Caliente

Performer Details

Performer Bio Synopsis

Caliente, Houston Press Best Latin Band Award Winner, is the internationally acclaimed repertoire ensemble for Diaz Music Institute. Caliente, the only youth group to receive the prestigious Houston Press Award, is under the direction of Jose Antonio Diaz. The ensemble has appeared with some of the music industry’s biggest stars such as Alex Acuna, Ignacio Berroa, Jimmy Bosch, Candido Camero, Ndugu Chancler, Pete Escovedo, Jon Faddis, Larry Harlow, Jessy J, Brian Lynch, Johnny Pacheco, Eddie Palmieri, La Mafia, Rebeca Mauleon, Ismael Miranda, Frankie Negron, Danilo Perez, Roberto Roena, David Sanchez, Poncho Sanchez, Arturo Sandoval, Aldaberto Santiago, John Santos, Brenda K Starr, Michael Stuart, Tony Succar, Nestor Torres, Bobby Valentin, Dave Valentin, Miguel Zenon, Conrad Herwig, and just to name a few. Caliente has appeared at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Jazz Education Network Conference, Oregon Music Educators Association Conference, Music Educators National Conference, Texas Bandmasters Association, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Salsa Congress, Red Cat Jazz Festival, Berklee College Jazz Festival and Dallas Music Symposium. Caliente also appeared at the Chocolate Bayou Festival, the Bayou City Arts Festival, Dia de la Hispanidad, and a host of many concert performances to many to mention.

Caliente

Conductor's Bio

Jose Antonio Diaz José Antonio Diaz, 2016 winner of Berklee College of Music’s John LaPorta Jazz Educator of the Year Award and recipient of the Mayor’s Hispanic Heritage Award, is director of bands at MacArthur High School and founder/artistic director for the Diaz Music Institute in Houston, Texas. Recently inducted into DownBeat Magazine’s Jazz Education Hall of Fame, Diaz's success as a music educator was the subject of a featured cover story in SBO Magazine, Band Director's Guide Magazine and was selected by FOX 26 and Univision Television stations as a Hispanic Hero. Jose was inducted into the Texas Christian University Band of Fame and received the prestigious Jefferson Award for his work with Diaz Music Institute. As an artist, Mr. Diaz has received four grants from the Houston Arts Alliance to support his creative writing in Latin, jazz, and contemporary music compositions. Diaz’s groups has performed with such artists as Shelly Berg, Ndugu Chancler, Jon Faddis, Brian Lynch, Danilo Perez, Patrice Rushen, Arturo Sandoval, Nestor Torres, and Bill Watrous to name just a few. Jose’s ensemble has performed multiple times at some of the most prestigious international events including but not limited to the Midwest Clinic, Jazz Education Network, Texas Music Educators Association, Oregon Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, and National Association for Music Education. Jose’s leadership has led Diaz Music Institute to become internationally recognized as a premier organization for presenting, developing and teaching Latin jazz and salsa music. Diaz’s innovative programing is enjoyed by the Houston area community through Diaz Music Institute’s annual presentation of Noché Caliente at the Miller Outdoor Theatre. Performing in Noché Caliente is the Institute’s repertoire ensemble Caliente in musical dialogue with some of Latin music’s biggest stars such as Candido, Pete Escovedo, Larry Harlow, Ismael Miranda, Johnny Pacheco, Eddie Palmieri, Poncho Sanchez, Roberto Roena, Adalberto Santiago, Brenda K Starr, Michael Stuart and Dave Valentin. In addition, the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities selected Diaz Music Institute as a finalist for the 2010 and 2011 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards. Diaz has presented workshops for organizations such as the Midwest Clinic, Jazz Education Network, Berklee College of Music, Jazz Institute of Chicago, Conservatorium aan Zee in Oostende, Belgium, California Music Educators Association, Oregon Music Educators Association, University of Missouri - St. Louis, Baylor University, Texas Music Educators Association, Virginia Music Educators Association, Western International Band Clinic, National Association of Black School Educators, Texas Music Symposium, National Association for Music Education and the National Association of Schools of Music. Jose is a graduate of University of Arkansas (BSE) and Texas Christian University (MME). Diaz is on the board of Directors for The Midwest Clinic and is member of Texas Bandmasters Association, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Music Adjudicators Association, Phi Beta Mu, Kappa Kappa Psi and Phi Mu Alpha fraternities. Jose is co-author of Middle School Music Expressions™ (Alfred Music Publication) and composed the music for Freddie the Frog and the Invisible Coquí (Mystic Publishing, Inc.); this book was selected as Creative Child’s Magazine’s 2016 book of the year. Currently Diaz is developing a new jazz curriculum entitled “About That Jazz” to be available in the fall of 2016.