Electronic Press Kit
About
The Latin Jazz Collective (LJC) is a versatile seven-piece Afro CUbanLatin Jazz ensemble that received a standing ovation from a full-house crowd at the 2017 Monterey Jazz Festival. Led by percussionist John Nava, saxophonist Stu Reynolds, and drummer Martin Binder, the band creates a rich and eclectic blend of original compositions and highly acclaimed standard jazz arrangements steeped in authentic Latin rhythms. LJC members have shared the stage, recorded, and performed with the likes of Carlos Santana, Pete Escovedo, The Yellow Jackets, Malo, Kim Stone (Rippingtons), Wayne Wallace, and many other well-respected artists from around the world. Members of LJC maintain active performance schedules as band leaders, arrangers, and music educators throughout the Central California Coast and Bay Areas.
Line-Up
John Nava - Congas, Percussion
Kevin McCullough - Piano
Martin Binder - Drumset
Stu Reynolds - Saxophones
Brian Stock - Trumpet
Ric Feliciano - Trombone, Vocals
Steve Uchello - Bass
Felix Diaz - Trombone
Audio
From the band's latestr studio album - La Bahia
From the band's self-titled debut studio album (2017):
Monterey County Weekly
June, 4, 2019
By Paul Fried
When conga player John Nava and drummer Martin Binder hit on the idea to start an Afro-Cuban jazz group in 2012, little did they know how much lightning they would eventually let out of the bottle. “We were looking to find a middle ground between the swing of traditional jazz and the beats and accents of Afro-Cuban music,” Nava says. “We originally envisioned having horns and great musicians playing quality tunes, so I guess we’ve accomplished that.”
But the two envisioned a traditional band. They had no idea the group would grow into more of a musical collective. That was beyond their original ambition – as were some of the band’s highlights that followed.
The group is currently producing original material for an upcoming second studio effort to follow their eponymous first effort, which was mostly all covers. And they are shooting for a return to the Monterey Jazz Festival stages in 2020 as a reprise of their 2017 sold-out debut, which resulted in a rousing standing ovation. “I look around me onstage now and I wonder how in the world did I get lucky enough to be here,” Nava says. “This is me standing smack dab in the middle of my biggest dream. This is as close as you can get to being family without being related by blood.”
The collective’s growth has not caused them to abandon the original mission, however. With saxophonist Stu Reynolds, they have a songwriter versed in both swing and jazz, and now caught up in Caribbean rhythmic structures. “Those rhythms that were brought to the Caribbean and ultimately to the Americas from Africa are completely compelling,” Reynolds says. “You immediately feel them in your body. When we combine them with traditional American jazz stylings it makes for a perfect marriage of head and body.”
Still, they retain an improvisational, free-swinging style, one that plays out well on stage. “There may be written music and music stands around when you come to watch us, but remember: We come from the heart,” Nava says. “So forget about the bills and the problems and just let the rhythms and us take you away from it all, if only for a little while.”