Bio
Mark Rosenberg
Trombone, percussion, Coro, Arrangements
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 Muniz
percussion, coro
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.
bARBARA mARTIN
vocals and percussion
Drummer, Singer and Multi-Percussionist Barbara Martin is originally from Guantanamo City, Cuba. She started studying music when she was 5 years old. Her training gave her the opportunity to perform with the Harvard Symphony Orchestra as well as other traditional and popular bands in Cuba. This led to her becoming the Lead Percussionist of the Symphonic Orchestra and Concert Band in Santa Clara, Cuba. In 2012, she relocated to Doha, Qatar, playing nightly as a percussionist and lead singer at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel for 4 Years. Upon arriving to the United States, she has continued to teach and perform throughout Florida and California. During the pandemic in 2020, she created her YouTube channel “Kusina Jams” along with her partner. She currently teaches at Cabrillo Community College and offers private Latin music clinics in the Santa Cruz area.
Kevin Dorn
Percussion
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.
Chris Soriano
Electric bass
Musician, Music Educator, Artist and Luthier Chris Soriano graduated from the University of North Florida with an Art degree in 2003. He worked as a full time music instructor and musician playing guitar and bass in various local Jazz, Blues and Latin bands in Northeast Florida. Chris moved to Santa Cruz, California in 2019 and currently teaches guitar and bass privately and at Be Natural Music School. He also works in the Setup Department of The Santa Cruz Guitar Company and plays gigs regularly around the Santa Cruz area. He is also well known for the YouTube and Instagram channel KusinaJams where he makes music videos with his Cuban Percussionist/Vocalist and partner Barbara Martin.
kim walesh
flute
Kim re-discovered her love of music and the flute after retiring from a career in city government. She’s enjoyed pouring her energy into learning to play Cuban and Brazilian music and to improvise. Through El Sol, she’s found special joy in playing for dancers. Kim also plays flute in the combo Sofrito (Afro Cuban jazz) and in the Cuban charanga orchestra at the Community Music Center (San Francisco). She performs percussion with Bloco do Sol Brazilian drum ensemble and is the founder/host of the San Jose Choro Music Club. Kim is grateful for her teachers’ guidance and inspiration, especially Alejandro Martinez Ramos (Havana), Rebecca Kleinmann (Durham), Teresa Orozco (San Jose), and Tregar Otton (San Francisco).
Dave rus
Piano, coro
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.
Jamie Brudnick
Percussion, coro
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.
Alejandro Arellano OlVera
vocals, percussion
Alejandro Arellano Olvera was born and raised in México City and comes from a Cuban/Spanish musical family that includes a famous composer, and a great salon dancer. He studied music at SACM. (Asociación de Autores Compositores de Mexico, S.A. CV.) from 2005 to 2009. Studied voice, guitar, and composition. Played with Silent Funk Motion and Los Chakras before moving to the US.
In Santa Cruz, played with Ancestree, and La Famillia de la Calle. Salsa dance instructor. Singer/songwriter.