Latin American Songbook

Latin American Songbook

Featured Musicians: Maria Márquez (vocals), Murray Low (piano), Buca Neck (bass guitar) | October, 2005

Four musicians - four cultures - blending to form a distinctive marriage of jazz and Latin American sounds. Venezuelan chanteuse/composer María Márquez has been compared to Edith Piaf. Percussionist John Santos is a legend for his command of Afro-Latin beats, and Murray Low and Buca Necak stand out in their own right as respected players on the jazz and world beat scene. Together, this extraordinary, "All Star" quartet interpreted classic standards by great Latin American composers such as Agustin Lara, Aldemaro Romero, and Armando Manzanero as well as traditional boleros and "cha cha chas." Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Maria Márquez honed her vocal skills on the San Francisco music scene, blending jazz with South American influences. John Santos is one of the foremost exponents of Afro-Latin music in the world, known for his innovative use of traditional forms and instruments in combination with contemporary music. He has performed, recorded and studied with acknowledged masters of the Afro-Latin and Jazz idioms such as Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, and Eddie Palmieri. Murray Low, a consummate musical artist, both as an accompanist and a soloist, Low's instinctive feel for Latin jazz made him a popular player in the San Francisco Bay area. Buck Necak, a frequent collaborator with Larry Vuckovich, Belgrade-born Buca "Bootza" Necak has been described as "creative" and "fluid and powerful" on the acoustic bass.