Mambo Kings Join RPO to Serve Up a Spicy Variety of Latin Jazz with Afro-Cuban Accents

Rochester, NY – A big dose of Latin spice with explosive Afro-Cuban rhythms is on the menu as Rochester’s own Mambo Kings join Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra on Friday, February 9 and Saturday, February 10 at 8 p.m. at the Eastman Theatre. 

The concerts heat up with a lively combination of arrangements of works by Dave Brubeck (Fiesta Latina), Guillermo Castillo (Tres Lindas), Rafael Hernandez (El Cumbanchero), Tito Puente (Ran Kan Kan and Oye Como Va), Astor Piazzola (Milonga del Angel) and Lennon and McCartney (Day Tripper) as well as original works by Jeff Tyzik, Henry Mancini, Claudio Santoro and Mambo Kings’ Richard Delaney. Some of these are taken from the group’s recent nationally released CD – Live! – recorded in 2005 at the Hochstein School. 

Mambo Kings was formed in 1995 in Rochester by pianist and arranger Richard DeLaney, a native of Lima, Peru, with John Viavattine, saxophone; Wilfredo Colón and David Antonetti, percussion; and Hector Diaz, bass.  Since that time, the group has enjoyed great success and has earned a national reputation for its explosive blend of Afro-Cuban rhythms and jazz improvisation.  After its debut in 1997 with the RPO and Jeff Tyzik, Mambo Kings has been  featured at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival and in concerts with the Baltimore, San Antonio, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Dallas Symphony Orchestras.  The band appeared at the 2003 Rochester International Jazz Festival and reached the finals of the 2003 Kennedy Center-U.S. Department of State Jazz Ambassadors national competition.  In addition to the RPO, Mambo Kings performs this season with the Hartford Symphony, the Naples (FL) Philharmonic and the New Mexico Symphony. 

Tickets for these performances are $20-$56, available online 24/7 at www.rpo.org, by phone (454-2100) and in person from the RPO Box Office, as well as at any Wegmans locations.  RPO Box Office Hours are Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (non-concert Saturdays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.). Wegmans is open seven days a week. A convenience fee may apply.  The WPOP Series is sponsored by Wegmans; this concert is sponsored by Thomson West with additional support from Zimmer Sales & Services.

Now in its 84th season, the RPO inspires and enriches the community through the art of music.  The Orchestra is passionately dedicated to outstanding musical performance at the highest artistic levels, and has a unique tradition of musical versatility, commitment to music education in the broadest sense and a deep and enduring engagement with the community.  The RPO has been honored with the New York State Governor’s Arts Award, and two ASCAP awards for adventurous programming in recent years.

RPO performances are made possible in part with grants from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; the State of New York; Monroe County; the City of Rochester; and American Airlines, the official airline of the RPO. 

Note: Interviews and photos of Mambo Kings are available on request.