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Terraza Venezuelan Jam

The first Friday of every month our Venezuelan Jam will be dedicated to the dialogue among Jazz players and the acoustic memories of Venezuelan immigrants. This is a Monthly Jam Session in Queens, NY, where local musicians are able to play and create music in a collective and harmonious way.

Musicians welcome and everyone else who wants to enjoy some quality music on Sunday nights. Come support live music and our community!

Our Jam will be Open by:

Benito Gonzalez / Piano Jorge Glem / Cuatro Jeremy Smith / Capachos Luisito Quintero / Percussion Linda Briceño / Trumpet and Vocalist

Jeremy Smith: A percussive artist whose unique versatility allows him to move seamlessly among numerous musical styles. While the foundation of his playing comes from his classical training at The Juilliard School, his passion lies in the vast array of percussion traditions from around the world such as those found in South America, Africa, India, the Middle East, and jazz. He was recently invited to the 2016 International Percussion Festival in Seoul, South Korea as a solo concert artist. As a specialist of Venezuelan maracas, he has performed with Latin Grammy nominee Luisito Quintero, Ali Bello and the Sweet Wire Band, Los Crema Paraiso, and Juancho Herrera.

Benito Gonzalez: Born into a family of Venezuelan folk musicians, jazz pianist Benito Gonzalez has always had a deep-rooted appreciation for pastimes and traditions. Today, as a rising star of one of America’s finest musical traditions, Gonzalez has come to his current status by following in the footsteps of jazz’s ancestral forebears. The fusion of world rhythms and straight-ahead jazz makes this passionate performer an audience favorite all over the world. Gonzalez has a golden touch on the piano, whether he’s playing a ballad or swinging for the fences. – the JazzPage Benito Gonzalez is being recognized as an exciting pianist and composer for his well-received debut album ‘Starting Point’ (Christian McBride, Antonio Sanchez, Rene McLean, Ron Blake) in addition to taking home first prize at the Great American Jazz Piano Competition. Benito’s acclaimed sophomore album, ‘Circles’ (Ron Blake, Myron Walden, Azar Lawrence, Christian McBride, Jeff “Tain” Watts), reveals a very personal body of work as he emerges as a leader and an accomplished improviser. Recently, Benito received more critical attention for his work on Garrett’s Grammy-Nominated album ‘Seeds from the Underground’. Gonzalez proves he can handle just about anything thrown his musical way. – KeyboardMag

Luisito Quintero: He was born in Caracas, Venezuela, where he was surrounded by Afro-Venezuelan and Afro-Cuban rhythm and music. His father, a respected percussionist in his native country, tutored and encouraged Luisito on timbales through his adolescent years. Luisito comes from a long line of outstanding musicians which includes his uncle, Carlos Nene Quintero, and cousin Robert Quintero.Luisito studied at the Orquesta Sinfonica de Venezuela (The Symphonic Orchestra of Venezuela). He joined the popular music ensembles Grupo Guaco and Oscar D’Leon, where he enjoyed the widespread worldwide exposure. Luisito has worked and recorded with, The Rolling Stones, Vanessa Williams, Paul Simon, Santana, Jack Dejohnete, David Sanborn, George Benson, Tommy LePuma, Joe Sampler, Bill Cosby, the late Celia Cruz and Tito Puente, Cachao, Eddie Palmieri, Marc Anthony, Gloria Estefan, Richard Bona, Ravi Coltrane, Claudia Acuna, Nathalie Cole, Diana Krall, Roy Grove, Giovanni Hidalgo, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Spanish Harlem, Willie Colon and countless other high-profile music acts.

Jorge Glem: Started his music education when he was 6 years old under renowned Venezuelan professors Eberto Zapata y Alexander Mariña. He studied mandolin under the instruction of professor Ángel Luis Piñero. Since 2009 he started his own personal quartet project which didn’t stop him from being a part of other bands such as: C4 Trío, César Orozco: kamarata Jazz, Movida Acústica Urbana, Rock&MAU, Marco Granados, EnCayapa, Alexis Cárdenas Cuarteto, Germán Marcano, Pacho Flores, and Cuatrero. He has played alongside prestigious musicians and he has also accompanied many Venezuelan and international musical groups like the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra, Paquito D’Rivera, Rubén Blades, Jordan Rudess, Edmar Castañeda, Etienne Charles, Caramels de cianuro, Guaco, Ensamble Gurrufío, Serenata Guayanesa y El Cuatrero. . Jorge Glem also participated in the Original Soundtrack for the feature film The Liberator, directed by Alberto Arvelo.

Linda Briceño: At only 27 Linda already owns an impressive list of achievements that would normally take any artist many years to accomplish: trumpet player, singer, Big Band Director, and composer. Renowned musician and Jazz at Lincoln Center Musical Director, Wynton Marsalis expresses his awe on Linda when he says: “ She possesses an excellent awareness of time, rhythm, and a great sound, but above all, she has a deep understanding of musical concepts and ideas. There is a weight in her sound, weight, weight. This you either have it or you don’t and it is very unusual for such a young person to have it the way she does”. Notwithstanding, Linda’s talent goes beyond her professional career as a musician and projects her to a social leadership role. In 2012 the World Economic Forum embraces Linda as a Young Global Shaper in recognition of her efforts as a musician and entrepreneur in developing empowerment strategies for young artists, especially musicians, to assert their rights as creative individuals and also as a collective in Latin America.

At 10 years of age, Linda participated in her first musical studio production by the now extinct label “Latin World” entitled “Tocando Tierra”. In it, she shared the studio with the likes of Alex Acuña, Paquito D’Rivera, Armando Manzanero, Bela Fleck, Don Grusin, Abraham Laboriel, Ary Barroso, Pedro Eustache and Roger Nichols among others, she being the youngest artist in the recording. In 2010 and 2011 she was invited several times to participate as a soloist of The Miami Symphony Orchestra and Simón Bolívar Orchestra, Arturo Sandoval, and Paquito de Rivera. In 2012, she made a special guest appearance with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra under the direction of Wynton Marsalis, thus becoming the first Venezuela woman to perform with this famous orchestra. In 2013 She performs for THE GRAN PRIX FORMULA 1 for the Kingdom oh Bahrain as a Soloist. She was invited to perform with amazing artists as Arturo Sandoval, Paquito de Rivera, Dizzy Gillespie Big Band alumni. Recently release her first record who has been nominated in different academies as Best New Artist.

Venezuelan Jam Session at Terraza 7 on Friday, December 2nd, 2016 at 9:30pm.

$10 cover charge for mezzanine. FREE admission for CHILDREN 12 and under.

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