By Daily Press staff
Justo Almario Quartet, the hot new jazz group whose woodwind-playing leader has been called “one of the top 10 Latin jazz saxophonists of our time,” will be performing at Santa Monica College this week.
The show will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 12, in the SMC Concert Hall, 1900 Pico Blvd.
Tickets are $10. Colombian-born Almario is a musician, composer and arranger who combines elements of his native South American rhythms with American jazz to create an artistry distinctly his own.
An alumnus of the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Almario started his professional career with the Latin jazz great Mongo Santamaria, traveling and performing throughout the world.
His career has spanned several decades, and he has performed and recorded with such leading artists as Herb Alpert, Freddie Hubbard, Chaka Khan, Linda Ronstadt and Queen Latifah. He also has contributed to numerous films and television soundtracks.
Several recordings that he has played on have been nominated for Grammys, and in 1996 he was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Berklee College of Music.
For tickets, call (310) 434-3000.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 10, 2006. Read the original PDF.