FRAMINGHAM, MA – The Barbieri Elementary School in Framingham, MA, is pleased to present its second annual Latin Jazz Night on Saturday, June 11, 2005 beginning at 7:00 PM. The high powered Latin Jazz ensemble features world class artists Eguie Castrillo on percussion and Victor Mendoza on vibraphone, who, along with alto saxophonist Willie Sordillo, also happen to be the parents of children in the Barbieri School’s two-way bilingual program. Tickets for this event, which is intended for adults only, are $10.00. Light refreshments will be served. For additional ticket information, please call Lisa Rubin or Nancy de Romero at the Barbieri School, 508-626-9188.

A disciple of the great Tito Puente, Eguie Castrillo has toured and recorded with everyone from Cuban trumpet master Arturo Sandoval to KC and the Sunshine Band and Steve Winwood. He was part of a group that recorded a disc called Hot House, which won a Grammy as Best Latin Lazz Album. He recently brought his big band to Framingham’s Nevins Hall for a Tribute to the Mambo Kings under the auspices of the newly formed Amazing Things Arts Center. His new CD featuring this group will be released in time for the concert at Barbieri.

Victor Mendoza’s recordings and performances with his own group as well as with artists such as Paquito D’Rivera, Danilo Pérez, Michel Camilo, Claudio Roditi, Giovanni Hidalgo, Horacio “El Negro” Hernández, and Antonio Sánchez have earned him the respect of critics and jazz fans around the globe. His recording, This is Why, led Latin Beat Magazine to name him one of the Outstanding Latin Jazz Artists of the Year. Black Bean Blues, Victor’s most recent recording, was named one of the best Latin jazz recordings of the year by Modern Drummer Magazine and led Jazziz Magazine to dub him “the genre’s leading vibraphone practitioner” and “one of today’s most resourceful composers.” The Smithsonian Institute has included Black Bean Blues in Latin Jazz: The Perfect Combination, its first major exhibition about this genre.

Willie Sordillo was a founding member of the pan-Latin ensemble, Flor de Caña, whose recordings reached Billboard Magazine’s top 10 list in the World Music category and garnered the group three Boston Music Awards. His original compositions have been featured on all of that group’s recordings and have been covered by a number of other artists. One of his co-arrangements was featured on the television series, ER. In addition to leading his own jazz ensembles, Willie has also been a featured performer with the Geoffrey Hicks Quartet, the Manny Santos Quintet, Enfusion, and R&B artists Chops Turner, JC and Lady Kim.

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