EMILIO SOLLA & LA INESTABLE DE BROOKLYN
Emilio Solla is able to summarize through this small orchestra his different ideas as composer and arranger in a large ensemble format. During the last few years he has been highly in demand as orchestrator and arranger for larger ensembles for artists such as Paquito D’Rivera and Arturo O’Farrill, both of his own pieces and the work of others, and these experiences have expanded his taste for orchestral color, bringing his writing to a new level of accomplishment.
La Inestable de Brooklyn is a nine piece orchestra with an unusual instrumental combination including two reed players, one trumpet, one trombone, accordion, violin, piano, double-bass and drums. This peculiar ensemble, made up of many different smaller units, can project textures and sounds that evoke a wide range of styles and influences. Commenting on a performance by Solla recently, The New York Times said “The virile throb of Astor Piazzolla’s nuevo tango was omnipresent in the pianist Emilio Solla’s stately pulse.” But even as the influence of the great creator of modern tango is present in Solla’s compositions, he takes here a broader approach, from academic counterpoint writing to free improvisation, from traditional tango and Latin American sounds to a standard trio plus horns that brings at times the classical color of the greatest and most distinctly American art form: jazz music.
Not only is the combination of instruments in La Inestable de Brooklyn quite unique, but also is the quality and personal backgrounds of its members:
Tim Armacost, tenor, alto flute & bass clarinet
Alejandro Avilés, alto, soprano, flute, piccolo
John Bailey, trumpet & flugelhorn
Mike Fahie, trombone
Sara Caswell, violin
Rodolfo Zanetti, bandoneon
Emilio Solla, piano & writing
Edward Perez, double bass
Rogério Boccato, drums
After more than three years of rehearsing and playing regularly in some of New York most prestigious venues they recorded “Second Half” which received a Grammy Nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2015.
TIM ARMACOST
After a life of travel and discovery on three continents, Tim Armacost has established himself as one of the most important saxophonists on the New York scene today. Armacost was born in Los Angeles, but came of age as a musician in Tokyo, New Delhi and Amsterdam, where he burnished his reputation as an upcoming talent, with a big tenor sound and an impeccable rhythmic sense. He tours regularly around the world both as a sideman and a leader. Armacost has worked with a phenomenal number of jazz greats, including Al Foster, Jimmy Cobb, Kenny Barron, Tom Harrell, Billy Hart, Victor Lewis, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Peter Erskine, Ray Drummond, Roy Hargrove, Don Friedman and Randy Brecker. He has recorded 8 critically acclaimed records as a leader and has composed for Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. He is a widely respected teacher, working regularly at the Jamey Aebersold and Stanford Summer Jazz Workshops, at Queens College in New York City and as a clinician at Universities throughout the U.S., Japan and Europe.
ALEJANDRO AVILÉS
Alejandro Avilés is a first generation Cuban-American who comes from a long lineage of musicians. In fact, Mr. Avilés’ family has been considered by the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest, continuous musical group in the world. The Orquesta Hermanos Avilés was started by his great-grandfather, Manuel Avilés, in 1882 in Holguin, Cuba, and remarkably is still in existence today.
Based in NYC, Alejandro Avilés works as an adjunct professor at both Hofstra University and Hunter College teaching saxophone and jazz improvisation while performing as a versatile musician in genres ranging from “Straight Ahead” jazz, “Brazilian” and “Afro-Cuban” music, to Broadway. When not on tour, you can catch Alejandro perform in many of New York’s most renowned jazz clubs including Smoke, Jazz Standard, Zinc Bar, Smalls, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Jazz Gallery, Iridium, Fat Cat, Birdland, and Blue Note.
JOHN BAILEY
John Bailey is a New York City based trumpet player, composer, band leader and educator.
He became a member of The Buddy Rich Band while still in college, and his career has included long-running gigs with Ray Charles, The Woody Herman Orchestra, master conguero and bandleader Ray Barretto, and Frank Sinatra, Jr. His work with Latin Jazz innovator Arturo O’Farrill won him two Grammy awards for the albums The Offense of the Drum and Cuba – The Conversation Continues. He has played on more than 80 albums as a sideman and has recorded 3 albums as a leader: “In Real Time” (2017), “Can You Imagine” (2020) and “Time Bandits” (2023). As a jazz educator John has taught at the University of Miami and Florida International University.
Bailey, who continues to teach privately, believes educating the next generation of musicians is a very important activity for any artist. “It is up to us, the artists, to inspire an appreciation for great art,” he says. “By keeping performance standards at a high level and sharing our devotion with others, especially children, we enrich countless lives.”
MIKE FAHIE
Mike Fahie is a jazz trombonist, composer and educator living in Brooklyn. He is known for his long-time collaboration with legendary trumpet player John McNeil (represented on “Plainsong” Destiny Records), the Mike Fahie Jazz Orchestra (represented on “Urban(e)” Greenleaf Music) and the Mike Fahie Quintet (heard on Mike’s debut album, “Anima” Brooklyn Jazz Underground).
He is also an in-demand sideman in New York City, playing with many highly recognized and decorated groups. He is the lead trombonist of Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, a four-time Grammy nominated ensemble. He is the principal trombonist of the Gramercy Brass Orchestra of New York, and a member of the Gramercy Brass Quintet. He is also a regular member of the Dan Pugach Nonet, the Emilio Solla Tango Jazz Orchestra, and the Pedro Giraudo Jazz Orchestra, each of which are Grammy or Latin Grammy winners. Mike also plays lead trombone with multi Grammy-nominated Remy LeBoeuf’s Assembly of Shadows and the Jihye Lee Jazz Orchestra.
SARA CASWELL
Grammy® Nominee Sara Caswell is recognized as one of today’s foremost jazz violinists through her lyricism and technical facility. Voted into the DownBeat Magazine Critics and Readers Polls every year since 2013, Sara has released three highly-acclaimed solo albums, the most recent of which is The Way to You (2023, Anzic Records). Sara has performed and/or recorded with such artists as the WDR Big Band, esperanza spalding, Brad Mehldau, Brian Blade, John Patitucci, Regina Carter, Donny McCaslin, Henry Threadgill, Linda Oh, and Miho Hazama at venues including Carnegie Hall, Village Vanguard, Birdland, Jazz at Lincoln Center, SFJazz, and Blue Note (NYC and Tokyo). Currently on faculty at the Berklee College of Music, Manhattan School of Music, The New School, and New York University, Sara regularly appears as a guest artist and clinician at schools and festivals around the world.
RODOLFO ZANETTI
A native of Argentina, Rodolfo Zanetti plays the bandoneon, a type of concertina particularly popular in that country and an essential instrument in most tango ensembles. Dedicated to playing tango from an early age, he joined the Mancifesta Orchestra and Tango & Punto before co-founding the Quintet Bandó, with which he made well received tours to Washington, Chicago and New York.
In the United States, Zanetti has performed as soloist with the Pan American Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Lisner Auditorium of George Washington University, the Embassy of Argentina, the Organization of American States and other notable venues. In New York he performed as soloist at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and Carnegie Hall.
EDWARD PEREZ
Bassist, composer, and Grammy-nominated bandleader Edward Perez resides in the cultural crossroads of Queens, New York, where he maintains musical collaborations in a myriad of styles. The early years of Perez’s career included stints in Boston and Lima, Peru, where he began his formation in jazz, latin-jazz, and Afro-Peruvian styles. Since arriving in New York in 2005, Pérez has toured throughout the world, performing in more than twenty countries for acclaimed bandleaders in jazz such as Paquito D’Rivera, Ralph Peterson Jr, Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra and Ignacio Berroa and even sharing the stage with jazz luminaries such as Lee Konitz, Kenny Werner, Lionel Loueke, Mark Turner, and Seamus Blake. His own project, Terraza Big Band, received a Grammy nomination in the large ensemble category for their debut recording “One Day Wonder,” featuring compositions by Perez as well as co-leader Michael Thomas. Perez’s numerous recording credits as a sideman include three Latin-Grammy nominated recordings and as well as another Grammy nod in the Latin-jazz category.
ROGÉRIO BOCATO
Brazilian percussionist and educator Rogério Boccato plays/recorded in projects led by some of today’s leading jazz artists, among them Maria Schneider, John Patitucci, Fred Hersch, Brian Blade, Kurt Elling, Danilo Perez, Renee Rosnes, and many others. He has also collaborated with top-ranking Brazilian artists, such as Toninho Horta, Moacir Santos, Zé Renato and Vinicius Cantuária.
He is featured on three Grammy-award-winning albums: Kurt Elling & Danilo Perez‘s “Secrets Are The Best Stories,“ “The Thompson Fields,” with the Maria Schneider Orchestra, and Billy Childs’ “Rebirth.” He is also featured on multiple Grammy-nominated albums, among them Kenny Garrett’s “Beyond The Wall,” John Patitucci‘s “Remembrance“ (alongside Joe Lovano and Brian Blade), and Alan Ferber’s “Jigsaw“.
Rogério Boccato has been a faculty member of the Manhattan School of Music, NYU, and the Percussion department of The Hartt School (University of Hartford), teaching Brazilian Music and Ritmica.