The Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective
Saturday, September 28
TIME: 4:30pm-5:45pm
VENUE: West Stage. Midway Plaisance at south ellis ave.
A photo of José Guzmán (left) and Victor García (right) standing next to each other facing the camera and smiling against a pink gradient backdrop. Guzmán is holding his guitar and wearing a brown corduroy suit jacket with a blue button down shirt. García is holding his trumpet and wearing a navy blue suit jacket and a navy blue button down shirt with bananas printed on it. Followed by a photo of The Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective playing on stage with the crowd watching in the foreground.
Photos by Herminio Rodriguez
The Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective
Latin-jazz group The Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective was created by José Guzmán during his graduate studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The group, which has released several albums on Spotify, is now celebrating its sixth year performing and is looking to grow in 2024 with the release and touring support of its full album, Fiesta at Caroga. The collective’s self-titled EP (2019) has received airplay on radio stations around the country, as well as in South America.
José Guzmán Borrero, a native of Ponce, Puerto Rico, is a multi-genre guitarist who has performed with jazz ensembles, chamber groups, and rock bands, and performed as both a classical and jazz guitarist as an artist-in-residence at the Caroga Lake Music Festival. In 2020, Guzmán was awarded the Urbana Arts Grant for the opportunity to pen new compositions using several Afro-Cuban and Puerto Rican rhythms. The compositions were presented at the 2020 CU Jazz Fest. Guzmán has also received grants from the City of Chicago's Department of Culture and Special Events and Urbana Arts, as well as the Mykytyn Composition Award for the composition "Isochronal: A Suite for Big Band." As a jazz guitarist, Guzmán has recorded on albums by Dimijtre Vasiljevic (released on Rope a Dope Records), KASA String Quartet, and Mr. Chair's Better Days.
The musicians:
Victor García – trumpet
Roy McGrath – baritone saxophone
Ben Carrasquillo – trombone
Andrey Goncalves – bass
José Guzmán – guitar
Javi Quintana – congas
Enrique Chavez - bongos and bell
Michael Rodriguez – timbales