Luis Villegas
Encyclopedia
Luis Villegas is a Mexican American
guitarist best known for his debut CD Cafe Olé which mixed New Age music
, flamenco
, and jazz
and garnered a spot on the Grammy ballot for Best New Age
album of the Year in 1999. He is known for popularizing an unusual technique of playing very fast intricate lines by using the fingernail of his right index finger in place of a guitar pick. He also had a small role, as a member of a band, in the film Collateral
starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx.
Luis Villegas is a first-generation Mexican-American born in East Los Angeles, CA and is now an Internationally-renowned guitarist. A self-taught guitarist who plays flamenco
, jazz
, rock
, blues
and classical
, he grew up listening to traditional Mexican Ranchero music. As a boy, he met the famous Mexican Ranchero singer, Vicente Fernandez, and listened to traditional Mexican ballads.
It was not Mexican music, however, that attracted him to the guitar but rock and roll since the heavy metal
explosion was in full swing in Los Angeles
.
Luis played in rock bands all through High School and into college garnering some mild success with the band Slumlord
in 1988 and 1989 fronted by Scott Kidd who later went on to become a famous radio DJ known as Uncle Scotty. Luis quit Slumlord in 1990 when he found he needed a different stimulus to fuel his musical visions.
EXPERIMENTAL YEARS~~
That new vision began to grow when he picked up the acoustic guitar and started experimenting with classical
, jazz
, and even flamenco
music. Being self-taught, he emulated guitarists from the records he listened to like Wes Montgomery
, Paco De Lucia
, and Al Di Meola
among others. Many of his current techniques are based on flamenco guitar techniques such as rasgueado
, alzapua and picado.
He practiced intensely, concentrating on the incredible techniques that would garner him so many accolades. Those techniques and the music he heard inside himself, was channeled through an instrument from his youth: the Spanish guitar.
In 1991, he recorded a demo of original material in a style that was very new to American audiences. This new style was being made popular at the time by artists such as The Gipsy Kings, and Strunz and Farah.
Luis then formed a band to play some of this new material. The band, which originally consisted of friends from rock bands he had played with, formed a huge following in the Los Angeles area.
SUCCESSFUL YEARS~~
In 1996, Luis recorded and released his first CD independently entitled Cafe Ole, produced by David Scheffler and Giullermo Guzman. Members of his band as well as studio musicians, Gregg Bissonette
, Abraham Laboriel
, and The Rippingtons
' Steve Reid
, among others lent their talents to the CD. Less than a year later, Luis signed his first recording contract with Domo Records
, and affiliate of EMI
records.
Domo/EMI released Café Ole with a new cover and some newly recorded songs in 1998. The album earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Age
Album in 1999.
Even larger audiences found Villegas via his next CD, Spanish Kiss (Baja/TSR) in 2000 and the numerous compilation CDs he appeared in during the following two years. Guitarists worldwide took notice when Villegas' name appeared alongside guitar icons such as Al Di Meola
, Steve Morse
, Ottmar Liebert
, Jesse Cook
and Strunz & Farah
.
Casa Villegas (Baja/TSR), his 3rd CD, was released in 2003 and marked Luis' debut as a producer as well as performer. It stayed on the SmoothJazz.com charts for six weeks after its release on the strength of the single, Whittier Blvd.
Luis was asked by his label, Baja/TSR, to create a Christmas album. After working on it for some time, negotiations for producing the album fell through and Luis subsequently left the label to pursue his career as an independent artist. The Christmas album, Guitarras de Navidad found its way to his fans anyway. Then, in 2007, the album was updated with several additional songs and a new cover and licensed to the Tenure
label, under the guidance of Juan Carlos Quintero
. It was released in August in good time for the 2007 holiday season.
Luis has worked with many of the leading artists and musicians in the world. He recorded a duet with classical guitarist Liona Boyd
in 2001 which was nominated for a Juno Award
(the Canadian Grammy). In 2003, he performed with Nuevo Flamenco guitarist Jesse Cook
, and performed for Carmen Elektra and Dave Navarro
's much-publicized wedding on MTV
in 2004. He's also worked with Janet Jackson
, Marc Anthony
and Plácido Domingo
.
In December, 2004 the Luis Villegas Official Fan Club was formed and the members continue to fully support Luis’ music.
THE PRESENT~~
Today, Luis Villegas stays close to the Los Angeles area. Even though he plays with a variety of very talented musicians, his style shines through in every performance. Luis rode his personal style into the Nuevo Flamenco wave and, most recently, he is one of the very few Latino musicians to be popular on smooth jazz
stations across the country. He is also heard regularly at some of the most prestigious Jazz Festivals such as The Playboy Jazz Festival, Catalina JazzTrax Festival, and The Sedona Jazz On The Rocks Festival.
Luis is currently in the studio working on his 5th CD due out this year. The new CD, under the working title, "Eastside"', is scheduled for release by the end of the year and is being produced by George Benson
's musical director David Garfield and Toto
percussionist Chris Trujillo. Drummer Gregg Bissonette
makes a return appearance on this release. "This CD is a departure for me," Villegas explains. "My sound has evolved into a sound reminiscent of the ´brown sound´ that had its roots in my old neighborhood of East LA and was made popular by bands like War, Tierra, and El Chicano but with a modern twist and some interesting new ingredients added to the mix."
Luis resides in Los Angeles, CA with his wife, Gloria, and two children Christian and Krista. He is currently teaching guitar at Santa Monica High School
as adjunct faculty for Santa Monica College
and flamenco guitar at Orange County High School of the Arts
as part of its Instrumental Music Conservatory.
~~On December 21, 2007, Luis was featured in an interview with Val Zavala and performed with several of his band members on the PBS television show “Life and Times.”
This information was posted with permission from Luis Villegas.
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
guitarist best known for his debut CD Cafe Olé which mixed New Age music
New Age music
New Age music is music of various styles intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is often...
, flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
, and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and garnered a spot on the Grammy ballot for Best New Age
New Age music
New Age music is music of various styles intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is often...
album of the Year in 1999. He is known for popularizing an unusual technique of playing very fast intricate lines by using the fingernail of his right index finger in place of a guitar pick. He also had a small role, as a member of a band, in the film Collateral
Collateral (film)
Collateral is a 2004 crime thriller film starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. It was directed by Michael Mann and written by Stuart Beattie. It was Mann's first feature film to be shot mostly with high-definition cameras. Mann had previously used the format for portions of Ali and for his CBS drama...
starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx.
Bio
EARLY YEARS~~Luis Villegas is a first-generation Mexican-American born in East Los Angeles, CA and is now an Internationally-renowned guitarist. A self-taught guitarist who plays flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, he grew up listening to traditional Mexican Ranchero music. As a boy, he met the famous Mexican Ranchero singer, Vicente Fernandez, and listened to traditional Mexican ballads.
It was not Mexican music, however, that attracted him to the guitar but rock and roll since the heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
explosion was in full swing in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Luis played in rock bands all through High School and into college garnering some mild success with the band Slumlord
Slumlord
A slumlord is a derogatory term for landlords, generally absentee landlords, who attempt to maximize profit by minimizing spending on property maintenance, often in deteriorating neighborhoods. They may need to charge lower than market rent to tenants...
in 1988 and 1989 fronted by Scott Kidd who later went on to become a famous radio DJ known as Uncle Scotty. Luis quit Slumlord in 1990 when he found he needed a different stimulus to fuel his musical visions.
EXPERIMENTAL YEARS~~
That new vision began to grow when he picked up the acoustic guitar and started experimenting with classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, and even flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
music. Being self-taught, he emulated guitarists from the records he listened to like Wes Montgomery
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily...
, Paco De Lucia
Paco de Lucía
Paco de Lucía, born Francisco Sánchez Gómez , is a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist and composer. He is considered by many to be one of the finest guitarists in the world and the greatest guitarist of the flamenco genre...
, and Al Di Meola
Al Di Meola
Al Di Meola is an acclaimed American jazz fusion and Latin guitarist, composer, and record producer of Italian origin. With a musical career that has spanned more than three decades, he has become respected as one of the most influential guitarists in jazz to date...
among others. Many of his current techniques are based on flamenco guitar techniques such as rasgueado
Rasgueado
Rasgueado is a guitar finger strumming technique commonly associated with flamenco guitar music. It is also used in classical and other fingerstyle guitar picking techniques...
, alzapua and picado.
He practiced intensely, concentrating on the incredible techniques that would garner him so many accolades. Those techniques and the music he heard inside himself, was channeled through an instrument from his youth: the Spanish guitar.
In 1991, he recorded a demo of original material in a style that was very new to American audiences. This new style was being made popular at the time by artists such as The Gipsy Kings, and Strunz and Farah.
Luis then formed a band to play some of this new material. The band, which originally consisted of friends from rock bands he had played with, formed a huge following in the Los Angeles area.
SUCCESSFUL YEARS~~
In 1996, Luis recorded and released his first CD independently entitled Cafe Ole, produced by David Scheffler and Giullermo Guzman. Members of his band as well as studio musicians, Gregg Bissonette
Gregg Bissonette
Gregg Bissonette, is an American drummer. Gregg was born in a family of musicians. His father Bud Bissonette plays drums, his mother Phyllis plays piano and vibraphone, and brother Matt Bissonette plays bass guitar. Gregg started learning to play the drums at age 5 from his father...
, Abraham Laboriel
Abraham Laboriel
Abraham Laboriel, Sr. is a Mexican bassist of Garifuna descent who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. Guitar Player Magazine described him as "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the father of drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. and of producer, songwriter, and...
, and The Rippingtons
The Rippingtons
The Rippingtons are a contemporary group mainly relating to the genres Smooth jazz, Jazz pop, and Crossover jazz. Formed in 1986 by guitarist and band leader Russ Freeman , their career has spanned two decades...
' Steve Reid
Steve Reid
Steve Reid was an American jazz drummer who played with a wide range of artists including Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, James Brown, Fela Kuti and Sun Ra, and as a session drummer for Motown.- Biography :...
, among others lent their talents to the CD. Less than a year later, Luis signed his first recording contract with Domo Records
Domo Records
Domo Records is an independent record label in Los Angeles, California. Domo Records was established in 1993 by Ei'ichi Naito, a record producer and engineer...
, and affiliate of EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
records.
Domo/EMI released Café Ole with a new cover and some newly recorded songs in 1998. The album earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Age
New Age music
New Age music is music of various styles intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is often...
Album in 1999.
Even larger audiences found Villegas via his next CD, Spanish Kiss (Baja/TSR) in 2000 and the numerous compilation CDs he appeared in during the following two years. Guitarists worldwide took notice when Villegas' name appeared alongside guitar icons such as Al Di Meola
Al Di Meola
Al Di Meola is an acclaimed American jazz fusion and Latin guitarist, composer, and record producer of Italian origin. With a musical career that has spanned more than three decades, he has become respected as one of the most influential guitarists in jazz to date...
, Steve Morse
Steve Morse
Steven J. "Steve" Morse is an American guitarist and composer, best known for his work in the hard rock band Deep Purple since 1994. He began his career to form the unique styled instrumental rock band Dixie Dregs in the 1970. Morse's musical inspiration comes from country, funk, jazz fusion, and...
, Ottmar Liebert
Ottmar Liebert
Ottmar Liebert is a German-born composer and guitarist, born to a Chinese-German father and a Hungarian mother. As a child, he spent most of his time traveling Europe and Asia with his family...
, Jesse Cook
Jesse Cook
Jesse Cook is a Toronto-based guitarist, born in Paris to Canadian parents. Like other guitarists of his style of music, he incorporates funky jazz, latin & world music into his playing. Cook is also well known for the energy of his live shows. He has contributed to the Afro Celt Sound System album...
and Strunz & Farah
Strunz & Farah
Strunz & Farah is a guitar duo with an eclectic sound that have been described as a cross between world fusion and flamenco.-History:Jorge Strunz, born in Costa Rica, and Ardeshir Farah, hailing from Iran, met in the United States in 1979. Jorge Strunz was one of the founders of the Latin jazz...
.
Casa Villegas (Baja/TSR), his 3rd CD, was released in 2003 and marked Luis' debut as a producer as well as performer. It stayed on the SmoothJazz.com charts for six weeks after its release on the strength of the single, Whittier Blvd.
Luis was asked by his label, Baja/TSR, to create a Christmas album. After working on it for some time, negotiations for producing the album fell through and Luis subsequently left the label to pursue his career as an independent artist. The Christmas album, Guitarras de Navidad found its way to his fans anyway. Then, in 2007, the album was updated with several additional songs and a new cover and licensed to the Tenure
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
label, under the guidance of Juan Carlos Quintero
Juan Carlos Quintero
Juan Carlos Quintero Pérez is a Colombian football midfielder, who currently plays for Atlético Huila in the Copa Mustang.Quintero played for Colombia at the 1993 FIFA World Youth Championship in Australia....
. It was released in August in good time for the 2007 holiday season.
Luis has worked with many of the leading artists and musicians in the world. He recorded a duet with classical guitarist Liona Boyd
Liona Boyd
Liona Maria Carolynne Boyd, LLD, D.Mus, CM, O.Ont, is a Canadian classical guitarist, composer, songwriter and singer. Boyd was born in London, England on July 11, 1949, moved to Canada with her parents when she was eight years old and became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 1975...
in 2001 which was nominated for a Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
(the Canadian Grammy). In 2003, he performed with Nuevo Flamenco guitarist Jesse Cook
Jesse Cook
Jesse Cook is a Toronto-based guitarist, born in Paris to Canadian parents. Like other guitarists of his style of music, he incorporates funky jazz, latin & world music into his playing. Cook is also well known for the energy of his live shows. He has contributed to the Afro Celt Sound System album...
, and performed for Carmen Elektra and Dave Navarro
Dave Navarro
David Michael "Dave" Navarro is an American guitarist who plays in the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction and cover band Camp Freddy. He has also played with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Panic Channel, and many others.- Early life :...
's much-publicized wedding on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
in 2004. He's also worked with Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
, Marc Anthony
Marc Anthony
Marc Anthony is an American singer-songwriter, actor and producer. Anthony is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. The two-time Grammy and three-time Latin Grammy–winner has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. He is best known for his Latin salsa numbers and ballads...
and Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
.
In December, 2004 the Luis Villegas Official Fan Club was formed and the members continue to fully support Luis’ music.
THE PRESENT~~
Today, Luis Villegas stays close to the Los Angeles area. Even though he plays with a variety of very talented musicians, his style shines through in every performance. Luis rode his personal style into the Nuevo Flamenco wave and, most recently, he is one of the very few Latino musicians to be popular on smooth jazz
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
stations across the country. He is also heard regularly at some of the most prestigious Jazz Festivals such as The Playboy Jazz Festival, Catalina JazzTrax Festival, and The Sedona Jazz On The Rocks Festival.
Luis is currently in the studio working on his 5th CD due out this year. The new CD, under the working title, "Eastside"', is scheduled for release by the end of the year and is being produced by George Benson
George Benson
George Benson is a ten Grammy Award winning American musician, whose production career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist....
's musical director David Garfield and Toto
Toto (band)
Toto is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The group currently consists of Joseph Williams , David Paich , Steve Porcaro , Steve Lukather , Mike Porcaro , and Simon Phillips . Toto is known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard...
percussionist Chris Trujillo. Drummer Gregg Bissonette
Gregg Bissonette
Gregg Bissonette, is an American drummer. Gregg was born in a family of musicians. His father Bud Bissonette plays drums, his mother Phyllis plays piano and vibraphone, and brother Matt Bissonette plays bass guitar. Gregg started learning to play the drums at age 5 from his father...
makes a return appearance on this release. "This CD is a departure for me," Villegas explains. "My sound has evolved into a sound reminiscent of the ´brown sound´ that had its roots in my old neighborhood of East LA and was made popular by bands like War, Tierra, and El Chicano but with a modern twist and some interesting new ingredients added to the mix."
Luis resides in Los Angeles, CA with his wife, Gloria, and two children Christian and Krista. He is currently teaching guitar at Santa Monica High School
Santa Monica High School
Santa Monica High School, informally known as SAMOHI, is located in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1884, it is one of the oldest high schools in the state....
as adjunct faculty for Santa Monica College
Santa Monica College
Santa Monica College is a two-year, public, junior college located in Santa Monica, California.Santa Monica College was first opened in 1929 as Santa Monica Junior College. Current enrollment is over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study...
and flamenco guitar at Orange County High School of the Arts
Orange County High School of the Arts
Orange County High School of the Arts , colloquially called "OH-sha", is a 7th–12th grade public charter school located in downtown Santa Ana, Orange County, California. The school caters to middle and high school students with talents in the performing, visual and literary arts...
as part of its Instrumental Music Conservatory.
~~On December 21, 2007, Luis was featured in an interview with Val Zavala and performed with several of his band members on the PBS television show “Life and Times.”
Selected recordings
- Guitarras De Navidad (Tenure 2007)
- Casa Villegas (Baja/TSR 2003)
- Spanish Kiss (Baja/TSR 2000)
- Cafe Ole (Domo 1998) Nominated for a Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best New Age Album
Musicians
It isn’t possible to list everyone but here are some of the musicians Luis has performed or recorded with:- Jackson BrowneJackson BrowneJackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
: singer/guitarist - Abraham LaborielAbraham LaborielAbraham Laboriel, Sr. is a Mexican bassist of Garifuna descent who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. Guitar Player Magazine described him as "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the father of drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. and of producer, songwriter, and...
: bass - Alberto Salas: piano
- Gregg BissonetteGregg BissonetteGregg Bissonette, is an American drummer. Gregg was born in a family of musicians. His father Bud Bissonette plays drums, his mother Phyllis plays piano and vibraphone, and brother Matt Bissonette plays bass guitar. Gregg started learning to play the drums at age 5 from his father...
: drums - David Garfield: piano
- Carlos RodriguezCarlos RodríguezCarlos Rodríguez may refer to:* Carlos Rodriguez , president of the Central Union of Workers, Colombia* Carlos Manuel Rodríguez , beatified Puerto Rican Catholic pastor...
: piano - Jose GarciaJose GarciaJose Garcia or José García may refer to:* José Garcia , French actor* José García , Dominican baseball player* José García , Venenzuelan boxer...
: guitar/vocals - Juan Carlos Portillo: bass
- Rene Camacho: bass
- Chris Trujillo: percussion
- Ramon Yslas: percussion
- Jorge Villanueva: percussion
- Pablo Correa: drums
- Paul Tchounga: drums
- Andy AbadAndy AbadFausto Andres "Andy" Abad is a former professional baseball player. He is also known as "Tulile" in the Dominican Republic. Abad is of Cuban descent; his father escaped Cuba during the Fidel Castro revolution. Before being drafted, he graduated from Jupiter High School in Florida, and then...
: guitar - Guillermo Guzman: bass
- Luis PerezLuis PérezLuis Pérez may refer to:*Luis Alberto Pérez, Nicaraguan boxer*Luis Alberto Pérez-Rionda, Cuban athlete*Luis Deines Pérez, Puerto Rican boxer*Luis Ernesto Pérez, Mexican footballer*Luis Manuel Pérez, Domincan baseball pitcher...
: percussion - Joey Heredia: drums
- Ricardo “Tiki” Pasillas: drums
- Michito Sanchez: perc
- Rique Pantoja: piano
- Charlie BisharatCharlie BisharatCharlie Bisharat is a Grammy-winning violinistwho has extensively toured and/or recorded with numerous artists. He was a member of Shadowfax who won a Grammy in 1988 for Best New Age Performance for Folksongs for a Nuclear Village...
: violin - Steve ReidSteve ReidSteve Reid was an American jazz drummer who played with a wide range of artists including Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, James Brown, Fela Kuti and Sun Ra, and as a session drummer for Motown.- Biography :...
: percussion - Arturo Solar: trumpet
- Garret Smith: trombone
- Carlos Cuevas: piano
- Fausto Cuevas: percussion
- Ronnie Gutierrez: percussion
- Ricky Adorno: bass
- Scott Vomvolakis: perc
- Keith Dasalla: perc
- Rene Castro: percussion
- Jesse Stern: bass
- Cassio Duarte: percussion
This information was posted with permission from Luis Villegas.