Tito Puente

A veteran jazz pianist from New York City, Bill O'Connell is a gifted soloist and bandleader known for his long-running Latin jazz big band. As a player, O'Connell's lyrical approach owes something to Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, and Herbie Hancock. However, many of his albums have underscored his talents as an arranger, bandleader, and composer, drawing inspiration from Latin greats like Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente, and Eddie Palmieri.

For his starring role in Netflix's groundbreaking first original series, "Lilyhammer," actor/musician Steven Van Zandt explored uncharted waters as a New York mobster who flees to Norway under the witness protection program.

For his starring role in Netflix's groundbreaking first original series, "Lilyhammer," actor/musician Steven Van Zandt explored uncharted waters as a New York mobster who flees to Norway under the witness protection program. In addition to acting in, co-writing and co-producing the acclaimed show, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer also scored the music for most of the three seasons, where just like his character, the musician best known as Little Steven of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and an accomplished solo artist who helped pioneer the rock-meets-soul sound, also delved into some terrain foreign to him: the worlds of New York jazz and Norwegian folk music.

A Big Band album of the great music of the ‘30s and ‘40s produced and recorded by André Perry with some of America’s finest jazz musicians mixed with early synthesizers. Hotel Orchestra was recorded in 1973 with some of America’s finest jazz musicians. (The original 2 track Non-Dolby analogue master tape was used for the digital mastering, using an Ampex 300 tube analogue recorder).

The fruitful career of the legendary queen of salsa Celia Cruz can be roughly divided into three distinct periods that, in many ways, mirror the development of Afro-Caribbean music during most of the twentieth century.

Multiple Grammy-nominated saxophonist Jay Rodriguez celebrates his New York heritage in his multicultural approach to jazz in New York. This live recorded album transports audiences back to a New York City jazz club, like Dizzy's, in the 1950s because of his clear dedication and passion for the preservation of jazz's authenticity.

Angelique Kidjo reflects on an icon of the Americas, celebrated salsa singer Celia Cruz. Over ten tracks, Kidjo’s album Celia divests itself of the glamour to investigate the African roots of the Cuban-born woman who became the "Queen" of salsa, a music genre invented in New York by Caribbean immigrants.

'The Latin Side of McCoy Tyner' is the latest installment in a critically-acclaimed series that started in 1996 with The Latin Side of John Coltrane. It's the work of a musically gifted, bilingual artist, a master trombonist who grew up admiring jazz's greatest practitioners but, at the same time, cutting his Latin Jazz teeth with legends such as Mario Bauza, Tito Puente, Paquito D'Rivera and others.

Ramon "Mongo" Santamaria was an Afro-Cuban Latin jazz percussionist.