Victor Rendón, Director

Timbales

Of Mexican-American descent and originally from Robstown, Texas is an educator, author, and veteran of the New York City Latin music scene. He studied intensively for many years with Jimmy Ramirez, Dr. Rosemary Small, Louie Bauzo, John Almendra, "Little" Ray Romero, Frankie Malabe, Mike Collazo Sr., Pablo Rosario, Changuito, Roberto Borrell, John Amira, Jerome Goldschmidt, Morris “Arnie” Lang, as well as jazz drummers Paul Guerrero, Henry Okstel, & Charli Persip among others.

Formerly co-leader of the Rodríguez/Rendón Latin Jazz Orchestra, Blue Mambo, and Co-Tim-Bó, he now leads the Bronx Conexión Latin Jazz Big Band. He has worked as a side man with Mongo Santamaria, Chico O'Farrill, Carlos "Patato" Valdés, Ray Santos Orchestra, Grupo Caribe, Latin Jazz Coalition, The "New" Xavier Cugat Orchestra, Grupo Latin Vibe, Los Mas Valientes, Rudy Calzado, and many others.

As an author/transcriber, his work has appeared in Modern Drummer, Percussive Notes, LP Newsletter, Music in Motion Films, DCI Music Video, Drum! Magazine, and Warner Bros. Publications. He is author of The Art of Playing Timbales distributed by Alfred Publishing. For several years, Victor also published his own semi-annual magazine, Latin Percussionist.

Rendón, who holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of North Texas and a Master’s degree in education from Hunter College, has had a lengthy career teaching instrumental music and Latin percussion in the New York City Public Schools, and at the Boy's Harbor Performing Arts Center.

Currently, he is an Adjunct Lecturer at Lehman College in the Bronx where he gives instruction in Latin percussion and drumset. He also co-directs the Lehman College Latin Jazz Ensemble with his long-time colleague, Armando Rodriguez. In addition, he also directs the Lehman College Percussion Ensemble. A successful clinician, he conducts workshops in Latin percussion styles. He has conducted clinics/workshops for the Department of Education in New York City, PASIC (Percussive Arts Society International Convention), KOSA-NYC, Global Praise at Princeton University, and the Eddie Ming Drum School in Bermuda, Texas State University, Indiana State University, among other events. Mr. Rendón is an LP, Sabian, Vic Firth, and Evans performing artist.

Trombones

Trumpets

Saxophones

Flute

Jessica Valiente

Brooklyn-born flutist Dr. Jessica Valiente holds a B.A. in music from Barnard College in conjunction with Manhattan School of Music, an M.A. in music performance from the Aaron Copland School of Music (Queens College, CUNY) and a D.M.A. in music performance from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She is a 2014-2015 recipient of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) American Dissertation Fellowship for her dissertation on charanga entitled: “Siento una Flauta: Improvisational Idiom, Style, and Performance Practice of Charanga Flutists in New York from 1960 to 2000.”

A conservatory-trained classical musician, she began to expand into jazz improvisation and studies of traditional musics from all over the world about 10 years into her classical performance career. Her musical interests reflect her family's mosaic heritage, including African-American traditional and popular styles, music of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, and indigenous music of both North and South America. She specializes in Afro-Cuban and other Latin styles, Brazilian choro, and straight-ahead jazz, and performs on traditional Native American style courtship flutes and the Andean quena as a soloist.

Her debut in the Latin music scene came when she took over the flute chair in the conjunto of legendary mambo/pachanga-era bandleader, Orlando Marín, while also frequently performing with the critically-acclaimed bilingual Spanish/English theater company, Teatro Pregones.

During these years, she also maintained her position in the world of early music (her first love), performing on recorders and renaissance flute with the internationally-renowned bilingual Italian/English commedia dell'arte troupe, I Giullari di Piazza.

Today, Dr. Valiente is known primarily as the musical director of Los Más Valientes, the salsa and Latin jazz ensemble that she has been directing since 1995. Together, she and her band have produced and released three CDs on the Laughing Buddha label, and one on the 706 Music label, all of which have received wide critical acclaim. She also performs on flute and piccolo with the Brazilian choro ensemble, Choro Down Neck, while staying in touch with her classical music roots, as flutist with the chamber ensemble Trio Non Sequitur, recorderist and baroque flutist with the Fieldstone Early Music Ensemble, and principal flutist with The Colour of Music Festival Orchestra. She has had a long career as a private teacher, and has taught music at Brooklyn College, John Jay College, Baruch College, University of Bridgeport, New School University, Mercy College, and the John J. Cali School of Music of Montclair State University.

Piano

Joe Mannozzi

Born in the Bronx, Mr. Mannozzi has had a long and fruitful career in music. During the 1970's and 80's, he recorded several "classic" albums with Típica 73, Los Kimbos and Conjunto Libre.

In addition, he has worked with Nelson Gonzalez, The New Swing Sextet, and Mambo Negro. Joe is also a prolific arranger having written arrangements for the Bronx Horns and many other groups in the NYC area.