John Santos Sextet Triumphs at the Freight 12/2/22

The John Santos Sextet EP release party for their new recording “A Puerto Rico Del Alma-Filosofia Caribeña Vol. 3″ at the Freight and Salvage this past Friday night was a triumph for Santos and his stellar sextet: long time collaborator and flautist Dr. John Calloway, pianist Marco Diaz, bassist Saul Sierra, drummer David Flores, saxophonist Charlie Gurke and Santos on congas, misc. percussion and vocals. (Photo by Luis Medina)

The audience greeted the group with tremendous applause at the start of the show. The electricity and sense of anticipation was highly charged that night. The adoring crowd was full of dancers, supporters, radio colleagues, students, aficionados and the music community who were either dancing in their seats or mesmerized by the sheer virtuosity and musicianship of Santos and the sextet. The band was joined by two exceptional guest vocalists Christelle Durandy and Jose Roberto Hernandez whose soaring vocals complimented the impassioned music with their charisma and showmanship.

The two hour and a half evening was divided in two sets. The first set featured music from the last cd The Art Of The Descarga as well as diving into the Sextet’s skillful mix of Afro Cuban, Jazz and Descarga. The second set was made up of selections from the upcoming Filosofia Caribeńa Vol. 3 recording. The array of invited special guests included the wonderful Pedro Jose Pastrana on the cuatro, violinist extraordinare Anthony Blea, percussionist Javier Navarrette, young conguero on the rise Ahkeel Mestayer and vocalist Shefali Shah who sang her own composition. Santos and the sextet kept the fire burning with their fine musical compositions, tight ensemble work and provided exciting moments when they were traded off blistering solos.

This was the final concert in the John Santos curated Raices series at the Freight and Salvage for the year. Personally, I ran into so many old friends, colleagues, radio listeners and supporters of the music. It was a love fest. It was also an evening to remember!