LATIN JAZZ LAB BANDPHOTO BY MATT HELLMANDIRECTORJosé AponteSAXOPHONESNigel ReganChristopher SchiavoniDaniel HensonHeath De GuzmanZane CriderTRUMPETSAlejandro MunozRichard ThallerJeremiah ArenasJonathan OrellanaAlexander BillingsleyNicholas MailesMax SantanaJoshua BusbyPaul CovertTROMBONESRHYTHMAbigail Litjens (voice)Keita Onuma (guitar)Isaiah Nygard (piano)Adam Abrams (bass)Aramís Fernández (drumset)Isaac LaVigne (congas)Jeffery Chaidez (bongó)32North Haven, CTCramerton, NCFairfax, VAHouston, TXLubbock, TXEl Paso, TXActon, MABryan, TXChantilly, VAAsheville, NCJoplin, MOHouston, TXSherwood, ORRichmond, VAOshkosh, WIYokosuka, JapanKutztown, PAFrederick, MDHialeah, FLLake in the Hills, ILHouston, TXLATIN JAZZ LAB BANDis a jazz ensemble that ventures into the musical realm between the richlegacy of Latin American rhythms and the profound tradition of the jazzlanguage. Among the many Afro Latin expressions, the Afro Cuban andthe Brazilian languages had the most significant impact in the originsand development of Jazz in the United States. Through performanceour students gain a clear perspective on how these musical traditionscontinue to influence jazz composition, performance and improvisation.The Lab is directed by UNT Jazz Studies faculty member José M. Aponte.The lab performs multiple concerts every semester and have shared thestage with such recognized guest artists as Michael Spiro, Ignacio Berroa,Luis Conte, Manuel Valera, Duduka da Fonseca and Danílo Pérez. Thegroup has released five CDs, En Clave (2006), Dancing Small (2010), LateNight Mambo (2012), Little d Town (2016) and 5th Harvest (2022).The ensemble is also the recipient of DownBeat magazine’s 36th AnnualStudent Music Awards “Best Latin Group” Award (2013), the Jazz EducationNetwork Conference “Outstanding Performance Award” (2014), DownBeatmagazine’s 39th Annual Student Music Awards “Latin Group OutstandingCollege Performance” (2016) and the DownBeat magazine’s 45th AnnualStudent Music Awards “Best Latin Group Graduate Level Performance” (2022).The UNT Latin Jazz Lab has performed at renowned venues and festivalssuch as the Denton Arts and Jazz Festival, The Alma y Fuego LatinoFestival, Dallas Latino Cultural Center, the Dallas International Festival, the5th Annual Jazz Education Network Conference and the 13th Annual JazzEducation Network Conference.University of North Texas College of Music
Spice up the Season!with UNT Latin Jazz Lab’s newest albummusic.unt.eduAlbum availablefor purchasein person oronline todaySTREAMING ON ALL DIGITAL PLATFORMSAll rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited by applicable laws. Proceeds from the sale of NorthTexas Jazz recordings benefit the University of North Texas and are used to support the jazz studies programthrough scholarships, public performances, tours, and related activities.