Groove to the Latin Beat at the Tito Puente Latin Music Series: William Cepeda July 29, 2010

It's hard to cha-cha or salsa under summer temps without a refreshing breeze and plenty of room to dance. The Tito Puente Latin Music Series takes place in July and August at outdoor locations across Boston, cool backdrops for sultry experiences. The six-concert series is an infectious soundscape of timba, mambo, bolero, Cuban, and Afrorican jazz mixed with funk, soul, and groove music. Performers include Berklee faculty, students, and alumni, along with world-renowned artists from Puerto Rico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Cuba, Argentina, Israel, and Brazil.

Featuring accomplished trombonist and noted composer and arranger William Cepeda. Cepeda developed a unique style that he calls Afrorican jazz-a fusion of jazz with the folk music of his native Puerto Rico. Cepeda studied at Berklee, where he learned from great jazz musicians about improvisation and composition. He played with Dizzy Gillespie and Miriam Makeba. Cepeda has won awards and grants from Meet the Composer and the American Composers Forum. He is currently on faculty at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. Cepeda will perform with a group of Berklee faculty, alumni, students, and guests.

The free concerts are from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Call 617 927-1707, or visit berklee.edu/events/summer for more information. All locations are wheelchair accessible. The O'Day Park concerts move inside to Villa Victoria Center for the Arts in the event of rain. All others are canceled with no rain dates.

Berklee College of Music; Villa Victoria Center for the Arts; ParkARTS; and the Mayor's Office of Arts, Tourism, and Special Events present the sixth-annual series.

Official Website: http://www.berklee.edu/events