Journeys in Latin Jazz is currently on hiatus
Host Hermando Bosset.
Journeys in Latin Jazz is a joint production of Radio Sausalito and Ethnic Arts Institute International. A showcase of the all-inclusive music indigenous to Africans dispersed throughout the Americas, the show is intended as an experience, one that transports the listener across time on the path to rhythmic enlightenment, and spotlights along the way the Bay Area connection in the development and proliferation of Latin-jazz. The result is a perfectly balanced showcase of rare gems — classic and contemporary selections to wow both the newcomer and sophisticated Latin-jazz aficionado alike.
The show’s host, Hermando Bosset, presents stellar works from some of the finest, most creative artists in the field. Hermando shares insights and impressions on all things Latin-jazz — exploring its broad spectrum, textures and hues, and wide ranging patterns.
Hermando was born of Cuban decent and raised in San Francisco’s Fillmore district. Rhythm and dance came at an early age as he moved to Berkeley, then Oakland where he played in Oakland Technical High School’s marching band and became leader of the school’s dance band.
Through those early years he had many influences and played many instruments including piano, baritone sax, even bassoon while attending College of Holy Names, Stockton College and Oakland City College. His love of Latin music history brought him to join forces with Ethnic Arts Institute International in 2007 which now enriches and informs listeners worldwide through Radio Sausalito. He currently teaches jazz at the Jazz School in Berkeley.
Executive Producer Lisa Saunders. Photo by Eli Drake.
Journeys in Latin Jazz is produced by Lisa Saunders, Executive Director of Sausalito’s Ethnic Arts Institute International, Marin’s only non-profit specializing in traditional and multicultural arts.
Lisa Saunders is a key figure in the history and evolution of traditional dance performance in the San Francisco Bay Area. By age 17, she had already established herself as a talented artist and performer, performing as a principle dancer with the African Music & Dance Ensemble, and serving as co-director of the acclaimed Escola de Samba Batucajé. Batucajé, acknowledged originator of authentic Afro-Brasilian music in the Bay Area, has toured the U.S., Europe and Canada, been a repeat performer at the Monterey Jazz Festival, and won the “Jammies” Music Award for Best Brasilian Group.
Convinced that there were not enough opportunities for keepers of traditional arts, she founded Ethnic Arts Institute International in 1986. Since then, she’s been a woman on a mission — creating value for ethnic expressions in the mainstream. And to further that mission, Lisa created the Journeys series of media projects, including Journeys in Latin Jazz, to broaden multicultural artists’ audience base. She produces and directs Journeys programming to make accessible, educate and inspire appreciation for global artistic expressions.
