Mark Rosenberg received a MFA in Music Composition from Princeton University in 1979 and then promptly defected to the tech industry and moved west. Years later he rediscovered his love for music. His jazz and latin compositions and arrangements have been performed by Realistic Orchestra, the Electric Squeezebox Orchestra, the SF Jazz Monday Night Band and others. As a trombone player he has had the honor of sharing the bandstand with Willie Alvarez (Conjunto Libre / Manny Oquendo ). He played trombone with the local band Pawn Shop Soul and was a regular member of the SF Jazz Monday Night Band. He currently plays with the Top Shelf Big Band.
Javier is a bandleader, multi-instrumentalst, producer, recording engineer and composer with over 50 years experience working with all the Latin bands in the Monterey Bay area. He has lead his own band - Broken English - for over 30 years.
Kevin is an energetic performer of percussion, electric bass and guitar. He has shared his love of Latin and Brazilian music with many happy dancing people all over, with performances at festivals such as Sierra Nevada World Music, Outside Lands, San Diego Carnaval, SOB’s in NYC, and Casa do Ile in Brazil, with such bands as Sambada, La Rumba Madre, Samba Stilt Circus and many others.
Dave has been tickling the keys for over 50 years now. As a long time educator, he's shared his love for music with countless students. He grew to love jazz and blues from an early age and more recently came to appreciate Latin jazz through many years playing with the Latin Jazz Ensemble, where he met his El Sol bandmates. Lately Dave has been in the studio practicing his mixing and mastering skills with the latest and greatest music software.
James "Jamie" Brudnick has played music since he began on the clarinet at the age of seven. In his twenties he taught himself jazz guitar. At thirty-seven he transferred his knowledge to the acoustic bass. He has played in a variety of bands in Santa Cruz and the Monterey Bay area for forty-seven years and in many clubs and restaurants. Jamie has played bass and mainly percussion in the Cabrillo College Latin Ensemble for eight years. He is an original member of El Sol.
George fell in love with bass, guitar and piano in LA as folk music was giving way to hippie rock. His rock/folk foundation expanded to include combo and big band jazz when he moved to the Bay Area to attend Santa Clara University. While he spent 27 years working at Intel, George always played music and explored new genres, such as musical theater, jazz and now Afro-Cuban music. George currently plays with rock cover bands Chubby's All Stars and The Misguided Saints as well as Synergy Jazz and NTJazz combos. George performs with the Top Shelf Big Band, the Serenaders 10-piece band, and the El Sol Latin group. George has done extensive studio work, both in LA and in the Bay Area, and has his own studio at his home in the hills above Santa Cruz.
Liz attended community college in Tucson Arizona and sang in the Tucson Symphony Orchestra production of Dave Brubeck's "La Fiesta de la Posada". Before completing her A.A. with honors at Cabrillo College, she toured with the college's Symphonic Chorus Italy tour in 1998. She sang with the Cabrillo College Latin Ensemble for over a decade. She is a founding member of Los Malangueros - a small band specialising in Latin and Brazilian music.
Like his father, Jim has played the flute all his life and grew up playing in orchestra, band, and small chamber music groups. He continued his avocation of the flute while having an internal medicine practice in Aptos. In 2018 he went through the 2 year music theory curriculum at Cabrillo College and was introduced to Michael Strunk's Latin Jazz class. Ever since then, he has added Latin jazz to his repertoire. He also doubles on the Shekere, a percussive instrument.
Melissa discovered Latin music as a child of an extended Mexican family that played folk music together. A veteran of over a decade of study with Michael Strunk and his Cabrillo Latin Music Ensemble, she is well versed in the styles of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Columbia, and others. She was a member of the local trio Los Malagueros.
Raul hails from Santiago Laxopa in Oaxaca, Mexico and began his musical journey at the age of 6. This journey took him from his home town to the conservatory Escuela de Bellas Artes to further his mastery of the trombone. in 2021 he moved to California and is a veteran of the Cabrillo College Latin Ensemble.