas-Fort Worth R&B and Gospel music scene. Over the next 11 years, he formed intimate musical relationships with Grammy Award Winners Robert "Sput" Searight, Shaun Martin, and Bernard Wright. In 2013, Nate moved to New York City to further immerse himself in a wide array of musical cultures.
A Meinl Percussion, Meinl Cymbals, Tama Drums, and Vic Firth endorser, Nate has been actively recording and touring world wide for the past decade. He has worked with internationally acclaimed artists such as Snarky Puppy, Screaming Headless Torsos, David Crosby, Q-Tip, Lalah Hathaway, Susana Baca, The Lee Boys, Turkuaz, Myron Butler and Levi, Jamison Ross, and The Metropole Orchestra.
Happy Birthday to Kit Chatham! Kit is an internationally recognized percussionist, performer, composer, arranger, and educator. Kit’s experience in many forms of percussion, including drum set, world percussion, orchestral percussion, and marching percussion, makes him a highly sought after performer & clinician and create a percussive sound that is uniquely his own.
Kit currently is the Drummer/Percussionist and Assistant Band Leader for Cirque du Soleil’s newest touring show, Kurios, and when not on tour resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kit has enjoyed performing all over the world in front of millions of specators over the years with other Cirque du Soleil productions: Kooza (2013-2014), Zumanity (2012-2013), and Mystere (2013). Before those shows, Kit was the original Percussionist/Drummer for both Cirque du Soleil creations Viva Elvis (2009-2012) and Corteo (2005-2009) where he never missed a single show in over 5000+ shows.
You can check out Kit's website Here, and follow him here and here and here.
Happy Birthday to Henry Cole! Henry has performed with acclaimed jazz groups, including the Grammy-nominated Miguel Zenón Quartet ,Grammy winner David Sánchez, The Gary Burton Quartet, Quincy Jone’s Global Gumbo, Alfredo Rodriguez Trio, The Ben Wendel Quartet and the all-star quartet “90 Miles” featuring Sánchez, Stefon Harris and Nicholas Payton. He has also recorded and performed with Chambao, Calle13, Residente and Draco Rosa.
Happy Birthday to Dani Markham! Dani was born in Louisville, Kentucky, where she began playing percussion at the age of 8 in the Fabulous Leopard Percussionists (now known as the Louisville Leopard Percussionists,) under the direction of Diane Downs. Dani excelled in music during these elementary years and began studying privately at the age of 9. While in the Leopards, Dani performed at PASIC several consecutive years and also took 2nd place in the PAS International Marimba competition in 2003.
In 2000, Dani was featured alongside hip-hop phenomenon Jay-Z’s current drummer, Tony Royster, Jr., by the Percussive Marketing Council in their campaign to showcase young drum phenoms. In 2005 she received a full scholarship to the University of Miami where she studied percussion and pursued her interest in Brazilian, Latin, and jazz styles. Her recent collaborations include indie-rock band, Tune-Yards, and Grammy nominee, Childish Gambino. She has appeared on Jimmy Fallon, Conan O’Brien, Jools Holland, and has been featured in Modern Drummer and Tom Tom Magazine.
Gig Alerts
With hits like “P.Y.T”, “Thriller”, ”Give Me the Night”, and “Fly Me To The Moon” performed by an all-star lineup, Quincy Jones’ illustrious body of music will be on full display at the Hollywood Bowl for this incomparable birthday celebration. Join us for two unforgettable evenings of some of the best-selling songs of all time, from the best-selling producer of all time. Get tickets to his 90th Birthday Celebration!
Announcing the Blue Note Napa 2023 jazz festival dates and location, featuring Artist in Residence Robert Glasper with Dave Chappelle! The full lineup will be announced in March but Hotel and Ticket Packages are on sale Friday, February 10.
U2 announced their newest live show at the MSG Sphere during the Super Bowl this fall. ‘U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at the Sphere’ is the band’s first live outing in four years. It follows their Joshua Tree 30th anniversary stadium tour and their 2018 eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE tour. U2 will launch the MSG Sphere.
Damon will be playing with the Atomic Funk Project at the Brooklyn Bowl this Thursday for a themed “Divas of Soul” show.
Educational Spotlight
J Dilla’s music has an incredibly unique feel to it. The most commonly talked about aspect of J Dilla’s production is his drums, BUT there’s a big misconception about Dilla’s drums that we need to talk about. Today we’re diving all the way into Dilla’s time feel, going through the entire history of recorded music, recreating grooves along the way, and in the process of debunking one misconception, we’ll see how Dilla’s contribution to music is even bigger than you think.
Product Review
Damon has released his Plethora of Percussion (aka P.O.P.) pack with Yurt Rock. There are over 1,000 loops and one-shots for drummers, other instrumentalists, engineers, producers, singer-songwriters and more!
Here is the Spotify Playlist of iconic pop percussion songs that Damon and Marcos Torres created.
Iconic Recording
Juan Diego chose the iconic recording for the week. “Cántica (Chimbánguele)” by the Community of Bobures, from the ‘Venezuela: Afro-Venezuelan Music, Vols. 1 & 2’ album put out by UNESCO.
Music News
Spotify streams of Rihanna’s music soar following her Super Bowl LVII performance. Rihanna may not get paid a dime for her Super Bowl performance, but the exposure generated if off the charts.
Rihanna took to the stage for the first time in five years for the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show. She performed a variety of her hits during the show, but the real boost was to her streaming numbers immediately after the show ended. Spotify says streams of Rihanna’s music took off 349% after the show ended. -Article
Grammy winners also see an increase in music consumption following the ceremony. Bonnie Raitt sees a 605% increase in album sales following her Grammy win on Sunday night, while several other big winners of the night have seen a rise in streaming numbers and album sales. -Article
Ticketmaster’s ‘new approach’ to ticket sales hasn’t resulted in lower prices. Ticket prices for the Beyonce Renaissance tour have reached $,4000+.
Ticketmaster announced the new approach of dividing cities into three groups with staggered registration deadlines and presale dates. The goal was to minimize the impact of bots—but the results have been disastrous for actual fans. -Article
Here is the Black History Month music playlist that Damon and Marcos Torres created. Enjoy!
Juan Diego Villalobos Interview
The song leading into the interview is called “Loop”.
The interview starts with Damon and Juan Diego recounting how they met at PASIC. Juan Diego performed with Andy Narrell during Andy’s clinic showcasing his new plugin.
APOLOGIES to friend of the show (and in real life) Jason Koontz!
Juan Diego has been using the malletSTATION by Pearl.
Shout-out to Luis Perdomo.
Juan Diego and Damon talk about social media and websites, and the new version of personal marketing.
Juan Diego talks about skills he noticed being developed during the pandemic.
Damon brings up the Latin vibes player list that he talked about with Juan Diego and Felipe Fournier at a party.
Some of the names mentioned are: Cal Tjader, Tito Puente, Tommy Berrios, Louie Ramirez, Dave Carey, Emil Richards, Victor Mendoza, Dave Samuels, Stefon Harris, Bobby Hutcherson and Mulatu Astatke.
Juan Diego later mentions Alfredo Naranjo and Freddy Roldan of Grupo Mango.
Some of the newer vibraphone players in the Latin music idiom aside from Felipe and Juan Diego include Alfredo Chacon.
Juan Diego talks a bit about Mulatu and his summer stage performance.
Juan Diego talks about his musical family and his path with learning instruments. He started on the Venezuelan cuatro and tambora.
He moved on from the cuatro to the drumset and then when he went to El Sistema, he got turned onto classical music.
He mentions some of his favorite classical excerpts. He mentions “The Night of the Mayas” needing lots of percussionists.
Juan Diego talks about Tchaikovsky and his symphonies. He talks more about Alfredo Naranjo and his group called El Guajeo.
He credits the app iReal Pro and a friend on bass who helped him with harmony. Also, the great Gerry Weil.
Shout-out to Juan Diego’s father for continuously pushing him to check out new music.
He talks about his transition to Jazz. He recorded an album after that too.
Juan Diego talks about his trip to the UN.
Juan Diego talks about his choice to go to Manhattan School versus The New School.
Juan Diego talks about studying with Stefon Harris.
Damon mentions Alex Wilson and his arrangement of a Sting tune with Clave Y Guaguanco (not Los Muñequitos de Matanzas).
Damon brings up the Harmony Cloud app that Stefon created.
Juan Diego talks about working with Joe Locke and Stefon at MSM.
Shout out to Joel Ross.
Juan Diego talks about the three groups he is part of.
Immigrantet, The Caracas Trio and The Retrospective Quintet.
He mentions the folkloric Culeo Puyo drums.
Shout out to WRTI and the videos for the Caracas Trio coming out April 5th.
Juan Diego picks the iconic recording for the week. He talks about the style of music Chimbánguele, and one of the icons, Juan de Dios Martinez. He talks about the group his dad was part of called Grupo Candela from the Zulia State. He talks about the tribute to San Benito de Palermo.
Shout out to Juan Diego’s parents, Stefon Harris, Buster Williams, and Kendrick Scott.
You can follow Juan Diego on his Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
The song leading out of the interivew is called “Respiro”.
