| Steve Adams
30 May Cheryl Bentyne 17 Oct Will Bernard 11 Apr Barbara Borden 21 Mar Jim Butler 13 Jun Ian Carey 21 Feb Judy Chaikin 17 Jan Mike Clark 10 Oct Freddy Cole 21 Nov Beth Custer 01 Aug | Harry Duncan
03 Oct Kai Eckhardt 03 Jan Lisa Engelken 26 Sep Don Friedman 07 Nov Roger Glenn 05 Dec Kimberly Gordon 28 Mar Marty Grosz 29 Aug Alex Hahn 08 Aug Bill Holman 28 Feb Tommy Igoe 07 Mar | Namita Kapoor
22 Aug Meklit 27 Jun Lisa Mezzacappa 24 Oct Najee 25 Jul Glenn Richman 15 Aug Alfredo Rodriguez 25 Apr Dan Sabanovich 02 May Grant Stewart 12 Dec Judy Wexler 04 Apr |
| Roberto Fonseca (2020) | |
|---|---|
| Pianist-composer Roberto Fonseca was born in Havana, Cuba, where he still lives.
From birth, he was surrounded by music: his father, also Roberto, is a drummer; his mother, Mercedes, is a professional singer; and his two older half-brothers from his mother's marriage to Chucho Valdéz are drummer Emilio pianist Chiquito Valdéz. Roberto earned his master's degree in composition at Cuba’s Instituto Superior de Arte. In 1999 his first album “En el Comienzo” was awarded Cuba's “Best Jazz Album of the Year”. Roberto toured the world with the Buena Vista Social Club in 2001, cementing friendship and mentorships with the likes of Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo. Roberto loves fusing Afro-Cuban music and rhythms, jazz and classical music. With him, it's really about collaboration—family on the bandstand: that seems to be the source of his truest inspiration. |
| Pick | Artist | Album | Song | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # 1 | Salif Keita | Soro | Wamba | Mango |
| # 2 | Elis Regina and Antonio Carlos Jobim | Elis and Tom | Waters of March | Verve |
| # 3 | Stevie Wonder | Talking Book | Superstition | Motown |
| # 4 | Arsenio Rodriguez | El Sentimiento de Arsenio Rodriguez | No Me Llores | RCA |
| # 5 | Cannoball Adderley | Presenting Cannonball | Autumn Leaves | Blue Note |
| # 6 | Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin IV | Stairway to Heaven | Atlantic |
| # 7 | Roberto Fonseca | Yesun | Mambo pa la Niña | Wagram |
| Book | Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "El Principito" | |||
| Luxury Item | "Rice and beans, Cuban-style, with fried bananas." | |||