About

The Stanford Latin Jazz Ensemble was formed in January 2008 by twice Grammy-nominated pianist and director Murray Low for the performance, interpretation and study of Afro-Latin music and its fusion with North American jazz. It is our belief that the evolution of American music is not indigenous to the United States but rather encompasses developments and influences from Africa and Latin/South America as well. The ensemble's rapid progress since its formation in 2008 has resulted in it being one of the finest academic performing groups of its kind.

Guest artists and luminaries in the field work with the group throughout the year. Past collaborators and guests have included Santana Percussionist Karl Perazzo, 5-time Grammy nominated percussionist John Santos, trumpeter Ray Vega, flautists Andrea Brachfeld and John Calloway, pianist Oscar Hernandez, trombonists Wayne Wallace and Doug Beavers, percussionists Jesus Diaz and Michael Spiro, and also the VW Brothers Marc and Paul Van Wageningen.

The group has been a past recipient of a prestigious grant from SiCa (Stanford Institute for Creativity and the Arts, 2009). It has performed at many on and off-campus events, and is equally at home in both concert and dance performance contexts.

We are always looking for passionate and talented musicians to join our group. We have one 90 minute rehearsal per week (currently on Wednesday nights) and one required concert per quarter. There are plenty of other opportunities to play both on and off campus. For more information on joining the group and finding out more about what's involved, please visit our Join page. We hope you can participate with us.

Fall 2024 Group Members
    Vocals - Lilliana Brandao, Penelope Wright-Cotera, Eva Saenz, Stella Tapia Lopez
    Horns - Rabiah Kabir, Quinn Simmons, Justine Sato, Penelope Keep, Elton Manchester
    Piano - Ali Lasemi, Haohan Wu
    Bass - Heber Alvarez
    Percussion - Jeanne Muller, Max Yoshimoto, Elena Abarca