Twins Jazz Hosts Latin Grammy Winners

Afro Bop Alliance has been praised by critics, adored by fans and acknowledged by the music industry as one of the best Latin Jazz bands around today. Founded seven years ago by drummer Joe McCarthy, the group won a Latin Grammy in 2008, a Grammy Nomination in 2009 and “Wammie” nominations in three categories in 2010! Afro Bop brings its award-winning music to Twins Jazz on June 18 and 19, with shows at 9 PM and 11PM.

The group won a Latin Grammy in 2008 for “Best Latin Jazz Album” and received a Grammy Nomination in 2009 in the same category for their third album, entitled Afro Bop Alliance.( For that recording the group swelled to the size of a big band under the name Caribbean Jazz Project led by mallet man Dave Samuels.) Afro Bop was nominated for three 2010 Wammie awards by their peers in the Washington Area Musical Association (WAMA). The nominations include Best Latin Duo/Group, Album of the Year and the coveted Artist of the Year.

The performance at Twins will feature stellar members of the core group: bandleader and percussionist Joe McCarthy, pianist Harry Appelman, trumpet player Tim Stanley and saxophonist Luis Hernandez, bassist Mike Pope and conguero Roberto Quintero. Audiences can expect to hear an explosive program of original music, red-hot arrangements of jazz standards and slow Latin burns. The group excels in a range of styles from Afro-Cuban and Bebop to funk, and includes in its repertoire signature pieces by Samuels, Coltrane, Monk and other jazz legends.