Layla Angulo, born March 12, 1976, and known professionally by the mononym Layla, is an American saxophonist, composer, singer, band director, and recording artist specializing in Latin music. [1]
Layla was born to a Greek mother and an Irish-American father. [2] Her grandfather's upright bass playing inspired her to learn the saxophone at an early age. [3] [4]
Layla's first released album, Live at The Triple Door , was recorded at the noted Seattle theater and released in 2005. [5] The album's first single Que Te Vaya Bien was Top 10 for three months on OurStage [6] and reached semi-finalist position in the International Songwriting Competition (ISC). "La Rumbera"—also from Live at the Triple Door—received ISC Honorable Mention in 2006. [7] The album received warm reviews from Seattle Times [8] and Chip Boaz's Latin Jazz Corner. [9]
Mientras was Layla's second album, recorded in New York with Arturo O’Farrill, Oscar Estagnaro, Tony Escapa, and Dario Escanazi. Released in 2008, Mientras was Editors Pick at Descarga.com [10] and was lauded by critics such as Michael G. Nastos at AllMusic. [11]
Layla moved to New York City in 2009, subsequently spending a year on tour with reggaeton artist Don Omar. [12] Her third album TriAngulo yielded a single, "No Se Como Olvidarte" that rose to #16 on the Billboard Tropical Charts. [13] "Estrella," another song from the same album, reached semi-finalist position in the 2014 ISC. [14] A third song from TriAngulo ("La Pelicula") reached #1 in the National Latin Record Pool. [15]
On March 24, 2015, the International Songwriting Competition announced its 2014 Finalists, including Layla's song Dame Todo. [16]
Marco Antonio Muñiz, known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer and songwriter. He is the top selling salsa artist of all time. A four-time Grammy Award, eight-time Latin Grammy Award and twenty-nine-time Lo Nuestro Awards winner, he has sold more than 12 million albums worldwide.
A descarga is an improvised jam session consisting of variations on Cuban music themes, primarily son montuno, but also guajira, bolero, guaracha and rumba. The genre is strongly influenced by jazz and it was developed in Havana during the 1950s. Important figures in the emergence of the genre were Cachao, Julio Gutiérrez, Bebo Valdés, Peruchín and Niño Rivera in Cuba, and Tito Puente, Machito and Mario Bauzá in New York. Originally, descargas were promoted by record companies such as Panart, Maype and Gema under the label Cuban jam sessions. From the 1960s, the descarga format was usually adapted by large salsa ensembles, most notably the Fania All-Stars.
William Anthony Colón Román is an American Salsa musician and social activist. He began his career as a trombonist but also sings, writes, produces and acts. Colón is considered a pioneer of Salsa music and a best-selling artist in the genre, having been a key figure in the nascent New York City scene associated with the legendary Fania Records. He is also noteworthy for having assumed the gangster image in his album covers before it was culturally popular. Since the 1980s he has at times been deeply involved in the politics of New York City.
Larry Harlow was an American salsa music pianist, performer, composer, band leader and producer. He was born into a musical American family of Jewish descent.
Jerry Rivera is a Puerto Rican salsa singer and songwriter.
Obie Bermúdez is a Puerto Rican Latin pop, salsa singer, composer and actor.
Israel López Valdés, better known as Cachao, was a Cuban double bassist and composer. Cachao is widely known as the co-creator of the mambo and a master of the descarga. Throughout his career he also performed and recorded in a variety of music styles ranging from classical music to salsa. An exile in the United States since the 1960s, he only achieved international fame following a career revival in the 1990s.
Juan Pablo Knipping Pacheco, known as Johnny Pacheco, was a Dominican musician, arranger, composer, bandleader, and record producer. Born in the Dominican Republic, Pacheco became a leading figure in the New York salsa scene in the 1960s and 1970s as the founder and musical director of Fania Records.
The Underdog/El Subestimado is the second studio album by Tego Calderón on August 29, 2006. The first single of the album was titled "Los Maté", which has garnered much air-play on the radio. During a press conference in Puerto Rico, Tego Calderón expressed that this new album is "a diary of sorts from my experiences. There are happy moments and sad ones".
Ni Es lo Mismo Ni Es Igual is the eighth studio album recorded by Dominican singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra and his backup vocals 4–40. It was released by Karen Records on 15 December 1998 and distributed by PolyGram Latino. It was Guerra's comeback album after four years of silence, out of the public eye and since his conversion to Christianity. It was his first studio album since Fogarate (1994). The album production and songwriting were done by Guerra. The album was supported by the release of four official singles: "Mi PC", "Palomita Blanca", "El Niagara en Bicicleta" and "La Hormiguita". Two singles were released as promotional singles: "Vale La Pena" and "Quisiera".
While the Dominican Republic is known for shaping merengue and bachata music, its musicians have also melded these influences into the early development of salsa music amongst the Latin community of New York City in the early 1960s. A major development in those initial days of salsa occurred when Johnny Pacheco, a Dominican-born musician living in New York City, teamed with partner Jerry Masucci to create Fania Records in 1964. They started selling records from the trunk of cars on the streets of Spanish Harlem, signing up young artists, creating new sounds, and eventually having hit records. Over the next 15 years, Fania Records helped define the sound, culture, and language associated with the salsa genre, a musical movement that arose partly from the unavailability in the United States of music produced in Cuba.
Belkis Arias, known professionally as Vicky Shell is a Dominican singer, educator and songwriter. She is known as an artist of Latin tropical rhythms in addition to other styles of music.
Live at The Triple Door is a live album recorded and released by The Courage in 2008 when they were still known as "Noah Gundersen & the Courage." The set was performed at the venue and lounge The Triple Door in Seattle, Washington.
Steven Alan Gluzband is an American latin jazz trumpeter based in New York City.
Sultans of String are an instrumental music group based in Toronto, Ontario, combining elements of Spanish flamenco, Arabic folk, Cuban rhythms, and French Manouche Django-jazz. The group's leader is producer and Canadian musician Chris McKhool.
Chris McKhool is a Canadian violinist, producer, guitarist, composer, and singer-songwriter. He has received numerous awards for his work, including four JUNO Award nominations and four Canadian Folk Music Awards for his various recordings.
Dallas Frasca is an Australian roots rock musician from Melbourne. Force of Nature, the latest 2024 album reaches number 2 in its first week of release on the Blues ARIA Charts. Love Army, the 2015 album peaked at number 29 on the ARIA Charts.
Pedro Nolasco Jústiz Rodríguez, better known as Peruchín, was a Cuban pianist specializing in jazz-influenced Cuban popular music. He was an important figure in the 1950s descarga scene in Havana, and one of the most influential Cuban pianists of the 20th century.
Camilo Echeverry Correa, known mononymously as Camilo, is a Colombian singer, musician and songwriter. Born in Medellín, Antioquia, his accolades include six Latin Grammy Awards and two Grammy Award nominations.
The International Songwriting Competition (ISC), founded in 2002, is an annual songwriting contest for both amateur and professional songwriters. There is no physical event to attend as the competition is held online, and anyone in the world can enter. Each year the competition gives away over $150,000 USD in cash and prizes, including $25,000 USD in cash to the overall Grand Prize Winner. Additionally, ISC offers an opportunity for artists to have their songs heard by celebrity artists and music industry executives.