Experience the exciting, fresh and surprising musical potpourri that is Adelante!

David Oquendo – sonero (lead vocalist)/percussion/acoustic guitar  Born in Havana, Cuba in 1958 and emigrated to the US in the late ‘80s.  Has performed with Compay Segundo, Marc Anthony, Pacquito D’Rivera, Johnny Pacheco, Gato Barbieri, Gilberto Santa Rosa and many others. Has a Grammy Award for the album “Tropicana’s Nights” with Pacquito D’Rivera, a Grammy nomination for “Bebop Timba” with Rafael Cruz and 3 separate Grammy nominations for the band he leads, Raices Habaneras.  His most recent cd is “El Encuentro”, co-led with trombonist Roswell Rudd.

Mike Kaplan – leader/arranger/tenor saxophone    Has recorded with Chico Mendoza’s Latin Jazz Dream Band, Coco Lagos y sus Orquesta, Juan Oliva y sus Progressiva, Orquesta Royal.  His original arrangements were featured on  Orquesta Royal’s “Magia Musical” and  La Progressiva’s “Progressando Con Sabor”. His Nonet’s cd, “How’s That?” was played on over 150 jazz radio shows and stations worldwide.

Ricky Salas – bongo/percussion/vocals  brings a long and impressive performance and recording resume to Adelante!  He has performed and/or recorded with Ruben Blades, Raices Habaneras, Seis del Solar, Prince, Albita, Candido, Quimbombo and many others.

Willie Martinez – drums/percussion/vocals  Willie leads his own band La Familia Sextet, which performs regularly at Fat Cat and the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.   His performances have been documented on television, video and CD, sharing the stage with a wide variety of artists representing a Who’s Who in the American music industry, including Latin legends Bebo Valdes, Ray Santos and Chocolate Armenteros; jazz greats Steve Turre, Mulgrew Miller, George Cables and Bill Easley; and pop veterans Leon Pendarvis and Barry Eastmond.   Willie’s considerable talents have been featured with groups performing everything from Gothic Funk at the quintessentially New York City rock club CBGB’s to Afro Cuban jazz on the venerable stage of the Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall.  He has performed and recorded with artists as varied as the classic Cuban arranger, composer, and bandleader Chico O’Farrill, to legendary jazz trombonist Benny Powell, to contemporary Pop divas Jewel and Faith Hill.

Manuel “Manny” Alejandro Carro – congas/bata drums/percussion/vocals

Nicki Denner – piano/keyboard  Artist/pianist/composer/arranger Nicki Denner has been a part of the New York Latin and jazz music scene since 1999. Before that, she was an active member of the Minneapolis music community. She has performed with Sheila E., Savion Glover, Candido, Doc Severinsen, as well other jazz and salsa artists in the United States and Europe.  Nicki is also the Musical Director of Cocomama, a nine piece all-female salsa band which has performed at the United Nations, the Metopolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Central Park.   Since 2001, she has led her own trio which features Jennifer Vincent on bass, and Willie Martinez on drums. In 2006, the trio released their debut recording, “Moliendo Café“, which was named one of the “Top Ten Picks of 2006” in Latin Beat Magazine. Ms. Denner has released two other Latin jazz CD’s as a leader, “Don’t Just Stand There” and “El Médico de Coquí” featuring Julian Llanos, former singer with Latin music legend Arsenio Rodriguez. “El Médico de Coquí” spent six months in Latin Beat magazine’s Top 20 Hit Parade.

Jennifer Vincent – bass   has been an active force on the music scene in New York City for well over a decade. She plays and has played and toured with the likes of Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln, the famed Boy’s Choir of Harlem, Willie Martinez y La Familia, Son Sublime, the Xavier Cougat Orchestra, the Roberto Rodriguez Septet, Carmen Lundy, Harry Whittaker (longtime artistic director and keyboardist for Roberta Flack), Jon Hendricks, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and many other jazz and Latin notables. Jennifer, who started as a classically-trained cellist at Oberlin Conservatory, is equally comfortable in the jazz, Latin-jazz, and traditional Cuban musical idioms. Her bass teachers include jazz icon Ron Carter, Andy Gonzales, Ed Bennett, Buster Williams, and Cuban bass legend Orlando “Cachaito” Lopez of the Buena Vista Social Club, with whom she traveled to Cuba to study with. 

Rob Henke – trumpet   brings a wealth of diverse musical experiences (from Downtown NYC/Knitting Factory to Salsa to R’n B and more) to Adelante!  Rob’s high spirit, great musical range and willingness to take chances in the service of the music serve him well for the Nonet.  He has recorded, worked and toured with many NYC area bands including Dr. Nerve, Spirit of Life Ensemble, Phillip Johnston, Gary Lucas’ Fast and Bulbous, Marie McAuliffe, Joe Gallant and Illuminati, Diane Moser’s Composers Big Band.  Rob toured with Luis “Perico” Ortiz and Ray Barretto and has released cds under his own leadership, “The Bride”, “Listening” and “White Paws”.

Ben Williams – trombone   Lauded by the New York Times for his “sassy and barrel-voiced trombone”,  Ben has performed with La Familia Sextet, George Coleman, Oliver Lake, Claudio Roditi, Andy Bey and others.  He is currently featured on recordings “Looking Forward, Looking Back”(Diane Moser Quintet) and “Blues For Sparky” (Aaron Alexander Sextet).  Ben is also a co-recipient of a Jazz Fellowship Grant from the National Endowment of the Arts

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Photos on this page courtesy Phillip King, 2050 Digital