Press Kit
Click here to download a zip file
containing our press kit.
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Folklore Urbano's 12 members perform material that is
authentic and refreshing, due in no small part to Mayor's amazing way of
synthesizing jazz with Colombian folkloric music, taking Latin music to an
entirely new dimension
Vicky Sola, Latin Beat Magazine, Feb. 2006 issue.
It's no exaggeration to say that Folklore Urbano has redefined modern Colombian music. This brilliant 12-piece ensemble harnesses
the danceable swing of traditional Colombian folkloric rhythms while seducing the listener with the subtleties of jazz orchestration
and harmony. The band's lineup cooks with two vocalists; a rhythm section comprised of some of New York City's finest
exponents of traditional Colombian music; a stunning horn section of flute, trumpet, alto/soprano saxophone, baritone saxophone,
and euphonium; as well as drum set, bass, and piano.
The driving force is innovative bandleader, arranger, composer and pianist, Pablo Mayor, along with his wife, Anna Povich de Mayor,
Folklore Urbano's flautist (who also helps in managing the group). Back in Colombia, Mayor was a professor of music at Bogota's
Universidad Javeriana, where he began an intensive "personal investigation" of his country's native music.
After extensive studies in jazz arranging at the University of North Texas, he went on to arrange and produce for musicians
in New York, Dallas, Colombia and Mexico, as well as for live theatre in New York. He recorded his first album with Folklore Urbano
in 2003 (Aviso) with Andy Gonzalez on bass, and the second in 2005 (Baile/Dance). The third album is scheduled to be released in
October 2007.
Of Folklore Urbano's second CD Baile (Dance), Live Music Report's Joyce Corbett writes,
"a fabulous CD, beautiful, exuberant and complex. It combines different styles of music from the various regions of
Colombia---the Andes, the eastern plains, the Caribbean coast and the Pacific coast---with jazz and other influences to create
an intoxicating new sound. It is sophisticated but loses nothing of the honesty of emotion, the tenderness or the sheer joy of
the folk styles. It is bold, modern and open to the world."
Pablo Mayor-Folklore Urbano has been featured at the Festival
Internacional de Arte de Cali (Colombia), the Chicago World Music
Festival, Sunfest (London, Ontario), the Finger Lakes Grass
Roots Fest, New Jersey's Sounds of the City, Central Park's
Harlem Meer Festival, the Brooklyn Museums's Target First Saturdays
(NYC), Performance Planet-La Guardia Performing Arts Center (NYC), the
Music for Peace Festival (Stony Brook University), Global
Rhythms-Kingsborough Community College (NYC), and at such venues as SOB's
(NYC), the Jazz Standard (NYC), Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors La Casita
(NYC), Toronto's Lula Lounge, Philadelphia's World Cafe Live,
Montreal's Club Ballatou, Chicago's Hothouse, Ottawa's Zaphod
Beeblebrox, among many others.
The organization is also actively involved with the education of Colombian
music, through such educational outreach programs as the 92nd St. Y's
Musical Introducation Series and a Colombian music residency through Turtle Bay
Music School.
Mayor is not only intent on showcasing the music of Folklore Urbano, but also
on promoting Colombian music on the world stage. The maestro, along with
his wife, Anna, and partner Robert Kelley, own Chonta Records, a record
label representing NYC's finest Colombian artists including La Cumbiamba eNeYe,
Coba, Ricardo Gallo, and Samurindó. Most recently, Chonta released a
compilation album called Nueva Colombia that features the New York based
Chonta artists and vocalist Marta Gomez, along with a sampling of groups from
Colombia, performing folkloric music fused with jazz, rock and hip hop.
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