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 Congratulations
to drummer/percussionist Bobby
Sanabria for being nominated for a Latin Grammy
this past September for Best Tropical Music performance
for the CD 50 Years of Mambo - A Tribute to Perez
Prado, recorded live at Town Hall. This is Bobby's
second nomination in the last three years. Fellow
LP endorsers Ray Mantilla and Candido
Camero are also featured on this fabulous retrospective
of the Mambo King, Damaso Perez Prado and also received
nominations. Nominees receive a gold medal fromTiffany's
inscribed with the Grammy insignia and year of award
as well as a beautiful certificate. His first mainstream
Grammy nomination was for "Bobby
Sanabria Big Band - Live & In Clave!!!"
in 2001 for best Latin Jazz recording.
The made for TV documentary, "The
Palladium - Where Mambo Was King" which was
directed by Kevin Kaufman and co-produced by Bobby,
received the 2003 Imagine Award for best TV documentary.
Those of you who saw documentary noticed one of the
featured storytellers was Martin
Cohen. Longtime LP endorser maestro Tito
Puente was also featured in a special segment
with never before scene footage.
Bobby was also honored by Latin Jazz USA on October
26, 2003 at Birdland NYC. Bobby received the organization's
"Outstanding Achievement" award. In the
words of its president, Ivan Acosta, Bobby
received the award "In recognition of his extraordinary
creative contribution to the music of Afro-Cuban and
Latin Jazz as a performer, leader and educator."
The other award winners were bassist Andy
Gonzalez, pianist Arturo O 'Farill and saxophonist
Mario Rivera. The "Lifetime Achievement"
award was
given to legendary vocalist Graciela.
 Over
the summer Bobby
kept up a busy schedule performing at the Atlanta
Jazz Festival, Isthmus Jazz
Festival, Brownsville Jazz Festival, Music Under the
Stars in El Paso, Berea College with his nonet,
AscensiŪn and the Percussive Arts Society convention
with his Quarteto AchČ receiving explosive
applause and several standing ovations. Bobby kept
up the pace with what he calls his "mission"
to spread the gospel of Afro-Cuban Jazz by giving
performances with his quartet as well as master
classes at The Carver Center in San Antonio, Colorado
College, Syracuse University and Rutgers University
as well as The Jazz Standard and Flushing Town Hall
in NYC. He traveled to Europe performing with Larry
Harlow's Latin Legends Band at the famed Toros and
Salsa Festival in Dax, France. He also performed across
the country with poet/storyteller David Gonzalez and
Larry in the show "Sofrito" a musical theater
piece utilizing folktales from Cuba, Puerto Rico and
da' Bronx!
Bobby's
virtuosity as both a drummer and percussionist is
featured on these recent 2003 releases. "Urban
Grooves" by drummer/vibist Joe Chambers where
Bobby plays congas, percussion and drumset. "Urban
Still Life" by saxophonist Lou Caputo where he
is featured on drumset and is joined by fellow LP
endorser Candido.
Trombonist Chris Washburne's "Paradise in Trouble"
where he is featured on everything from drumset, bat·,
bongo,
timbales
and percussion
and John Fedchock's Big Band tome "No Nonsense"
which has just received a Grammy nomination. The versatile
Sanabria is featured on congas,
timbales,
guiro
and claves
on the Fedchock arrangement of Joe Henderson's "Caribbean
Fire Dance" which has been Grammy nominated for
best large ensemble arrangement.
Bobby's
expertise in Afro-Cuban folklore was called upon to
contribute congas,
bat·,
shekeres's,
bells and vocals to the soundtrack of the short film
"Gypsy Girl" directed by Susana Tubert.
The film was featured at the Sundace Film Festival.
He also contributed timbale, conga, bongŪ and
percussion tracks to the ad campaigns of the Taj Mahal,
Crest, Pepsi and Dr. Pepper. Bobby
was honored to work with the legendary Cuban vocalist
Celia
Cruz who was featured in the Dr. Pepper spot shown
worldwide along with spots featuring contemporary
Latina Pop idol, Paulina Rubio.
 Bobby & his son in the LP Studio, 1988
prestigious New School University's Jazz program
in NYC with an incredible blow out concert on March
18, 2003. For the last ten years Mr. Sanabria has
passed on "La TradiciŪn" to literally hundreds
of students who are now carrying on that tradition
in the new millenium. Players like bassist Avishai
Cohen (Chick Correa), trumpeter Mike Rodriguez (Charlie
Haden), saxophonist Ivan Renta (Eddie Palmieri), drummer
Jaz Sawyer (Los Hombres Calientes), saxophonist Karolina
Strassmayer (Diva, Mark Murphy), drummer/percussionist
Tony De Vivo (Mo' Guajiro), trombonist Chris Khoeler
(The Spanish Harlem Orchestra and Wayne Gorbea) and
many more have all graduated from the "School
of Sanabria".
Featured as guest solosists at the concert where
recent Grammy award winning flutist Dave Valentin
and conga legend and longtime LP endorser Candido
Camero. The concert began and ended in the carnaval
tradition of Cuba, with an extended conga line led
by Bobby which sang Happy Birthday for the 82nd year
young, Candido!!!
Bobby
also celebrated his fifth year of teaching at the
prestigious Manhattan School of Music where he
also conducts the Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra with concerts
on February 2oth with saxophonist David
Sanchez, October 16 with guest soloist, trombonist
Conrad Herwig and on November 13 with guest soloist,
saxophonist Ronnie Cuber.
Bobby
would like to thank all of the fans, students,educators,
festivals, companies and most of all his
musicians for making it possible for him to play the
music that to paraphrase Eddie
Palmieri "Is the most
highly developed art form ever engineered to excite
the human organism."
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