Sounds of the Caribbean

WCU Wells School of Music presents Sounds of the Caribbean

Shake off that late winter chill by joining Dr. Marc Jacoby and the WCU Latin Jazz and Steel Bands for this special concert event! The two student groups will also feature special guests, John Wooton and Tito Carillo as well as members of the Wells School of Music jazz faculty. Come feel the heat of the Mambo, Merengue and Soca, or sway slowly to Calypso, Bolero and Bachata.

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MEET THE ARTISTS

Tito Carrillo is one of the finest trumpeters to emerge from Chicago’s rich jazz trumpet legacy. He is an accomplished trumpeter, educator, bandleader, and composer, and since 1996 he has been a fixture in the Chicago jazz and latin music scenes.

A native of Austin, Texas, the list of artists he has performed, recorded, and toured with is as varied and impressive as his skill set. He has worked with Chicago heavyweights Willie Pickens, John Moulder, Patricia Barber, Ryan Cohan, and Dana Hall; big bands such as the Woody Herman Orchestra (Frank Tiberi, director), the Chicago Jazz Ensemble (Bill Russo and Jon Faddis, directors), the Chicago Jazz Orchestra (Jeff Lindberg, director), and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra (David Baker, director); jazz greats such as drummer Louis Hayes, trumpeter Jon Faddis, and saxophonist Vincent Herring; Salsa legends such as Andy Montañez, Tony Vega, and Cheo Feliciano; Latin jazz giants Tito Puente and Paquito D’Rivera; and pop icons Quincy Jones and Phil Collins. Recent performances include engagements with Grammy-nominated Cuban flute virtuoso Orlando “Maraca” Valle, Brazilian trumpet great Claudio Roditi, vocalist/Blue Note recording artist Jackie Allen, and the Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble.

Carrillo has played some of the most prestigious venues in the world, including Chicago’s Symphony Center, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and London’s Royal Festival Hall. His work has been heard at international jazz festivals in Chicago, Telluride, Montreaux (Switzerland), the Netherlands, and Finland. He has appeared on over 20 CD recordings in his 14-year career, as well as the concert DVD Quincy Jones: Live at Montreux 1996.

Carrillo is also active in jazz education. He has helped to spread jazz awareness to Chicago’s inner city schools through the Ravinia Jazz-in-the-Schools outreach program. He presently continues an active career as a guest artist/clinician at secondary and collegiate jazz programs across the nation.

John Wooton is a lover of music as he performs, teaches, and listens to a variety of genres, but prefers a blend of jazz and several Caribbean styles.  Known as a rudimental specialist, John actually gets more work as a singer and steel pan player.  So, when he isn’t flipping sticks and playing ratamacues around the globe, you can find him dressed in linen playing at a casino, on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, or dressed in style playing at a jazz club in New Orleans.

The past few years Dr. Throwdown has played paradiddles with stick tosses and hertas with “Hi Moms” as well as flam 5s and diminished scales on his steel pans, in places like Tenerife, The Forbidden City, Novi Sad, Ludz, Madrid, Bucaramanga, Biella, San Juan, Missoula, Rome, Pescara, General Roca, Xinxiang, Buenos Aires, Lima, Houston, Gdansk, Vienna, Cali, Ferrara, Tegucigalpa, Port of Spain, Dallas, London, Mayagüez, Dusseldorf, McAllen, and many others. No, the countries are not listed… do your homework.  He is an international artist and clinician for several percussion companies, whole heartedly endorsing each one of them, not only for their wonderful products but for the support they all give to percussion education around the world.  Those companies are Pearl Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Remo, and Vic Firth. John also endorses Row Loff Productions, publisher for his books, solos and ensembles. Check out all their web sites, not only for wonderful products but also for their educational material.

John is in his 30th year of teaching at Southern Miss, close to where he grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, so he gets to enjoy dat great Cajun cuisine and Miss’ippi bar-b-que. Doc, as his students call him, loves his job… making music with his students on various percussion instruments. Search Youtube for “Southern Miss Percussion” to enjoy some of the ensembles he teaches. He was educated in Lafayette, Lou., Denton, Texas and Iowa City, Iowa, receiving documents from all three places, but he was also educated by teachers such as Marty Hurley through the experience of drum and bugle corps, specifically one from Rockford, Illinois. He has won some prestigious trophies, including several national titles as a soloist, ensemble member, composer and teacher, along the way with these organizations but prefers to play music for the joy of the experience.