People.Of.Earth

This week we get to hear the incredibly fascinating story of pianist/composer Coto Pincheira. Coto is a Chilean-born musician who has lived and worked in Havana, the San Fransisco Bay Area and currently resides in NYC. While in Cuba, Coto performed with many notable acts including Oscar Valdes & Diakara, Amaury Perez & Los Pepines, Bamboleo, and is the first and only foreign pianist to play for the famous La Tropicana Cabaret. In this interview, Coto concentrates on reflecting on his unique experience of living and working in Cuba during 1990s and how it changed the course of his life forever.

This week, we interrupt our usual programming with something a bit different from our normal format. In this episode, POE musical-director Victor Pablo and I discuss the somewhat random series of events that led to the creation of this very podcast you see before you. Hope you enjoy the diversion!

This week’s guest is French born, New York residing bassist/producer Ben Zwerin.  Ben is the current touring bass player with Angelique Kidjo and has also performed and recorded with the likes of Lila Downs, Lionel Loueke, Claudia Acuña and Junacho Herrera to name a few. In this extensive interview, Ben and I talk about his experience growing up in Paris, attending the Berklee College of Music, his story of coming to NYC and his thoughts and opinions on cultural identity, the importance of travel, understanding other cultures and much more.

This week’s guest is one of my favorite musicians in NYC, the amazing Mike Eckroth. Mike is a prolific pianist/composer who may have one of the most diverse and eclectic resumes to speak of. He has played with everyone from top jazz artists including John Scofield and Ron McClure, various Cuban, Salsa and South American artist such as Ralph Irizarry and Festejation, to his own groups Peliroja, La Voz De Tres and Melaza to name a few. I was able to meet Mike on the streets of Astoria to quickly discuss where his unique curiousity and affinity for world music was born, and where it has ultimately taken him in his career and life.

In this week’s episode I have the honor and pleasure of sitting down with one of the greatest bass players that has ever lived, the one and only John Benitez. For those of you who don’t know, John is a five-time GRAMMY award-winning bassist that has played with Tito Puente, Chick Corea, Danilo Perez, John Scofield, David Sanchez and countless other A-list artists in the Jazz, Latin-jazz and Latin Dance Music idioms. Over the past four years, I’ve had the privilege of experiencing many deep and inspiring conversations with this true master of music. Fortunately, this podcast has finally given me the chance to record and share one of those conversations with the world.

This week’s guest is pianist, composer and self-proclaimed sound crafter Alejandro “Alejo” Zuleta. While Alejo works in many guises in NYC as a professional pianist, choir director and composer for TV and film, this interview primarily revolves around his group The Vallenato Collective. This unique ensemble focuses on translating vallenato repertoire, traditionally lead by the accordion, to the piano. In this episode, Alejo talks about his own upbringing in the vallenato aural tradition, his journey to New York and the path that has led him to rediscover and reinterpret the music of his past. 

This week’s guest is none other than bassist Bam Bam Rodriguez. Bam Bam was born in Caracas, Venezuela and has been a part of the NYC music scene since 2012. He has performed and collaborated with Claudia Acuña, Ari Hoenig, Yayo Serka, Juancho Herrera, Arturo O’Farrill and regularly tours with La Crema Paraiso. In this interview he discusses his journey from Venezuela to Europe, his early days in New York as well his love of travel, people and creating his own community wherever he goes.

This week’s guest is none other than guitarist, vocalist and composer Juancho Herrera. Juancho has made a name for himself in the Latin, South American and world music scene as both one of New York’s most sought after sideman and most creative bandleaders. He has served as guitarist for Lila Downs, Marta Gomez, Claudia Acuña and Sofia Rei amongst countless others. He has multiple recordings out under his own name, including his newest “Gaviero” which was released in August of 2017.

This week our guest is guitarist/composer Richard Padrón. Born in Cuba, raised in Miami and currently residing in NYC, Richard has made a name for himself as a sideman with Zé Luis Oliveira, Lauren Hill, Victor Prieto and many other eclectic groups in New York. He also writes and records with his own group and has been commissioned to compose for orchestra and film alike. In this interview he discusses finding and carving out a niche for himself as a guitarist, composer, bandleader and recording artist in the challenging and often unforgiving climate of New York City. 

This week’s episode is a bit different from the usual programming. Because everyone in POE gets their turn being interviewed for the podcast, this week I “take one for the team” and have fearless leader Gabriel Globos-Hoenich interview me and allow me to tell my own story for a change.