| Paul Anastasio
25 Sep Macy Blackman 19 Jun George Cole 21 Aug Alex Condé 06 Mar Kit Eakle 04 Sep Phillip Greenlief 13 Feb Noah Griffin 06 Nov Tammy Hall 27 Feb Alan Hall 22 May | Christian Howes
27 Mar Kymberly Jackson 03 Apr Julie Kelly 20 Feb Maya Kronfeld and Valerie Troutt 29 May Jennifer Lee 17 Apr Steven Lugerner 24 Jul Steve McQuarry 05 Jun Jacqui Naylor 13 Nov Dave Newhouse 14 Aug | Zack Rogow
24 Apr Holli Ross 17 Jul Ellen Seeling 02 Oct Richard Seidel 09 Oct Edward Simon 31 Jul Tessa Souter 23 Oct Steve Turré 07 Aug Donna Viscuso 20 Nov Patrick Wolff 16 Jan |
| 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." | |||