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Pianist and composer Elio Villafranca is an inspired and visionary musician. With his band, The Jass Syncopators, Elio expands what Jelly Roll Morton called The Spanish Tinge to what Elio calls The Caribbean Tinge. The band swings hard and brings a traditional, yet innovative style to the roots of jazz and Afro Caribbean music.
—Wynton Marsalis
TRAVEL THE “CROSSROADS FROM CUBA TO NEW YORK”
Elio Villafranca & The Jass Syncopators featuring Brianna Thomas head to City College Center for the Arts for a special concert on Friday, April 26 at 7 p.m.
Elio Villafranca & The Jass Syncopators will take the stage at Aaron Davis Hall on Friday, April 26, for a magical musical journey “Crossroads from Cuba to New York.” The 7 p.m. concert, produced and presented by City College Center for the Arts (CCCA), will feature the return of two-time Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist and Steinway Artist Elio Villafranca and his group The Jass Syncopators in an exploration of the spiritual and musical connection of Cuba and New York and the diasporic Afro-Cuban musical forms intersecting with jazz that have sprung forth. The event will feature award-winning jazz vocalist Brianna Thomas, a New York City favorite who has performed across the world.
Growing up in Cuba, Villafranca saw how different religions are intertwined with the cultural fabric of Cuba. In many of these different religions, people see the crossroads as a place of great significance. It was the spiritual concept of the crossroads that touched Villafranca the most and inspired him to create this program, which draws from his second record in a musical trilogy that honors his ancestry and life as a jazz artist.
“Elio’s extraordinary musicianship along with his deep dive into his culture and the religious mosaic in Cuba created this brilliant masterpiece that we are proud to present” said CCCA Managing Director Gregory Shanck.
Villafranca, a New York-based jazz pianist, band leader and recording artist, has performed with jazz greats like
Elio Villafranca & The Jass Syncopators featuring Brianna Thomas head to City College Center for the Arts for a special concert on Friday, April 26 at 7 p.m.
Elio Villafranca & The Jass Syncopators will take the stage at Aaron Davis Hall on Friday, April 26, for a magical musical journey “Crossroads from Cuba to New York.” The 7 p.m. concert, produced and presented by City College Center for the Arts (CCCA), will feature the return of two-time Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist and Steinway Artist Elio Villafranca and his group The Jass Syncopators in an exploration of the spiritual and musical connection of Cuba and New York and the diasporic Afro-Cuban musical forms intersecting with jazz that have sprung forth. The event will feature award-winning jazz vocalist Brianna Thomas, a New York City favorite who has performed across the world.
Growing up in Cuba, Villafranca saw how different religions are intertwined with the cultural fabric of Cuba. In many of these different religions, people see the crossroads as a place of great significance. It was the spiritual concept of the crossroads that touched Villafranca the most and inspired him to create this program, which draws from his second record in a musical trilogy that honors his ancestry and life as a jazz artist.
“Elio’s extraordinary musicianship along with his deep dive into his culture and the religious mosaic in Cuba created this brilliant masterpiece that we are proud to present” said CCCA Managing Director Gregory Shanck.
Villafranca, a New York-based jazz pianist, band leader and recording artist, has performed with jazz greats like
Wynton Marsalis
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