Born in San Francisco, California, November 1, 1955, Percussionist, composer, writer and educator John Santos was raised in the Puerto Rican and Cape Verdean traditions of his family, surrounded by music. The fertile musical environment of the San Francisco Bay Area shaped his career in a unique way. His studies of Afro-Latin music have included several trips to New York, Puerto Rico, Cuba and Colombia.

Widely respected as one of the top writers, educators and historians in the field, Mr. Santos is a member of the Latin Jazz Advisory Committee of the Smithsonian Institution and has contributed to the international magazines Percussive Notes, Modern Drummer, Modern Percussionist, and Latin Percussionist. The San Francisco Bay Area community in which he still lives and works has presented him with numerous awards and honors for artistic excellence and social dedication. More information on John Santos at www.johnsantos.com.

Interview by Bobby Ramirez

1) When you're conducting a lecture on Latin Jazz, what are some of the most important points you want your audience to comprehend? That Jazz has strong Caribbean roots, that Latin music is a big part of pop culture in the US, that the word 'America' is much broader than we are led to believe, and that the spiritual and historical foundations of Afro-Latin music are its most important attributes.

2) What is your opinion on the current state of Latin Jazz in the world today? We must not be lulled into complacency by the music's current popularity. There is MUCH to be done to inform the general public as well as official institutions of education, as to the relevance and value of this cultural artform. It continues to be sadly under-represented and disrespected in the area of jazz education.

3) Where do you see the direction of Latin Jazz heading in the next 10-20 years? Latin Jazz IS the future. It is already smashing barriers and continues in its leading role as perhaps the first 'World Music,' through its fusion of styles, countries, cultures, rhythms, and musical formats. It will continue to open people's minds to the fact that music shows us how man-made boundaries serve only to limit us. It will lead the way in the movement to remind the world that music is a creative gift, full of wonder and magic, and not about the polished 'products' that are highly marketed and sold.

4) In your vast experience as a performer, what are some of the more common misconceptions that people have about Latin Jazz? That it is only from one city or country. That it is a novelty, inconsequential to learning or appreciating jazz. That it is a recent addition to jazz. That it is narrow in scope and content.

5) Without taking into consideration the cross-pollination of both genres, how would you characterize Latin Jazz in relations to style and authenticity as oppose to the classic Jazz musical idiom? I find it difficult to look at them totally separately like that, since the two things overlap so much and share such a parallel history. Latino music and musicians have much to do with the birth of jazz, and continue to be important elements in jazz in the present as they will in the future.

6) In your website, you wrote that "Latin Jazz is a classic American artform." Can you elaborate further? Part of getting people to understand the integral role of Latin culture in jazz is to emphasize the extreme limitations inherent in the standard interpretation of the meaning of the word "America." People need to know that Central and South America as well as the Caribbean, are every bit as American as North America (which is where our country happens to be located), and that history shows we have much more in common than we have differences. If they are not aware of these facts (and most are not), then it is our responsibility to challenge that colonial philosophy, and the most effective case is made with the music.

7) When lecturing about Latin Jazz especially to music students, from its fruition to its current standing in the new millennium, what are some of your favorite Latin Jazz CD recommendations?
una rumba columbia folklorica (Yoruba andabo or Rapsodia Rumbera)
Las Alturas de Simpson by Orq. Odilio Urfé
St. Louis Blues by Orq. Maravillas de Arcaño
'Mojito Criollo' by Frank Emilio
Sexteto Habanero
Louis Armstrong's 'Peanut Vendor '
'Rumba Rumbero' by Orq. Casino de la Playa
Machito with Bird
Diz and Chano
Arsenio's 'Tintorera'
1950s Tito Puente
1950s Tjader
1950s Shearing
1950s Bebo
'All The Things You Are' by Peruchin
Cachao 'Descargas en Miniatura'
'My Spiritual Indian' by Eddie Palmieri
'Tin Tin Deo' by Ray Barretto
'Las Margaritas' from Irakere
'En Aquellos Tiempos' by Batacumbele
'From This Moment On' by Giovanni Hidalgo
'Lamento Borincano' by David Sanchez
Danilo Perez
Ft. Apache
Omar Sosa

8) What have been one or two of your most memorable collaborations performing and in the studio?
1.) Recording three records by/with El Maestro, Tito Puente during the 1980s.
2.) Armando Peraza and Steve Turre on Machete's 1st recording in 1987.
3.) Cachao, Chocolate, Vilató, Peraza, Santana, and Walfredo de los Reyes with Machete in a show I produced called "La Evolucion de la Música Afro Cubana" for the San Francisco Jazz Festival at Davies Symphony Hall in 1989 (sold out 3,000 seats). Andy Garcia met Cachao at that event.
4.) Touring Europe with Cachao, Chocolate, Francisco Aguabella, Vilató, Nelson Gonzalez, etc. in the early 1990s.

9) In your opinion, what are some of the biggest challenges facing musicians that perform Latin Jazz in the new millennium in terms of wide audience appeal? Same as always . . . surviving with the lack of support and respect given by the mainstream industry and media . . .

10) What are some of your favorite books that you've read thus far?
My Music is My Flag by Ruth Glasser
La Música en Persona by Erena Hernandez
Del Canto y el Tiempo by Argeliers León
The Latin Tinge by John Storm Roberts
Nationalizing Blackness by Robin D. Moore
Race Matters by Cornel West
A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn
Conversations in Clave by Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez
Seeds of Change by H. Viola and C. Margolis
Faces of The Gods by Dr. Robert Farris Thompson

11) What have been the most inspiring words of wisdom that you've heard/read from another musician or someone else in your life? Never point your finger at others because when you do, you have three fingers pointing back at you. . . . an old African proverb told to me by Babatunde Olatunji

12) What is your main source of inspiration when creating music? Love