Sur: Jazz of the Global South

While a good deal of what is identified as "Latin Jazz" today has its roots in the traditional musics of Cuba and Brazil, other musical styles from across Latin America have mixed successfully with jazz performance practices—think of Guillermo Klein's reimagining the work of Argentinian composers, or Godwin Louis's study of Haitian traditions, or Danilo Perez's work in Panamanian styles. Sur—a new jazz supergroup of sorts featuring four of the most prominent Latin American musicians in New York—is attempting explore the extraordinary range of Latin styles, crossing borders to create an exciting new musical hybrid.Sur is made up of Venezuelan pianist Edward Simon, Puerto Rican saxophonist Miguel Zenon, Peruvian bassist Jorge Roeder, and Costa Rican percussionist Felipe Fournier, musicians with an unparalleled collective resume. They've played with everyone from Terrence Blanchard to Charlie Haden to the SFJAZZ Collective to Ruben Blades to Gary Burton. They've been recognized by the MacArthur, Guggenheim, and Doris Duke Foundations, and have each performed on Grammy-nominated albums. It's hard to think of a better team for a globetrotting musical expedition.Sur will play their inaugural concert this Friday evening at The Jazz Gallery. We couldn't be more excited to kick off what will hopefully be a long-running and fruitful collaboration. Sur plays The Jazz Gallery on Friday, September 25th, 2015. The group features Edward Simon on piano, Miguel Zenon on saxophone, Jorge Roeder on bass, and Felipe Fournier on vibraphone and percussion. Sets are at 7:30 and 9:30 P.M. $22 general admission ($10 for members). Purchase tickets here.