2026 GRAMMY Nominees Reception 🥂
Honored to be present! Agradecida. ❤️🙏🏽🎶
The Original Influencers: Chano, Chico & Dizzy. 🎶🙏🏽 #LatinJazz #AfroCubanJazz @grammys@pianitis
📍”We’ve survived with our drums, our groove, with our rhythm! It doesn’t matter where we come from because we know what we’ve been through.”
Melvis Santa & Jazz Orishas live show at @inwoodjazzfestival Sept 21, 2025.
Thank you to the amazing musicians who joined me @leandropellegrinoguitar@jwevans84@monteagudo356 and @_.bohemia._ 🫶🏾🎶
#jazzorishas #womenbandleader #batadrums #afrocubanjazz #afrocuban #jazz #bataleras #nyc
🔔Radio dopeness Alert! 🔔
Soooo happy for this feature at @npr_altlatino Thank You to their cool host and music guru @tiofelixc for always supporting the wide sonic spectrum of Latin Music. 🙏🏽🎵❤️
🔔Listen to the full episode onthe NPR Alt. Latino website.🔔 “Deniyé” is available all platforms now! 🔔The full album is on Bandcamp.Link in bio!
#deniyé #newsinglerelease #jazzorishas #afrocubanjazz #vocalist #womeninmusic #womenbandleaders #latinasinnyc #latina #cuban #afrocuban #afrocubana #womencomposers
Hay artistas que inevitablemente te llevan de regreso a una etapa de tu vida. Recuerdo a Melvis Santa en aquellas noches del cuarteto vocal Sexto Sentido en La Zorra y el Cuervo de La Habana, en un escenario lleno de magia, descargas y una Cuba que todavía vive en la memoria de muchos. Años después, hoy la vida me regaló la oportunidad de reencontrarla en Miami, durante su visita desde Nueva York, y entrevistarla para DIARIO LAS AMÉRICAS.
Fue una de esas conversaciones que no solo se hacen desde el periodismo, sino también desde los recuerdos, la admiración y las historias que uno guarda con cariño. Muy pronto podrán disfrutar esta entrevista cargada de música, emociones y nostalgia cubana.
Welcome MAY!🏝️ and #ACVTWeekendTrip! Excited to add this new one-on-one experience to my ACVT program with its 1st stop in… Miami ☀️
🍹 Stay tuned for next time to join a cultural weekend trip curated for a small group of participants. Questions & info: [email protected] #acvtwkndtrip
Our May schedule is ready and we’re celebrating Mother’s Day all month long! 🎶🥰 Join us for a variety of special workshops curated by #RitmicasNewYork 🌺🪘
🌻ONLINE Fridays: May 1, 8, 16, 22 & 29 – Afro Cuban Percussion w/ Brenda Navarrete @brenda_workshop
🌺IN PERSON Saturdays: May 9 & 23 w/ @melvissanta at Ripley Grier’s in NYC:
3:00PM - Shekeré Women Circle (new!)
4:00PM - Afro Cuban Voice Therapy “Cantos a Las Orishas Madres”
🌿Info: [email protected]
🌿Absolute beginners friendly
🌿All Voices Are Welcome
✨Te esperamos!
Thank you Prof. @krisdavismusic and your students ensemble for a great session. What a lovely and talented class you have. 🫶🏾🎶
We explored rhythm within cultural context, music history, worked on diverse genres and of course, original composition and improvisation.
Thank you Ms. @terrilynecarrington for the invitation to this @jazzandgenderjustice residency. I had a great time.
*Sorry for not having videos to share, we were fully in the moment!
Repost from @jazzandgenderjustice
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We are gearing up for a powerhouse week ahead at JGJ!
To start, we welcome Afro-Cuban ARTivist Melvis Santa for a 2 day residency. She will be hosting our Monday night Gathering at 6:30pm with a workshop entitled “Embodying Sound: Dance for Musicians.”
On Tuesday, in collaboration with Northeastern Africana Studies department, JGJ will be hosting “She Real Cool: Black Feminist Soundscapes.” Inspired by the work of bell hooks, join us for a dynamic roundtable exploring the role of Black music in the Black feminist intellectual tradition, 939 Red Room, 12-2pm (RSVP required)
On Wednesday, our Artist-in-Residence, Djembefala Weedie Braimah, returns for a very special “Brunch and Learn” at 11am at the Loft, open to students, faculty, and staff. We have a few more spots left! (RSVP required).
We hope to see you there!
🌻March is Women’s Month and also celebrates the birthday of the great Zenzile Miriam Makeba. “Mama Africa” defined her life through unwavering activism, resilience in exile, and the power of song. Her quote: “There are three things I was born with... hope, determination, and song.“
🌺Photo session by @myles_lenting_cpt for @thehoodshed
🌸Location: Sophiatown, Johannesburg. South Africa.
February, 2026. @transatlanticjazzexchange
*Ms. Makeba grew up in Sophiatown, where her identity was deeply forged. It was a legendary multiracial hub that served as the epicenter of South African jazz, politics, and culture during the 1950s. Being one of the few areas where all races could mix freely, allowed Ms. Makeba to perform for diverse audiences and connect with future leaders like young Nelson Mandela.
It was here in Sophiatown where she became a central figure of the cultural movement that blended traditional South African sounds with Western jazz and other influences, and opened the path for her empowering music and unique voice to reach international stages.
Happy heavenly Birthday, Mama Africa! 💐❤️
(March 4th, 1932 - Nov 9, 2008).
