Since 1995, the Cubop City Big Band has been a leading force in the international salsa and Latin jazz scene. Founded by Lucas van Merwijk, the orchestra took its name from the famous New York club where artists such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Machito, and Chano Pozo performed and helped to create the genre of Cubop. With eight albums featuring music by influential Latin musicians such as Machito, Beny Moré, Arsenio Rodriguez, Tito Puente, Grupo Afrocuba, and Tito Rodriguez, the Cubop City Big Band is one of the most respected salsa and Latin jazz groups in Europe. In fact, their CDs are so popular in South America that they are often illegally copied there. The band is made up of musicians from the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Panama, Germany, the United States, and Venezuela. Over the years, they have collaborated with notable figures in the Latin music world, including Alfredo 'Chocolate' Armenteros, Edy Martinez, Andy Gonzalez, Armando Peraza, Luis Conte, Nelson Gonzales, Edmar Castañeda, and Roberto Quintero. The band has had numerous hits on Latin radio stations in South America and the United States, and their album Moré and More was named the second-best Latin album of 1998 by the New York Latin Beat magazine. The band has also performed on three tours of South America and four times at the North Sea Jazz Festival.
article posted by:Roosje Den Hertog, Tam Tam Productions