Afro Bop Alliance

Latin Jazz Ensemble

Afro Bop Alliance is a Latin Jazz septet from Annapolis, Maryland, which performs throughout the greateR&Baltimore-Washington DC area, and Mid-Atlantic region. These talented musicians, made up of three horns and four rhythms, perform at a variety of events including ethnic, cultural, and music festivals, thrilling audiences with their infectious polyrhythmic grooves, harmonic colorings, and improvisational lines. The ensemble was created from the desire to explore the vast musical possibilities of all the different cultures which come together under the umbrella of Latin or Latin jazz. They approach this music from a very "western" voice, using the instrumentation of a jazz ensemble augmented with congas, timbales, bongos, bells, etc., playing compositions in Afro-Cuban oR&Brazilian styles. It is the goal of Afro Bop to fuse all of these wonderful "Latin" styles and cultures with their own jazz experience to create a unique sound. At the 9th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, Afro Bop Alliance was awarded a Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Recording for their 2008 CD, Caribbean Jazz Project - Afro Bop Alliance featuring Dave Samuels. The group also received a nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album at the 51th Annual Grammy Awards. Afro Bop Alliance was presented the Best Latin Recording Award by the Washington Area Music Association (WAMA) for their recording, Camino Nuevo.