Enjoy a Taste of Latin-flavored Jazz with Bobby Sanabria

In this episode, Carl chats with drummer and percussionist Bobby Sanabria. Bobby has been nominated for eight Grammys and is also a composer, arranger, documentary filmmaker, educator, and radio host. He discusses how he has managed to keep the passion alive all these years and how music has been a consistent source of inspiration for him.Bobby paints a colorful story of how he developed his love for jazz and what it was like being immersed in several cultures while growing up, which influenced his musical taste from a jazz perspective. He describes how music on radio and FM stations has evolved over the years, as well as how he got started with playing the drums. Bobby also shares the process of how West Side Story Reimagined became such a hit. Listen to this episode and enjoy the repository of knowledge that only Bobby Sanabria can deliver.Episode Highlights 01:58 - The music inspires me constantly. And you mentioned that I'm an educator. So, I've been teaching on the college level, particularly at the New School University for 28 years. And my students always inspire me. 13:25 - Expose them to all the different, various flavors that jazz has to offer. Because jazz is really fascinating. Jazz, in my opinion, is the only art form that can encompass and draw upon every other art form that exists. 16:37 - Every culture all over the world uses improvisation. But the way we use it in jazz and the way we tell stories in jazz is a very unique, special thing. And that's why it always has to have at least some element of the blues in it.18:00 - I try to impart that I'm a musician and also on my students. I tell them you have a big responsibility when you get up on the stage because you're representing hundreds of years of struggle, survival, and strength. So, that's what the music exudes always for me.20:24 - When you see great bands on stage, it's because the musicians trust each other. The leader trusts the musicians. You take it from there and the result was the great performance that we did for you, for the audience.ContactFresh Coast Jazz FestivalBobby Sanabria