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Annette A. Aguilar

Annette A. Aguilar is a percussionist, bandleader, composer, and music educator based in New York City. Born in San Francisco, California, in 1957, Aguilar began playing drums and percussion at a young age. She was influenced by her parents, who were both musicians, as well as the Latin and jazz music scenes in San Francisco.

Aguilar moved to New York City in 1980 to pursue a career in music. She quickly became a sought-after percussionist and played with a variety of notable musicians, including David Byrne, Tito Puente, and Max Roach.

In 1985, Aguilar formed her own band, Annette A. Aguilar & StringBeans, which blends Latin jazz, Brazilian music, and swing. The band has performed at major jazz festivals around the world, including the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands and the JVC Jazz Festival in New York.

In addition to her work as a performer, Aguilar is also a dedicated music educator. She has taught percussion and Latin music at New York University, the New School, and the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, among other institutions. She has also led educational workshops for students of all ages in the United States, Latin America, and Europe.

Aguilar has released several albums with her band, including "No Cheap Dates" (2003), "Brazilian Heart" (2008), and "The Aguilar Connection" (2011). She has also collaborated with other musicians on various recordings, including "Brazilian Dreams" with jazz pianist and composer, Michele Rosewoman.

Annette A. Aguilar continues to perform, record, and teach music in New York City and beyond. She is widely regarded as one of the top percussionists in the Latin jazz and Brazilian music genres.


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Album Review

The DIVA Jazz Orchestra: Swings Broadway

Read "Swings Broadway" reviewed by Jack Bowers


At the ripe old age of thirty (closer to a hundred in big-band years), the superlative New York-based, all-female DIVA Jazz Orchestra remains as frisky as a newborn colt, swinging up, down and around Broadway with abandon on its thirteenth album, a brisk and colorful tribute to the Great White Way that shines brightly from start to finish. The album opens and closes in a mid-1950s vein, raising the curtain with Steven Feifke's breezy, well-grooved arrangement of ...

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75

Interview

Latin Jazz Conversations: Annette Aguilar (Part 2)

Latin Jazz Conversations: Annette Aguilar (Part 2)

Source: The Latin Jazz Corner by Chip Boaz

Our communities give us an artistic foundation, a set of important influences, and a stable support system, but the experiences that we have outside our community place the unique twist upon our identity. These new adventures always change our perspective upon the world, adding a distinctly different spice to our artistic stew. These different avenues don't necessarily need to be drastic; sometimes a simple dip into new musical genres provide a stunningly new perspective. Large leaps away from our community ...

111

Interview

Latin Jazz Conversations: Annette Aguilar (Part 1)

Latin Jazz Conversations: Annette Aguilar (Part 1)

Source: The Latin Jazz Corner by Chip Boaz

Our community has a major impact upon our lives, shaping our cultural awareness and the paths that we take to express it. Interactions with parents, friends, extended family, teachers, and other community members give us clues about their values and the traditions that they cherish. From birth, we learn by imitation, so we naturally gravitate towards the same types of activities and priorities. These values become an important part of our lives, but at some point, they eventually come into ...

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