ROBERTO CLAVIJO: Quenas, zampoñas, charango, Venezuelan cuatro, and vocals.
JON WEEKS: Flute, saxophones, wind synth, quena, congas, and small percussion.
JOE BELMONT: Electric and spanish guitar.
WES BROWN: Bass.
JEFF NISSENBAUM: Drums.
ABRAHAM "ABE" SANCHEZ: Lead vocal, Piano and keyboards.
FABIO MATEUS: Vocal, Quena, Guitar, and Saxophone
Influences
"...Viva Quetzal's Americanos are seasoned and heavy, heavy players -- college faculty and touring vets all 'round. .... There's Saya, from the Andean region of Bolivia, Venezuelan Golpe Tucuyano, Ecuadorian Sanjuanito beats. Latino jazz-rock fusion keeps a contemporary ear tuned, and the swing is undeniable. Can't fake verve, and this new record has tons. Spot-on summertime listening..." Michael Caito, Aural Overload, Providence Phoenix Review
Sounds Like
"...A sampling of all the diverse musical traditions that exist in the Americas and beyond... melodious rhythms with an exuberant, non-stop level of energy... Viva Quetzal's brand of music is more than eclectic or rhythmic, it's spiritual, it's all cultures existing as one. That's universal music!"
Rafael Charres, Cashbox Magazine (NYC)
ROBERTO CLAVIJO: was born in Chile where he's been a professional musician since the age of 18. He was the director of a folkloric song and dance group in Chile. He later toured much of South and Central America with the renown folkloric group Guamary, playing in folk clubs, on television and university concerts in Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Curacao. Roberto came to the United States in 1981. He has toured Great Britain in 1992-1993, with the group Gypsy Real, playing on BBC radio in England and Wales. As a member of Viva Quetzal since 1993 he can be heard performing on quenas, zampoñas, charango, Venezuelan cuatro, and vocals.
JON WEEKS: performs on flute, saxophones, wind synth, quena, congas, and small percussion. He has studied music at Berklee College of Music, Westfield State College and Holyoke Community College. Jon has performed with many latin, jazz, and rock bands up and down the East Coast such as Sol Y Canto, Orquesta Unidad, Ray Gonzalez, Jose Gonzalez, The Temptations and many others. Jon is currently teaching private lessons at Downtown Sounds (Northampton, MA) and The Family Music Center (Greenfield, MA). He is also director of instrumental ensembles at The Charlemont Academy (Charlemont, MA).
JEFF NISSENBAUM: has been a professional drummer for over 15 years. After studying classical violin for ten years, he began his drum studies with David Barrett. Jeff studied with Keith Copeland and Max Roach at the UMass Jazz in July workshop. He performed for the Lee Strasberg Creative Center in Los Angeles in 1989 and the Bright Moments Festival with the Afro-Andean band Quetzal in 1994. In addition, he has performed for and recorded with numerous contemporary groups of varying styles, including Ben Demerath, Steel Wave, and the Muze
ABRAHAM “ABE” SANCHEZ: was born in Venezuela where started playing the cuatro, a small four string guitar, at the age of 5. He eventually branched out, learning to play guitar and bass guitar before settling on the piano and keyboards in his late teens. He played with the Orchestra Latina while he studied in the Conservatorio de Musica de Maracay.Abe was also the director of Adoniram, a music school in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela. Abe has also had the opportunity to travel to Italy, Canada, Mexico, and Honduras and team up with local musicians for some concert series and music workshops.
JUAN "MANOLO" VAZQUEZ: Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Manolo has been playing bass guitar for 44 years." Playing bass guitars with the Ventures" Record Album was his first real formal music education. He is one of the original founders of Viva Quetzal (formally Quetzal in 1989). He has a Master’s degree in Education and a Certificate for Advanced Graduate Studies in School and Counseling Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA. From 1987 to the present he has performed with Quetzal, Guamary (with the talented Roberto Clavijo and Elizabeth Parada), Arcadia (w/ the creative Raj Vajna ), Kimsa, Susan Angeletti Band, La Perfecta (Holyoke), Lucky Johnson (with Tom Filiault) He lives in Northampton.
JOE BELMONT signed his first record contract at the age of seventeen. He has been performing professionally for over twenty years. Originally self-taught, he later studied classical guitar and eventuall0y received a degree in music theory and composition at the City College of New York. Joe has extensive performance and recording experience in a wide variety of styles with many musical ensembles. He has released two recordings of his own music and has produced and performed on recordings for other musicians, including performances on film sound tracks. He serves as an adjunct faculty member of the music departments at Amherst College, Dartmouth College, and the University of Massachusettes at Amherst. He has been with Viva Quetzal since 1992 performing on classical and electric guitar, and Colombian tiple.
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