John Santos: Unusual Standards

Few people on earth know as much about Afro-Latin music as the remarkable percussionist John Santos. A San Francisco boy of the ’50s, John was steeped in his family’s rich Puerto Rican and Cape Verdean traditions. Before long he was sharing the world’s stages with his childhood heroes: Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, and dozens more and leveraging this rare wealth of experience to form groups that brought together styles, rhythms, concepts and artists from four generations. Tonight the four-time Grammy nominee takes us on a rollercoaster ride of astonishingly reimagined jazz classics with an Afro-Cuban approach. Oakland blues-and-soul superstar vocalist Terrie Odabi pilots the band with heart-pumping energy alongside Berkeley’s own sensational vocalist Destani Wolf. The amazing newcomer and the urban diva turn up the heat on songs you know and love.