Tupac Mantilla – Drums, Percussion, Vocals

Tupac was born in Colombia in 1978. He started his musical career at the age of four as a pianist and kept his piano studies for 12 years, most of them at the National Conservatory of Colombia. In 1994 he started studying drum-set and percussion at Javeriana University and after seven years of formal training he graduated with honors as a Classical Percussion Major in 2003. Since the age of 13, Tupac worked with the government as music teacher of orphaned children, and in 2000 he produced, composed and arranged the album “Sueños” (Dreams), that came out as a result of his ten years of working with these kids. In 2003 - 2005 became a member of the Faculty at JAVERIANA UNIVERSITY Music Department. In 2000 he joined the famous Colombian rock band “1280 ALMAS”, with which he has been touring after recording their last two albums (Bombardeando and Sangre Revelde. Nowadays he is a graduate student of the Contemporary Improvisation Program at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.

Ben Davis - Bass

Multi-instrumentalist and composer, Ben Davis seamlessly blends undeniably funky grooves with twisting catchy melodies. Ben is interested in the psychological and physiological effect of rhythm and texture on the human experience. This comes through in his bass playing in his constant awareness of the overall musical sound in which he is participating. Whether he is playing a two-note groove with his ferocious foot stomping, or taking a bowed bass solo over a ballad, Ben is sure to support or lead any ensemble wondrously. Ben has performed and recorded with The Whippersnappers, Sarah Pedinotti, The Clay Foot Strutters, Bob Moses, Boston Afro-beat Society (2006 BMA Best World Music Act), Tentumbao, and Jay Ungar and Molly Mason (Theme song to grammy winning soundtrack to the Ken Burns Civil War Series). He has studied at Skidmore Jazz Institute and is currently studying at New England Conservatory of Music.

Matt Plummer – Trombone

Originally from the Twin Cities, trombonist Matt Plummer has spent much of his career in Colorado playing in classical, free improvisation, salsa, jazz and reggae bands. He played with Art Lande and Cleo Parker Robinson Dance as well as his own groups Tonic Brass, Canoe, and an improvisation collective Rubato. Among others, he has recorded with the internationally acclaimed Summit Brass ensemble, the Michael Págan Big Band, the Colorado Jazz Orchestra, and the Lucky No. 1 Band. Matt has studied with Bill Stanley, Art Lande, Hankus Netsky, Norman Bolter, Allan Chase and John McNeil. He is now a resident of Jamaica Plain and playing with the San Francisco based Lucky No. 1 Band, Everything's A Little Glorious, Hooper Piccalero and the Luso-Austro Jazz Orchestra.

Alex Toth – Trumpet

Alex Toth has been playing the Trumpet since the age of 10. During high school Alex attended the New Jersey Performing Art's Center Jazz for Teens program and worked with tenor sax great, Don Braden, drummer Ralph Peterson, and others. Upon enrolling into the Jazz Studies program at the University of Vermont, and integrating himself into the Burlington music scene, he quickly carved a reputation for himself as one of the most dynamic and spirited musicians in town. His 4 years at UVM afforded him the opportunity to work with such greats as Paquito DRivera, Arturo OFarrill, Rufus Reid, Wynton Marsalis, and many more. He now works as a freelance trumpeter in the Boston area, and tours frequently with the nationally acclaimed reggae group, John Brown's Body. Alex's own ensemble, the Lazybirds, have a sound that lies in a century's worth of jazz tradition, with a mix of old singalong standards, hardbop era firebombs, and rock-fusion flights. They realeased their second album, "Birdhead" this spring, 2007.

Tumbao is a Cuban word meaning rhythm, flavor, style and flair and the name of the group means "Have Tumbao," which is exactly what they invite you to do every time they play! These talented musicians have enough energy to light up a whole city and they share their love and enthusiasm for what they do with audiences of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life. A TenTumbao show will stimulate your senses, and is known to cause spontaneous acts of unstoppable dancing.

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Kenny Kozol – Bandleader, Percussion, Vocals

Educator, percussionist and composer Kenny Kozol has dedicated his life to performing and teaching music for more than a decade. While an undergraduate in music and Latin American studies at Bard College he was awarded a grant by the Ford Foundation and the Multiculturalism and the Arts Project to study music in Cuba. After graduating in 1997, Kenny moved to New York City to pursue a career in music. He has performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, and the Apollo Theater. In 2003, Kenny graduated with honors from the Masters in Music Education program at Columbia University where he was awarded the President’s Office of Community and Diversity Grant to study children’s music in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and the South Bronx. Now living in Boston, Kenny teaches beginning to advanced Spanish classes at his alma mater, Brookline High School, where he regularly brings music into his classroom and the whole school community. He was recently awarded a grant by the Brookline Education Foundation to write a series of 12 lessons in Spanish on Latin American music.

Rafael Gomez – Vocals, Guitar, Percussion

Rafael Gomez is a Venezuelan musician/producer whose musical work is an interesting compound of different styles such as: Latin, Electronica, Rock, Bossa, Funk and Venezuelan folk. He coherently blends these rhythms creating his signature sound. Rafael has been a prolific artist in his native country. In 1990 he enrolled at Ars Nova School of Music. At the same time, he studied at Venezuela’s Central University (UCV) where he obtained a degree in Social Communication (Audio-Visual field). Aside from being a performer and songwriter, Rafael has done important work as a producer. As part of Estereobata Production Company, he composed music for HBO Latin-American Documentaries and TV promotions that were viewed across South America and Mexico. In 2005 Rafael moved to Boston, U.S. where he currently resides. At present, he is working as a music producer for Tacata Productions, performing live, film scoring and recording his first album as a solo artist.