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With a musical career
that spans more than 20 years, bandleader, percussionist, and educator
John Ulloa has been carving his niche in the Bay area’s musical realm,
earning well-deserved respect for both his musical talents and his
intellectual contributions.
With two Master’s
degrees—one in Latin American History and another in Cultural
Anthropology (with a visual emphasis), both earned from San Francisco
State University— Ulloa’s lectures explore the historical, social, and
cultural relationships of Afro-Cuban music and religious traditions.
John has parlayed his
thirst for knowledge with his creative passions, having studied with
Afro-Cuban percussion masters such Orestes Vilató, Michael Spiro, and
Daniel Rodriguez, both in the United States and in Cuba.
From his remarkable
knowledge base of the elements that have shaped his musical
influences—especially in West Coast Latin Jazz and with seminal artists
such as Mongo Santamaria, Armando Peraza, Cal Tjader, and Poncho Sanchez
—Ulloa brings that very same consciousness to his own music. His debut
solo album, Rum and Smoke (Puro Records), released this
spring, is a tribute to West Coast Latin Jazz traditions and a showcase
of some of the genre’s finest players.
A consummate
professional, Ulloa has also demonstrated the kind of flexibility and
open-mindedness that is essential to meet the demand of the very diverse
Bay area music scene...as evidenced with his broad musical vocabulary
that also includes Rock, Hip Hop, and R’n’B.
Ulloa has performed and
recorded with the likes of Pete Escovedo, WAR, members of Los Lobos,
Ruben Estrada, BUCHO, Dr. Loco’s Rockin’ Jalapeño Band, The Mario Flores
Band, Benny Velarde’s Supercombo, and Stymie and the Pimp Jones Luv
Orchestra. |
