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“The Latin music Renaissance man”(San Francisco Chronicle), percussionist and composer John Santos celebrates his 70th birthday with a magic evening of Latin jazz based around his telepathic Sextet and an array of special guests including vocalists Destani Wolf and Zoe Ellis, percussionist Orestes Vilató, trumpeter Skylar Tang, vibraphonist Kyle Athayde, and more.

Far more than a master musician, Santos is an invaluable educator and cultural activist, a keeper of the Afro-Caribbean flame steeped in Cuban and Puerto Rican folkloric traditions as well as salsa and Latin jazz. Born and raised in San Francisco’s Mission District amidst an extended family of Puerto Rican musicians, he’s been at the center of the Bay Area’s Latin music scene for over four decades. As a visionary bandleader and noted historian, he has served on the Smithsonian Institution’s Latin Jazz Advisory Committee, and was part of the inaugural group of SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Directors at the SFJAZZ Center during the 2013-2014 Season, along with Bill Frisell, Jason Moran, Regina Carter, and Miguel Zenón. Santos has had a lengthy history with SFJAZZ, and we are honored to help celebrate his birthday on the stage that has been a home away from home.