Forthcoming Single – 2022
Jeryl Johnston brings together a cast of staple musicians from the NYC Latin big band tradition for the inaugural single release of Grupo Yanine, presenting a piece that is both a critique and a celebration of the musical community from which it evolved and for which it has been written.
The title stems from a desire to take back a phrase often spoken negatively and use it to both comment upon the lack of inclusion of women in Latin music, and to celebrate the listeners and musicians who support them.
Having developed an impossible to categorize background including both classical and jazz training, Johnston has also spent many years working in the freelance gigging and teaching environments of Latin music scenes on both the East and the West coasts. This is the first release by Johnston as a leader. While indebted to the style of Machito and his cohort, and to the experiences of working with musicians and ensembles such as Tipica ’73 Charangueando, Ray Santos, the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and Orquesta Son Mayor, this driving chart brings a fresh harmonic approach to the genre along with an unusually constructed form devised to highlight soloists in the band including John Walsh on trumpet, Al Acosta on alto sax, Demitrios Kehagias on trombone and Louis Bauzo on percussion. EP forthcoming.
Al Acosta – Saxophones
Carmen Laboy – Baritone Saxophone
John Walsh – Trumpets
Demetrios Kehagias – Trombones
Louis Bauzo – Percussion
Jerome Goldschmidt – Percussion
Bernie Miñoso – Bass
Jeryl Johnston – Composer, Arranger, Musical Director, Piano