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Rachel Faro

Rachel Faro is an extraordinary poet, singer/songwriter, and Grammy-nominated record producer. She began her career as a teenage member of the cast of Hair, was soon discovered by producer John Simon and released two classic albums on RCA Records, Refugees and Rachel Faro II. Musicians on these albums included Michael Brecker, Jack De Johnette, Dave Holland, Bonnie Raitt, Tito Puente, Harvey Brooks, Eric Weisberg and many other great artists. In the 1980’s she self-produced the album Windsong, which was released in Europe on Blue Flame/BMG. This album featured Robben Ford, Fernando Saunders, Steve Gorn, Jaime Haddad and Carol Steele. On all of her work there ran a red thread integrating global elements such as Celtic airs, Indian instruments and Slavic harmonies.

In the late 1980’s Rachel switched to producing other artists, beginning with the majestic queen of folk music, Odetta, with whom she created Christmas Spirituals, a profoundly beautiful album that remains a favorite to many. In 1989, while performing in Berlin, she encountered Grupo Mezcla, a group from Havana and produced an album for them, beginning a long immersion in Cuban, Puerto Rican and Venezuelan music and culture. In the 1990’s, along with percussionist Sammy Figueroa, she produced and worked with some of the genre’s greatest artists, including Vocal Sampling, Los Van Van, Eddie Palmieri, Guaco, Bobby Sanabria and Yomo Toro. She also founded Ashé Records, a producer’s signature label that released several of these artists.

At the beginning of the millennium Rachel and Sammy created a band around Sammy’s explosive and accomplished playing. As producer and creator of the band Sammy Figueroa and His Latin Jazz Explosion Rachel was honored with Grammy Nominations for each of their two albums. Meanwhile, Rachel gradually began returning to her own voice. After spending a summer in Nashville producing Charley Lee, a country pop artist from China, and receiving countless emails from fans all over the world, she became inspired to sing and write again. Since 2006 she has performed mostly in house concerts in New York and in South Florida at the Luna Star Café. She is looking forward to expanding her performance schedule to include audiences everywhere who might wish to hear her gorgeous voice lyrics. Whether as performer or producer, Rachel’s musical vision remains the same.

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Letters to Naras: Rachel Faro Writes About the Latin Jazz Grammy

Letters to Naras: Rachel Faro Writes About the Latin Jazz Grammy

Source: The Latin Jazz Corner by Chip Boaz

On Wednesday April 6th, The National Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences announced a “restructuring" of The Grammy Awards, a move that included the elimination of the Latin Jazz Grammy. This unfortunate decision undermines the integrity of Latin Jazz and disregards its importance as a major piece of the cultural landscape in the United States. I would encourage all LJC readers to protest this decision and demand that NARAS reinstate the Latin Jazz Grammy immediately—you can do this by sending ...

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