Our Story

 

Founded in 2014 by Geoffrey West Senn (trumpet) and Mac Santiago (percussionist/drum set), the Twin Cites Latin Jazz Orchestra (TCLJO) brings together the drama of big band jazz, the rhythmic intensity of Latin music, and the virtuosity of eighteen of the Twin Cities’ most accomplished professional musicians. Many years of well-received performances throughout the Twin Cities have firmly established the TCLJO in the region as the large ensemble voice for Latin Jazz.  

 

The combination of Latin and Jazz music dates back to the days of Jelly Roll Morton and his “latin tinge.” During the late 30’s and 40’s in New York City, the work of Mario Bauza with the Machito Orchestra and the famous collaboration between Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo solidified a new genre in the United States. Artists such as Tito Puente, the Palemieri brothers, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Mongo Santamaria continued to develop the genre through the 50’s and 60’s. Latin Jazz was ushered into the current age by musicians like Pancho Sanchez, Arturo Sandoval, Paquito D’Rivera, and Sérgio Mendes. The Twin Cities Latin Jazz Orchestra is proud to uphold Afro-Cuban, Mambo, Salsa, Samba, Bossa Nova and Boogaloo rhythms in the large jazz ensemble format, while investing in new voices by commissioning new works from the Twin Cities’ most talented composers and arrangers.