From age 5, Music has always been deeply rooted in his life. Armando's influences range from Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Air Supply to Jose Jose and Nat King Cole only scratched the surface of his ever-expanding quest for musical knowledge and history.

In 1994, Armando teamed up with 11-time Grammy® winner, mentor, and Santana percussionist Karl Perazzo to form the award-winning renowned salsa band Avance. Armando’s work and experience have had him take on different projects, working with and collaborating with Sheila E, Carlos Santana, George Benson, Al Jerreau, Tony Lindsay, WAR, Luis Miguel, and Prince Royce.

In 2012, Armando took part in the recording and production of the Pacific Mambo Orchestra (PMO). Pleasantly surprised, the album won the 2014 Grammy® for Best Tropical Album, beating the likes of Marc Anthony and Carlos Vives. Armando officially joined PMO in 2014 as the lead singer of the group. Through it, all, being a father and husband remained constant, with the Grammy® win fueling the inspiration and drive to what would eventually be the makings of his first solo project. Ten years in the making, the project named CORDOBA will finally debut! Fusing rock, pop, and R&B while injecting the tropical rhythms of vallenato, salsa, and reggae.

Christelle Durandy fuses Afro-Caribbean, jazz, and other polyrhythmic sounds in a provocative exploration of the African diaspora’s diffuse and powerful musical energy. Christelle  –a multicultural complexity- herself embodies, having been raised in France by a mother from Reunion Island and a father from Guadeloupe.

Christelle currently fronts her Afro-Caribbean ensemble Sanktet (a play on the French phrase “cinq têtes” or “five heads”) as well as the Grammy-winning Pacific Mambo Orchestra. She contributes her talents as a writer, arranger, and performer to the all-female World-Latin music collective Cocomama.

 Her vocals feature diverse projects with such luminaries as John Santos, Paula West, George Mesterhaze, Jon Faddis, Pedrito Martinez, Baptiste Trotignon, Toshi Reagon, Allison Miller, Luis Enrique, Paul Carlon Octet, LaFrae Sci, Camille Thurman, Edward Perez, Ran Blake, John Benitez, Max Pollak RumbaTap, Ricky Ford and Ze Big Band, La India, Camille A. Brown, Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, Meklit Hadero, Carlos “El Bola” Betancourt, and Millicent Johnnie.

Ranging joyfully amongst forms as varied as Cuban son to Haitian Kompa to traditional jazz, Christelle’s border-transcendent music is rooted in the diversity of her ethnic background. She began performing at the age of five, joining the family band as it toured France: her father sang and played percussion, specializing in Gwo Ka, the traditional music of Guadeloupe, while her mother introduced her to jazz, along with the music and activism of the broader African diaspora. Under her parents’ guidance, Christelle began developing the sophisticated musical skills that she later honed during her apprenticeship in Europe, Cuba, and the U.S. 
Christelle draws upon this extensive education to connect with various audiences, traditions, and social issues. Her work explores and deepens a global conversation, moving fluently from the intricate clauses of contemporary jazz to the most uncomplicated, sincerest phrases of folk. This musical rigor, combined with her powerhouse vocals and fiercely passionate live performances, has garnered Christelle consistent critical praise while mesmerizing audiences worldwide.

Born in Peru Braulio Barrera started playing Peruvian folkloric music at age 5 on the Cajon, claves, bell Congas, and Bongos… Once mastering the streets of Peru, he moved to L.A. to play with Chino Espinoza and Tabaco Eron, among many others in the Salsa scene. He’s been on endless recordings playing percussion and as lead vocals.

Currently, Braulio plays with Pacific Mambo Orchestra and Montuno Swing weekly.  You can hear Braulio's percussion and Lead Vocals on a brand New Track by Montuno Swing written and Produced by Christian Tumalán: Renta de Tula.

Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, Grammy-winning Singer and Percussionist Omar Ledezma Jr. has played professionally since 17. 

In 1995, Ledezma graduated from one of the most prestigious Law Schools in Caracas, but in 1998 Omar packed one bag and one drum to begin his move to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music. After graduating in 2005, he moved to the Bay Area, where today he teaches at the Community Music Center. 

Omar has played, recorded, and toured with local and international artists and founded a group dedicated to the wooden box percussion instrument, the Ka-Hon Ensemble, one of the biggest stars of the Adventures In Music program of the San Francisco Symphony. In 2014, he won a Grammy with the worldwide-acclaimed Pacific Mambo Orchestra. 

Omar is also a music accompanist for the San Francisco Ballet Dance In Schools and Communities (DISC) education program and a teaching artist with the Youth in Arts organization from San Rafael, California. Omar is an exclusive artist with Pearl Percussion, Pinchclip, ELH Cowbells, Remo heads, Kandu Cajons, Vater, and Soultone Cymbals.

Carlos Medrano born in Havana, Cuba, began his musical studies by  teaching himself to play Bongos and Congas using traditional  Cuban  music and Rumba  as his guide. After a few years of studying,  experience, and having participated in folkloric musical projects and timba, also known as Cuban Salsa, he decided to  broaden his musical knowledge by beginning a course of musical studies in the Escuela de Superacion Profesional de Arte “Felix Varela y Morales” where he began to create his foundation for Latin Jazz fusion within other musical projects in Cuba. He remembers with great satisfaction and happiness having been a student of famous international Cuban percussionists such as Jose Antonio Oviedo, Ignacio Jarabe Martinez, Eliel Lazo Linares, Yaroldy Abreu, José Luis Quintana, also known as Changuito.Before arriving to the United States in March 2008, he  worked with a well- known pianist from Cuba, Alexis Bosch. Since then, he has been working with several bands in Sonoma County  (Batacha and Carlos Herrera Band) and the Bay Area (Pellejo Seco, Delbert Bump & Sazil Band, Yancie Taylor, Jesus Diaz & Latin Ensemble, Boleros y Mas, Ruben Gonzalo, T-Mambo, Mision Barrio Project, and Fito  Reinoso).  Performances include: San Jose Jazz Festival; 2009 Cuba Caribe Festival held in San Francisco celebrating Cuban folklore; the 2010 San Francisco Carnival; and the 2011 Benecia Jazz Festival and Russian  River Jazz and Blues Festival. 

Pete Cornell is one of the more versatile and talented Bay Area musicians. He plays: Soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophone, clarinet, flute and alto flute, piccolo, and recorder.

 He has performed with the legendary Dan Hicks and many years with Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, appearing on her recent CD, Miss Smith To You. He is a charter member and music director of the famed salsa band Mazacote, producing their debut CD, Timbalero. Pete is a widely-experienced and widely-traveled musician, playing music from Japan to Prague to Italy, and has performed at the Monterey, San Jose, and San Francisco Jazz Festivals. 

Doug Rowan is an American Saxophonist who has toured, recorded and performed with many well-known artists, including Boz Scaggs, Average White Band, and the Pacific Mambo Orchestra. He plays flute tenor and baritone saxophone and is a primary member of all five Wide Hive Players albums.

Based in West Oakland, California Tony has been fortunate enough to perform on stage with such artists as Geri Allen, Antoine Roney, Oliver Lake, Andy Bey, Nnenna Freelon, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and reggae legend Don Carlos. 

He has performed throughout North America, in Europe, Central America and Africa with various projects.  A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (B.A. Music - theory concentration) and The University of the Arts (M.M. Jazz Performance - saxophone), he now performs with a variety of Bay Area bands.

Ben has performed with: Darlene Love, Little Anthony and the Imperials, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Johnny Mathis, Tommy Igoe, Sheila E., Tom Politzer, Arturo Sandoval, Poncho Sanchez, Eric Marienthal, and many others.

Ben has been an active musician in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2003. Ben can be heard on many albums ranging from 1997’s Los Hooligan’s “Traditions” to soundtrack work for Great America’s theme parks, Disneyland’s All-American College band to the 2014 Grammy Award-winning “Pacific Mambo Orchestra.”

He earned his music degree at San Jose State University under the study of Dr. Aaron Lington. Since making his degree and teaching credential, he has enjoyed a double life as an elementary school music teacher and active musician.

Aaron Joseph Lington, 2015 Silicon Valley Artist Laureate, received his BM in music education from the University of Houston, Moores School of Music, and his MM in jazz studies and DMA in saxophone performance from the University of North Texas, where he studied with James Riggs. His performing and compositional credits include collaborations with the University of North Texas One O’clock Lab Band, Maynard Ferguson, the BBC Radio Orchestra, the Count Basie Orchestra, Bo Diddley, Jamie Davis, and many others.  

In addition to his position as an associate professor at San José State University, where he serves as Coordinator of Jazz Studies, Dr. Lington is also a faculty member at the Texas Music Festival Jazz Institute, hosted by the University of Houston. Aaron Lington is a saxophone performing artist for Rico Reeds. 

He has won awards for playing and writing from Downbeat Magazine and ASCAP and was the 2003 recipient of the Sammy Nestico Award. He was recognized in the 55th and 57th Annual Downbeat Magazine Critic’s Poll as a “Rising Star” in the Baritone Saxophone category. 

Lead trombonist Derek James began playing with Pacific Mambo Orchestra upon its inception.

He performs with Mazacote, Avance, the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, numerous local and touring bands of every genre, and on Broadway shows, giving him the well-deserved reputation of being a consummate all-rounder and highly regarded studio session player.

Derek was classically trained at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and played in the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra before moving to San Francisco in 1993. His first gig in his new town was with a salsa band, and he hasn’t stopped since.

Cressman is a unique talent who is equally in demand as a trombonist and a sound engineer. Jeff is a native of San Francisco who began playing trombone in the same Berkeley Public School Jazz Project that encouraged such contemporaries as Peter Apfelbaum, Benny Green, and Joshua Redman.

 In 2000, Jeff began working with Carlos Santana, playing on the sold-out "Supernatural" tour with him in the U.S. and Europe, as well as world tours from 2002 to 2016. 

During his professional career, Jeff has performed a wide variety of musical styles, with such artists as Tito Puente, Poncho Sanchez, Carlos Santana, Israel "Cachao" Lopez, Pete Escovedo, Sheila E., Don Cherry, Peter Apfelbaum and the Hieroglyphics Ensemble, John Santos and the Machete Ensemble. Jon Jang, the Pan-Asian Arkestra, Jai Uttal, and the Pagan Love Orchestra. 

James (Jamie) Dubberly, hailing originally from Brunswick, GA, has established a reputation as one of northern California's top trombonists, educators, and arrangers.

He currently serves on the faculties of the University of the Pacific's Conservatory of Music and California State University- Stanislaus as a lecturer.

As a trombonist, he has recorded and performed with a wide range of artists, including Sheila E., the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Luis Enrique, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Emerson String Quartet, Bobby Caldwell, Chris Potter, The Temptations, La India, Johnny Mathis, Jon Faddis, Andy Montanéz, Michael Stuart, Greg Tardy, Fred Wesley, Lyrics Born, Wayne Wallace, Herman Olivera, Steve Davis, Frankie Vazquez, and Idina Menzel, among many others.

He has also worked with several touring orchestras for Broadway productions (U.S. and International). He has performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Playboy Jazz Festival, Tempo Latino ( France), San Jose Jazz Festival, Summerstage Festival ( Central Park, NYC), Stern Grove Festival (S.F.), Brubeck Festival, and in premier venues such as Yoshi's, S.F. Jazz Center, and the Blue Note (Napa). He has been a member of PMO since its inception. He can be seen frequently with Northern California groups such as the Josh Jones Latin Jazz Band, Candela, Cabanijazz Project, Kimbombo, Mazacote, Joe Mazzaferro Big Band, and the Greg Johnson Big Band, among others.

Mara Fox is a highly respected trombonist and educator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With over 25 years of experience, she has enthralled audiences worldwide with her versatility across Jazz, R&B, Latin, and Classical genres.

Her career includes recording and touring internationally with the renowned Conjunto Cespedes and The Klezmorim. Locally, Mara collaborates with celebrated ensembles, including the Grammy Award-winning Pacific Mambo Orchestra (2014), The Purple Ones, The Montclair Women’s Big Band, and the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus.

She is also dedicated to sharing her passion for music through education, inspiring the next generation of young musicians.

Mr. Fasman grew up in Redwood City, California. He studied the trumpet with Charlie Bubb and Herb Patnoe before attending De Anza College in Cupertino and Cal State Univ. L. A.

During his twelve-year tenure in the Los Angeles area, he toured The U.S., Canada, Europe, the Far East, and the Caribbean as lead trumpeter with The Al Hirt Big Band, Circus Vargas, The Maynard Ferguson Orchestra, Bill Watrous’ Jazz Refuge West, and singer/composer Paul Anka.

After returning to the Bay Area in 1991, Mr. Fasman has continued his performing career as a studio musician, recording on motion picture soundtracks, such as “Soapdish,” “Spy Kids”; the TV shows “Fame” and the VH-1 Honors with Steve Winwood, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, and Cheryl Crow.

He also performed and recorded with The Pete Escovedo Latin Jazz Orchestra, Huey Lewis and the News, The E Family Band featuring Sheila E, The Narada Michael Walden Band, Dick Bright’s SRO, and Wayne Wallace’s Rhythm and Rhyme.

He is currently performing with PMO, Tommy Igoe’s Groove Conspiracy, and backing up other various local and international artists.

Jeff is a two times Grammy Award winner with the Pacific Mambo Orchestra in 2014 and BB King's "Blues Summit" in 1993. Jeff graduated from SJSU in 1987 with a BM in jazz performance. He has been the current professor of Jazz Trumpet at SJSU and West Valley College since 2008.

Toured/Performed/Recorded with Huey Lewis and the News, Ray Charles, Diana Krall, Kenny Loggins, Boz Skaggs, Joe Louis Walker, Lavay Smith, Conjunto Céspedes, The Sons of Champlin, The Pacific Mambo Orchestra, The Four Tops, The Temptations, The O'Jays, Martha Reeves, The Shirelles, The Coasters, The Drifters, Kristin Chenoweth, Ray de la Paz, Tito Nieves, La India, Steve Turre, Jon Faddis, Tim Hagins, Cedar Walton, The Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, The California Symphony.

SF Broadway Shows include; The Mystery of Edwin Drood, White Christmas, Motown, Spamalot, Annie, and South Pacific.

Born and raised in the SF Bay Area, Niel has traveled worldwide to perform with a diverse mix of leading jazz, pop, rock, and hip-hop groups. He currently leads the Local Edition Jazz Orchestra’s weekly residency in San Francisco, CA.

Equally comfortable in an intimate jazz club, a broadway show pit orchestra, or in front of a sizeable arena-sized crowd.

Niel has played with internationally renowned musicians Seal, Gladys Knight, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Deltron 3030, Chali2na (Jurassic 5), DJ Q-Bert, Clint Black, Michael Feinstein, Arturo Sandoval, Jon Faddis, Tom Scott, Sheila E., Louie Bellson, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Pete Escovedo, Kurt Elling, Tierney Sutton, Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey Orchestras, Cab Calloway Orchestra, Realistic Orchestra, Pacific Mambo Orchestra, and the Jazz Mafia Hip Hop Symphony.

Julio De la Cruz was born and raised in Havana, Cuba. In 1980 at the age of 12, he first began his studies as a musician, specializing in percussion instruments while simultaneously studying music theory and composition.

From 1987 to 1992, Julio participated in several projects and festivals in Havana and other provinces in Cuba. In 1992 left Cuba to perform on tour with the Puerto Rican Singer José Feliciano as part of the released production: "Calle Latina."

From 1993 to 2009, Julio moved to Mexico, where he lived and worked accompanying Celio Sanchez, one of the famous Sonora matancera singers, along with Salsa Queen Celia Cruz. Then moved to Los Cabos ( also in Mexico), where he became part of the house band rocker Sammy Hagar’s club Cabo Wabo and accompanied American guest performers such as Toby Keith and Sammy Hagar himself, among others.

During this time in Mexico, Julio continued to perfect his skills as a percussionist but also taught himself to play the Piano and Bass, making him a multi-instrumentalist performer. In 2009, Julio moved to The United States, joining many bands in the San Francisco Bay area in California. 

With over 40 years of experience, Jimmy Goings records, produces, and mixes top quality music across genres. With a focus on detail and development, GFI will take your project from its demo phase to its highest potential, finding your ideal sound.

Jimmy is a Musician, Singer, Songwriter, and Producer currently working in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a career spanning over 50 years, he has been lucky enough to tour the Midwest during the heyday of Live touring Ballroom Bands, be a part of the vibrant Bay Area music scene in the early ’70s playing with Power House, Dorothy Morrison, and the Family Drive, Loverde, and Sylvester, which led him to get to record six Albums and tour the World with his band Santa Esmeralda in the late ’70s and early ’80s. Jimmy continued to record, sing, and play on, producing albums for Phillips, Polydor, Arista, and Warner Brothers Records. He is a two-time inductee into the South Dakota Rock and Roll Association Hall of fame.
 Currently, Goings owns and operates his own production Company GFI Entertainment LLC, where he is busy making new music with many talented Artists and his own Band, Generation Esmeralda, developing new talent and producing events for cities in the San Francisco Bay Area. 
 He has worked with the Grammy Award-winning Latin big band Pacific Mambo Orchestra as their production manager and front-of-house engineer since 2014.  

Born and raised in San Francisco’s Mission District, Karl Perazzo is a percussionist known for his work with Santana. His performance and recording credits span pop, jazz, rock and Latin music, including work with Cal Tjader, Sheila E. and Tito Puente.

Artist biography & photo: Santana