ORQUESTA LA INSPIRACION
Thursday, OCTOBER 17th, 8:00 PM – 11:00 PM
SALSA DANCE PARTY,
$5 suggested donation
(Latin Dance instruction provided prior to 8pm)
Food available to purchase
Student Center - Ballroom A
EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
358 EMU Student Center
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
SPONSORED BY THE Center for Multicultural Affairs
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Orquesta La Inspiracion.
Led by Puerto Rican-born congero Ozzie Rivera and music director-pianist Bill Meyer, this 10-piece unit honors the traditions of merengue, cumbia and Afro-Caribbean jazz while forging new directions in Latin music.
Raised in Detroit, Rivera is a longtime cultural activist and social worker. He’s studied Afro-Latino music for more than 30 years. “Music with heavy drumming helps people get into a different, spiritual plane,” says Rivera. “If it’s not putting you in a trance, it’s not doing its job.” That sounds pretty inspirational.
Meyer is a key component of Detroit’s jazz community, an activist and leader of his own bands. His long list of associates includes luminaries such as George Burns, Smokey Robinson, Cab Calloway, Burt Bacharach, Nipsey Russell, Natalie Cole and Savion Glover.
Inspiracion is a mighty river of Latin sounds with strong old- and new-school currents.
Singer Figueroa and trumpeter Bob Mojica each have more than 40 years’ experience in the salsa and jazz inferno.
Saxophonist Chris Kaercher is deeply funky, having spent time with the likes of the Temptations, James Brown, Lou Rawls, the Manhattans, and the Spinners.
Bassist Steve Backus is known for his R&B bass grooves with Detroit band Jocelyn B and the Detroit Street Players.
Singer Armando Vega has that youthful spirit.
The experiences of percussionists Gregory “Greco” Freeman and Javier M. Barrios range from Detroit jazz and soul to salsa and reggae.
Songbirds Dulce Checkler and Consuela Lopez bridge the old and new, going deeply into African call-and-response vocals, as well as the latest salsa and soul hybrids.
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