After scaling down the octet of The Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel to its core and creating Trio Latino with bassist Aaron Germain and pianist Christian Tumalan, Brian found himself desiring more melodic interplay.  “When preparing for the Trio Latino recording Mayan Suite, I did a deep dive into the great trio works of Michel Camilo, Gonzalo Rubalcabo, Jeff Hamilton and Chick Corea to name just a few. But after the Mayan Suite was released and the subsequent gigs were performed, I found myself drawn to quartets with the saxophone as the main voice.   Recordings by Kenny Garrett, John Coltrane, Miguel Zenon, Art Pepper and others were dominating my listening time.  I knew then that as much as I loved the intimacy of the trio, I wanted to hear another voice in the mix.  I wanted to free the piano from having so much responsibility as it does in a trio setting and bring a new color to the palette.   I knew right away who I wanted to fill that spot, saxophonist Tony Peebles, a mainstay of The Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel horn section.” 

With Peebles in the group, the Brian Andres Quartet was formed, new compositions and arrangements were created, and a new sound was developed.   “The quartet really began during the pandemic.  The first time we got together to play these new tunes we rehearsed outside where we could ‘social distance’ and respect each other’s health. There really weren’t any opportunities to perform at the time, so we would get together whenever there was a new tune or two to play.  With the addition of Tony, and his ability to play tenor, alto and soprano sax, Aaron and Christian were composing and arranging quickly, Tony had some tunes, and even I used the opportunity to bring my own tune to the group. Something I had never done with Trio Latino or The Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel.”

As performance opportunities started to appear again, the quartet began playing in clubs and familiarizing themselves with the new compositions and sound.  The chemistry of the trio was already established, and the addition of the saxophone brought everything to a new height.  “The intensity was immediately at another level.  Tony’s improvisational skills challenge my own abilities to match his and the interplay between all four of us is deeper.  It’s really exciting.”   The performances were so good, and the new compositions and arrangements so fun to play, that a recording became essential.  The quartet will release their first album in 2023.   

Christian Tumalan is best known as the co-leader of the Pacific Mambo Orchestra, which won the 2014 best tropical album Grammy Award with its eponymous debut album. Born in Celaya in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, he studied classical piano at Mexico City’s prestigious Escuela Superior de Musica. When he turned his interests toward jazz, he immersed himself in the tradition, earning degrees in performance, arranging, and composition. A mainstay on the Bay Area’s thriving Latin music scene, he’s collaborated with artists such as Wayne Wallace, John Santos, Giovanni Hidalgo, Pete Escovedo, Sheila E, Tommy Igoe, La India, Johnny Rivera, Johnny Polanco, Ruben Blades, Orestes Vilató, Benny Velarde, and Poncho Sanchez, among many others.

Drawn to the Bay Area in 2000 by the presence of master Afro-Caribbean percussionists Michael Spiro and Jesus Diaz, Aaron Germain quickly became a first-call player, sometimes working two or three gigs a day. Honing his knowledge of Afro-Cuban grooves, he became a fixture in several salsa ensembles. Known for his expansive stylistic palette, he gets called to play various Brazilian styles and Caribbean steel pan music, Indian kathak dancers and veteran calypso singers from Trinidad. And he’s was always ready to tackle harmonically dense, odd-meter jazz compositions, like in the power trio Charged Particles, which has collaborated widely with Oregon multi-reed master Paul McCandless. 

Andres was in the midst of a thriving career playing rock, funk, R&B, and blues when he experienced his clave epiphany, courtesy of the Cleveland salsa band Impacto Nuevo. As the owner of a couple of Tito Puente albums, he wasn’t completely unfamiliar with great Latin dance music. But it’s one thing to spin an album and another to experience a well-greased Latin percussion section live. “It changed my trajectory of where I wanted to go,” Andres recalls. “I just wanted to do it over and over again. The first time I heard it done well live, it had me.”

He put together a Latin jazz band of his own, and started buying up whatever albums he could find, which introduced him to leading Bay Area artists such as John Santos’s Machete Ensemble, Andy Narell, and Pete Escovedo. The Greg Landau-produced album Ritmo y Candela was a particular revelation, featuring an array of Bay Area stars such as Orestes Vilató, Rebeca Mauleón, and Michael Spiro. Not long afterwards, Andres had a chance to meet Spiro and Jesus Diaz when they conducted a Talking Drum workshop in Ohio. But it was another Bay Area Latin jazz stalwart, the late Dutch-born drummer Paul van Wageningen, who convinced him to make the move to San Francisco rather than New York or L.A. by offering real encouragement when Andres came through town on a visit.

“He was absolute class,” Andres says. “We hung out and played, and he showed me some things. It wasn’t just a lesson, though; it was the start of a friendship. He said he’d recommend me for gigs, and he was as good as his word.”

Landing in the Bay Area in early 1999 at the height of the first high-tech boom he quickly found work in an array of Latin settings, playing salsa, Latin funk and Latin jazz. In 2000, he joined San Francisco Bay Area icon Dr. Loco and his Rockin’ Jalapeno Band, an ongoing relationship. Motivated by his love of the multi-dimensional writing of Latin jazz pioneers Tito Puente and Eddie Palmieri, Andres undertook his first recording under his own name in 2007, resulting in Drummers Speak.

In addition to showcasing stellar musicians, the album immediately stood apart as a celebration of the compositional contributions of percussionists, focusing on both Latin masters Tito Puente, Chano Pozo, Armando Peraza, and Francisco Aguabella and jazz giants such as Jack DeJohnette, Tony Williams, and Art Blakey. What started off as a concept turned into a bona fide band after the album, and the Cartel has continued to flourish, enriching an already luxuriant scene.  

Andres followed up with the Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel’s 2013 album San Francisco, a critically hailed project that showcases the composing, arranging, and performing talent of the Bay Area Latin jazz scene. In 2016, the Cartel’s third album This Could Be That added a dazzling cast of guests to the core octet, including Cuban-American vocalist Venissa Santi, Fania All-Stars timbalero Louie Romero, bata master Michael Spiro, Peruvian percussion star Alex Acuña, and percussion maestro John Santos.

At the Cartel’s core was the rhythm section that steps forward in its own right as Trio Latino. The group forged its independent identity working regularly at an intimate Half Moon Bay music spot about 30 miles south of San Francisco, Café Society. “The crowd is extremely jazz-knowledgeable and appreciative and so is the owner, Harpo Marx,” Andres says (and yes, that’s the proprietor’s real name). “We wanted to create a sound and a unit, and it’s much easier to rehearse with three players than eight.”

Breaking out of the Cartel, Trio Latino makes a brilliant first impression with Mayan Suite, a riveting calling card for a group bristling with rhythmic energy.