Locobeach is cumbia pop; latin disco with a psychedelic/spaghetti western edge. This supergroup of a band is comprised of Jose Luis Pardo on guitars/vocals , Neil Ochoa on congas/percussion/electronics, Joshua Camp on accordion/keyboards/vocals and Edward Marshall on bass., Andres Fonseca Alphonso on Timbales & Drums. Dance music for your brain!  

Loco Beach is led by Cheo (aka José Luis Pardo), who is an artist, guitar player, DJ, songwriter and music producer based in Brooklyn, NY; also known for his career as founder and director of dance/funk band Los Amigos Invisibles. 

Cheo holds a Latin Grammy and has achieved another ten nominations, (seven as an artist, three as producer) making his mark and carving his own space in the dance music genre. 

He has compiled a soulful body of impressive work over the years, this is reflected in every work he does: studio recordings, live shows, DJ sets, remixes, compilation albums, mix tapes, podcasts, etc. 

Pardo started his DJ career in Caracas, Venezuela around 1995, warming up the shows with his band. Club owners immediately became interested in his eclectic taste and in his ability to fill the dance floor. 

Soon after, Cheo was hosting a weekly residence (“Super Sancocho Variety”), which ran for more than two years, and gave him the bug for making his own remixes and edits for his DJ Sets. 

In 2001, he moved to New York with his band  and soon became part of the dance scene of the city, landing opening slots in places like Centrofly, Cielo, Shine and parties like Giant Step, PS-1 warm up series, Punchy and Roots. 

His work caught the attention of legendary DJ producer Little Louie Vega who took him under his wing and made him the guitar player for a lot of his remixes as well as his album “Elements of Life”. Blue Six, Nicodemus, Sir Piers and Dimitri from Paris started calling Pardo to add his flavor as a guitar player to their music. 

In 2007, Cheo released a remix compilation called: “Will Work for Fun”. The success of the album was followed up by his first solo EP-1 and an LP called “Free”(Nacional Records) released in 2011. That same year, he started collaborating with soul singer Manchildblack releasing music under the name “The Copasetic” and started experimenting with Venezuelan music in what became his trio “Los Crema Paraiso” with Neil Ochoa and Alvaro Benavidez. They made two critically acclaimed albums: “El debut” and “De película”. NPR  declared the latter, one of the ten favorite albums of 2015. Pardo and Neil Ochoa created “Cutupra Studios” in Manhattan.

After “La que me gusta” was nominated as the best song of 2013 for the Latin Grammys, he decided to finish his work with Los Amigos Invisibles and take a different direction as musician and producer. 

In 2011, he produced Rawayana’s “Trippy Caribbean” and started working as a producer on a series of successful albums for other new artists such as Okills, La Garfield, Sofia Stainer, Simon Grossman andYordano among others. This opened a new opportunity to become a mentor for other artists. 

To keep his hand in, Cheo joined “Chicha libre” as a substitute guitar player and, eventually after splitting, the band evolved into LOCOBEACH, which has become Brooklyn’s favorite live band. This has exposed him to new horizons in the world music scene. They released an album called “Psychedelc Disco Cumbia” (Peace and Rhythm) and a second album is soon to be released. 

One winter night in 2016, Ulises Hadjis convinced Cheo to write an album with him where they sang duets, and in 2017 they released “Dónde?”. Here, he debuted as a singer and returned to writing his own music for the first time since his break up with Los Amigos. 

In the spring of 2019, a production gig was canceled and he used the time to record songs he had been writing in recent years. He finished “Sorpresa” (Nacional Records) without telling anyone which, in his own words, marked his return to “being an artist”. His single “Todo el día en la cama” became viral, thanks to the lockdown.

During the pandemic, he started streaming DJ sets on weekends calling them “Casaecheo” and “Bajo Perfil” which achieved over 20,000 live viewers during his 4 hour long sets. You can still catch his sets sometimes when he is home. 

“Música para verse bien”, his second album was released in May 2023 (Nacional Records). The songs were tailored and recorded with his live band. He plays monthly in NY in an outfit where they can spread their wings playing disco, funk, jazz, salsa, Bossa nova and Pardo’s beloved Boogaloo.

After being a regular DJ at the legendary NUBLU, he partnered with them to start “LATINOS DEL MUNDO”,  a weekly celebration of Latin Rhythms where he put together “Cheo y los consentidos de la casa” a full Latin band to fill the void of live orchestras at Latin parties in Manhattan. 

It is impossible to talk about Latin dance music without mentioning Cheo or one of his songs, soon it will be impossible to mention Latin music in NYC without naming one of his bands. 

Brooklyn’s Los Hacheros, modern-day torchbearers of the Golden Age of Latin music. Their beat revives folkloric styles like son montuno, guaracha and salsa, and often combines them with Bomba, a fiery rhythm from the mountains of Puerto Rico.

Their debut album Pilon was a well-received introduction to the band and received critical praise from tastemakers including Wax Poetics, Vibe Magazine, and The Washington City Paper, amongst others.  Wax Poetics states, “The groove to this music is deep,” while The City Paper boasts, “…its solid arrangements and lively original songs have impressed old-school salseros and young music fans alike.”

“Bambulaye was recorded to be gritty, driving, and infectious, with the goal to get you up and dancing from first listen.” says producer / guitarist Jacob Plasse, also founder of the Daptone-distributed Latin revival label, Chulo Records.   “I wanted this record to feel and sound the way it does when we play our final sets at 3am, exhausted in East Harlem dives.  Suddenly the band comes to life and all the old dancers are at it like it was 1970 again.  In those moments, we feel like we could play all night.”

Los Hacheros revives folkloric styles like son montuno, guaracha and salsa, and often combine them with Bomba, a fiery rhythm from the mountains of Puerto Rico.  “Los Hacheros has the magic of group improvisation,” adds bassist William Ash.  “We play in a style that is swing oriented and emphasizes the Cuban clave like great ones of old:  Arsenio, Reve, Ritmo…”

Los Hacheros’ new album, scheduled to release in 2023,  captures the same energy the band brings to the bandstand. The music is an interplay of the tres and violin, with the horns and vocals sitting above that, and pushing it all forward is the undeniable fire of this rhythm section. We are all coming from the same place, the magic of the afro-cuban tumbao, and Arsenio and Bény and Lavoe and we are putting that into our music.

At the age of 19, Mr. Miller stepped onto the stage of the famed Apollo Theatre, and he brought the house down. The now 5-time Grammy-nominated trombonist was proudly introduced by the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO), announcing that Jeffery was a recently admitted student on a full scholarship at The Juilliard School. Not his first performance on a great New York stage, when he was just 15, Mr. Miller performed at Carnegie Hall at the celebration of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s 50th anniversary.  He also performed with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band for their sold out show at Madison Square Garden, while on tour with Arcade Fire. 
 
The now-28-year-old's resume already reads like the resume of an old jazz cat. 
 
There are gigs with seasoned veterans including studio sessions with Donald Harrison Jr., Leo Nocentelli (The Meters), Delfeayo Marsalis, and Herlin Riley. He played trombone in the 2014 Grammy Band. Jeffery has performed with Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra since he was 14, and he even went on their 2013 New York Tour. He can be heard on the big band's debut album Make America Great Again! Jeffery Miller has been featured with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (2017 Opus Ball) and the Wynton Marsalis Septet (Abu Dhabi Festival 2017). He was also selected to be a part of the 2016 Disneyland Resort All American College Band. He's played the New Orleans VooDoo Fest, The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Satchmo Summerfest, French Quarter Fest, Vail Jazz Festival and Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival. Mr. Miller has opened for songstress Patti Austin in 2012 at his alma mater, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA). He's done tour dates with the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra in 2015, and performed with Christian McBride's Big Band in Philadelphia.  He was featured on International Jazz Day 2016 at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, a special event curated by Jon Batiste. He was the official composer and music director for The Public Theater’s Mobile Unit production of Measure for Measure in 2019. Jeffery can lately be seen on tour with Jonas Brothers as their trombonist. 
 
Jeffery has been recognized with numerous awards and scholarships – among them, the 2014 and 2015 Young Arts Merit Awards in Jazz Trombone and he was the recipient of 2013 ASCAP Louis Prima Award. In May of 2018, Jeffery graduated from The Juilliard School with his Bachelor's in Jazz Studies. And he received one of the first-ever Joseph W. Polisi “Artist as Citizen” awards from the man himself, Joseph Polisi, who stepped down as President of The Juilliard School that year. He has been nominated for 3 Grammy award before the age of 25 (Jon Batiste, John Legend).

He’s also begun an acting career. For 3 years he played a music student of Antoine Batiste (portrayed by Juilliard Alum Wendell Pierce) on David Simon’s critically acclaimed HBO series Treme. He has appeared on local New Orleans television stations and on New Orleans’ Jazz Heritage Station WWOZ. He can even been seen in the April 2017 issue of the Wall Street Journal, featured in the 12-page spread on Juilliard students, Juilliard Students Photographed in Their Element. Jeffery is currently a proud Performing/Endorsing Artist for Denis Wick Products and Best American Craftsman (BAC) horns. He plays a custom Jeffery Miller model trombone. 
 
Jeffery is grateful for the accolades and the great opportunities. “I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many teachers.” He has been mentored by Wycliffe Gordon, the Marsalis family (Ellis, Delfeayo, Wynton), Reggie Young, Steve Turre, Curtis Fuller and so many more.  
 
Making good music is Jeffery’s primary focus. He intends to eventually earn an advanced degree in music, make albums, develop a global fan base and tour the world playing his music. 
 
He also is looking out for the one who has looked out for him and who is his biggest supporter. His grandmother, Patricia, raised Jeffery and his twin sister, Justice, since they were 15 months old. She has sacrificed so much for them, and Jeffery's priority always is to make her comfortable. Jeffery would readily admit that he would not be where and who he is today without his grandmother. We know she is proud and that she, like so many others, believes in Jeffery Miller.

CHICAGO-BORN PERFORMER ADA DYER BEGAN HER MUSICAL CAREER SINGING IN LOCAL BANDS AND MUSICAL THEATER.

In 1979, jazz drummer and recording artist Norman Connors tapped her for his album Invitation; billed as “Adaritha,” she contributed lead vocals to Connors’ 1980 follow-up, Take It To The Limit. As a member of electro-funk combo Warp 9, she sang on the ‘80s club hits “Light Years” and “No Man Is An Island,” and later cut two solo albums for Motown, Meant to Be (1988) and Ada Dyer (1990). She has toured with Chaka Khan, Roberta Flack, Lenny Kravitz, and Boz Skaggs, and her studio credits include U2, Sting, Cher, Ronnie Spector, and Luther Vandross. This is her first Springsteen tour.

The Mandingo Ambassadors was founded in New York City by griot-guitarist Mamady Kouyaté in 2005.  As a veteran of the great orchestras of the golden age of Guinean dance bands, Mamady is a living library of musical science inherited from his ancestors and from a half century of experience as an arranger, band leader, accompanist and soloist.

Mamady Kouyaté carried this heritage with him to New York  where he has collaborated with members of the West African diaspora and Western musicians to continue the great tradition and sound of Guinean Afro-jazz.
Since the summer of 2008 the group has been in residence at Barbes, performing every Wednesday night at this well-known Brooklyn venue.  In addition, they have performed at many clubs, events and festivals including Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Celebrate Brooklyn, and the International Festival of Arts and Ideas.

Binky Griptite knew he had an aptitude for music at an early age. He could harmonize melodies, had good rhythm, had no desire for a day job, and carried a very strong desire to be remembered after his death. They say art is the easiest route to immortality.

Binky was born and raised in Milwaukee, and lived in Minneapolis for a bit before moving to NY. He took a break from music for a couple of years, but when he was ready to jump back in, he happened to meet Gabe Roth (co-founder of Daptone Records), and did a couple of sessions for a Lee Fields album. They started doing gigs, and the rest is history.

In addition to playing with the Dap-Kings, Binky has played on platinum selling records by Janet Jackson and Amy Winehouse and toured extensively with Amy in 2007. In 2013, Binky produced the first single by the Impressions in over 30 years, the Curtis Mayfield-penned “Rhythm”.

He is the host of The Boogie Down on WFUV 90.7 FM in New York, which airs Saturday nights at EST 8-11pm. Stream at WFUV.org

Greg Banks is a New Orlean native who is being described as “The Saint of Soul”. His most recent track ‘Tell Me’ is an eclectic and unexpected fusion of funk, soul, and rock-n-roll. Banks’ exuberant sound masterfully pays homage to guitar heroes Jimi Hendrix and Lenny Kravitz and the R&B and funk sounds that originated in his hometown. And, like, I’m not going to say Banks is the next Prince (because that’s blasphemous), but the vibes on this one are pretty purple to me.

“We are cooking audio gumbo…our special recipe includes some funk, jazz, hip hop mixed with brass band traditions spiced up with African and other world rhythms…MUSIC FOR THE PEOPLE!"

Underground Horns is a Brooklyn based brass band playing Afro Funk Latin New Orleans grooves and beyond. AllAboutJazz called their 2009 debut record FUNK MONK "kick-ass dance music…that brushes up against psychedelia…with shots of funky brass juice."

Their second album BIG BEAT (2010) was reviewed by Ken Waxman in The New York Jazz Record calling them "an unapologetic party band with brains...with tonal inflections from the Big Easy, central Africa, the Maghreb and the Baltic states" and on their third record ALMOST BLUE (2014) they were "expanding the sonic range while never leaving the groove behind." (Sam Spokony, The Villager)

Underground Horns performed internationally in Egypt, Germany and at Tudo é Jazz in Brazil, stateside at the Lowdown Hudson Blues Festival, NYC Winter Jazz Festival, Dizzy's (Jazz at Lincoln Center) and various Jam Band Festivals, sharing the bill with Rebirth Brass Band, Big Sam's Funky Nation and B.B. King.
In the big city they make people dance in subway stations, parks and at their club dates at nublu, the Blue Note and Brooklyn Bowl, among others. They also have been playing as a marching band, namely at the spectacular NYC Village Halloween Parade.

"Last Saturday, a woman came up and said that we touched her soul." is the pull quote of a New York Magazine feature about them (2011).

Underground Horns is led by alto saxophonist Welf Dorr, who, originally from Munich (Germany), moved 1995 to New York where he played/recorded with Sonny Simmons, Frank Lacy, Sabir Mateen, Butch Morris, Kenny Wollesen, Jojo Kuo and Vernon Reid a.o. He performed in the US, Europe, Mexico, Brazil and Egypt including festivals such as Willisau (Switzerland) or Central Park SummerStage as well as places as City Hall of New York.

Welf Dorr - alto sax
Patrick Adams - trumpet
Justus Heher - trombone
Evan Jaffa - sousaphone
Clemens Grassmann - drums
Michael Glanzer / Okai Fleurimont - percussion

Gerardo Contino is an award-winning multi-disciplinary artist, cultural producer, and philanthropist. A classically trained singer, Gerardo Contino began performing professionally in Havana, Cuba at the age of 19. Gerardo has toured the world with his music and now calls New York City home. He is the founder and director of Camino al Arte, a non-profit arts organization that connects and produces cutting edge cultural and educational opportunities for young and established artists across the United States and the Caribbean. 

A versatile singer and bandleader, Gerardo has performed with Cuban and American salsa, jazz, and big orchestra bands. In Cuba, Gerardo was lead singer for NG La Banda, the legendary timba and jazz band directed by Jose Luis Cortes. In the United States, Gerardo was a lead singer for the Max Weinberg Orchestra and Grammy-award winning Larry Harlow's Latin Legends Band. Gerardo has also acted and performed opera, most notably in the Peak Performances’ Hatuey: Memory of Fire, a Yiddish-Cuban opera production.  

Gerardo created and directed Los Habaneros, which went on to become the 2015 "Best Band in Manhattan" (WNYC/NPR), and the 2017 "Best Cuban Dance Band" (NY Latin Culture Magazine). With Los Habaneros, Gerardo has performed at The Kennedy Center for the Arts, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, top music venues in New York City, and numerous festivals in the United States and around the world.  

As a cultural producer and community organizer, Gerardo has created multi-disciplinary public artistic productions in the U.S. and Cuba. He received the Manhattan Community Arts Fund for his productions in 2014, 2015, and 2018. Gerardo has also been a board member of the National Council for the Traditional Arts since 2020. 

In addition to his musical career, Gerardo is a graduate of the University of Havana with a law degree and holds a Master's in Law from the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, where he specialized in Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law.

Make Music New York is pleased to announce the return of Mozart’s Requiem!

In past years, these performances of Mozart’s Requiem, organized by conductor Douglas Anderson and producer Melissa Gerstein, have proven both popular and profoundly moving. This season, they invite singers and instrumentalists from across New York City and beyond to celebrate the Summer Solstice and remember lost loved ones by performing Mozart’s profound and solemn work, the Requiem, K626, at a new location: 601 Lexington Avenue at 53rd Street (NE corner).

From Maestro Anderson: “We will gather again this year as part of the Make Music New York annual festival to perform and present this great piece of music with its original intention: to honor loved ones who have passed.  Participating in this event, and performing simultaneously with this group of like-minded performers, provides a much-needed lift to the spirits of all engaged in the endeavor.  An hour of your time spent in the solemn exercise on your part in performing this exceptional piece of music will be a lasting tribute to the family, friends, acquaintances, and fellow citizens we have all lost.  We, the world, and history will know that we performed in their memory.”

The performance will begin at 7:00 pm sharp on June 21 with an introduction and notes from Douglas Anderson and will conclude at approximately 8:15 pm.  

The always popular participatory program affectionately known as “Sousapalooza” returns this season with a special afternoon performance from the plaza at 601 Lexington Avenue (at the corner of E 53rd St.)

All brass, woodwind and percussion players, of all backgrounds and skill levels, are invited and encouraged to join us by sight reading the marches of the incomparable John Philip Sousa on the spot, in a pop-up performance directed by Conductor Oscar Wiley Thorp

Described as “...the unknown queen of Americana…” (Feedback, Norway), “..a Black Lucinda Williams…” and a “...brutal, original, explosive singer…” (Vanity Fair, Spain), Queen Esther’s creative output musically is the culmination of several critical Southern elements, not the least of which are years of recording and touring internationally as frontwoman for several projects with her mentor, harmolodic guitar icon James “Blood” Ulmer, including a stint in his seminal band Odyssey. Raised in Atlanta, GA and embedded in Charleston, SC’s Lowcountry – a region with African traditions and Black folkways that span centuries and constantly inform her work – Queen Esther uses her Southern roots as a touchstone to explore cultural mores in America, deconstructing well-worn historical narratives while creating a reclamation-driven soundscape.

A member of SAG/AFTRA, Actors Equity, Dramatists Guild and the Recording Academy, her work as a vocalist, lyricist, songwriter, actor, solo performer, playwright and librettist has led to creative collaborations in neo-vaudeville, alt-theater, various alt-rock configurations, (neo) swing bands, trip-hop DJs, spoken word performances, jazz combos, jam bands, various blues configurations, original Off-Broadway plays and musicals, experimental music/art noise and performance art. Thanks to an admin publishing deal with Bug Music (now BMG Rights Management) instigated by the esteemed guitarist/songwriter Alejandro Escovedo, Queen Esther started her imprint EL Recordings and has released five critically acclaimed albums, including the internationally lauded Black Americana project Gild The Black Lily (2021).

Queen Esther’s most recent work includes headlining Lincoln Center’s 2022 Summer for the City with her western swing collective The Black Rose of Texas (featuring Queen Esther, Kat Edmonson and Synead Cidney Nichols on vocals, and the legendary Cindy Cashdollar on pedal steel guitar) that was augmented by a performance workshop at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and later that year, a sold out weekend of shows at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola; and a grant from The 2022 New York City Women's Fund for Media, Music and Theater for Blackbirding, an alt-country album – written during an All Media Artist Residency at Gettysburg National Military Park.

Currently, Queen Esther is a playwright-in-residence in the 2022 - 2024 WP Theater Pipeline PlayLAB, with a full length play scheduled for an Off Broadway staged reading in April 2024. She is a member of Joe's Pub Working Group, Western Arts Allilance's Performing Artist Discovery program and Keychange US Talent Development Program. Queen Esther's pandemic album Rona (released June 2, 2023) is climbing the folk charts while garnering airplay and reviews worldwide as her 2018 TED Talk about the true origins of country and bluegrass steadily reverberates throughout the Americana community.

Coming in 2024: Things Are Looking Up, a jazz album of original songs and Lady Day's lost classics, and the alt-Americana album Blackbirding.