Ashanti Latin Jazz: Details
An Amazing Musical Journey
Lending a distinctively Latin flavor to the Upper Midwest's music scene, Iowa-based Ashanti is recognized as one of the longest-lived, highest-quality groups of its kind in the region. In recent years, Ashanti has opened shows for Havana's legendary ¡Cubanismo! and Kansas City jazz vocalist Kevin Mahogany. The group has also performed with some of the world's greatest contemporary jazz musicians, including...
Anzic Records recording artist and virtuoso jazz clariinet and saxophone player Anat Cohen
Jazzhead Records recording artist, songwriter and jazz vocalist Alison Wedding
2007 Grammy-nominated pianist Edsel Gomez, recognized as one of the world's premier Latin jazz pianists
Three-time Grammy-winning composer/arranger/pianist Gil Goldstein
Italian singer, songwriter, pianist and Verve recording artist Chiara Civello
Brazilian-born, Seattle-based pianist, keyboardist and flutist Jovino Santos Neto
Legendary Peruvian drummer and percussionist Alex Acuña, winner of the "Best Latin/Brazilian Percussionist" in Modern Drummer's Readers Poll for five consecutive years
2003 Grammy-winning Caribbean Jazz Project vibist Dave Samuels, recognized as the top mallet player of his generation
Composer/pianist Eugenio Toussaint, a Latin Grammy nominee and founder of 'Sacbé', one of the most important and influential bands in the history of Mexican jazz
Composer/saxophonist George Robert, winner of the Suisa prize for outstanding career & contribution to culture in Switzerland and director of the Swiss Jazz School
Grammy winning drummer Antonio Sanchez, now touring with Pat Metheny and Chick Corea
Ashanti even presented a command performance concert for Princess Margriet of the Netherlands. And in 2000 during a concert tour of Yucatan, Mexico, the group received a special commendation from the Mayor of Merida.
It All Began in Boston
Ashanti’s beginnings date back to 1983 when Berklee College of Music students from Mexico, Switzerland, Chile, Japan, and Connecticut launched a new musical project. Leading the effort were bassist Gabriel Espinosa and saxophonist George Robert.
Their Latin jazz combo, dubbed "Ashanti" to honor the African and Afro-Cuban roots of the music they loved to play, performed regularly at a variety of Boston-area clubs and concert venues, and even appeared on the local CBS and NBC affiliates.
In 1984, Ashanti relocated to Cancun and enjoyed steady work in the city’s finest hotels and clubs for eight years. The group was resurrected in 1995 when the Mayor of Merida, Yucatan, Mexico invited Ashanti to perform a celebration concert in honor of the historic city’s 453rd anniversary.
In 1996 and shortly after being named Director of Jazz Studies at Central College in Iowa, founding member Gabriel Espinosa introduced a handful of Central Iowa "gringo" R&B and jazz players to the sensuous Latin music he knew so well.
The current incarnation of Ashanti has achieved high visibility and earned an impressive following among the Midwest’s ever-expanding community of Latin jazz aficionados. Members include...
Gabriel Espinosa - bass & vocals
Gabriel is Director of Jazz Studies at his undergraduate alma mater, Central College in Pella, where he has developed a distinctive approach to the study and performance of jazz by augmenting a traditional program with decidedly Latin and vocal influences.
Gabriel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Central in 1979 and continued his study at Berklee College of Music in Boston, earning a diploma in arranging (magna cum laude) in 1983. He then returned to his home on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula where he established himself as a sought-after composer, arranger, music educator and professional entertainer in Cancún.
He returned to the U.S. in the early 1990’s and earned a Master’s Degree in Music from The University of North Texas. He is now at home in Pella directing Central’s jazz program, teaching private lessons, performing professionally throughout the Midwest with Ashanti and composing and arranging commercial music.
Gabriel believes the study of Latin jazz must be an integral component of any comprehensive jazz program. The unique Brazilian and Afro-Cuban rhythms that comprise the bulk of the contemporary Latin jazz repertoire can be especially effective and powerfully musical when woven into the fabric of the performance of jazz.
Through the study and performance of the many traditional Latin rhythms (bossa, samba, merengue, bembe, bolero and others) and distinctively Latin voicings, Gabriel shares with his students the joy of “multi-cultural” jazz, opening their ears, their minds and their hearts to a new world of music.
Tim Crumley - drums & vocals
Tim was born in Des Moines in 1968 and is a lifelong Iowan. Growing up a home filled with different styles of music helped Tim realize the importance of this art form in his life. He graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in 1994 where he performed, toured, and recorded with the acclaimed UNI Jazz Band I, under the direction of Dr. Robert Washut.
Tim played and recorded percussion and drums for Orquesta de Jazz y Salsa Alto Maiz from 1989 to 1994. After graduation, he moved to Iowa City and began freelance work with various groups ranging from R&B to Dixieland. Tim was awarded citations three consecutive years by DownBeat Magazine's Annual Student Music Awards(1993-1995).
It was when Tim was working extensively with the groups Milk and Honey (soft rock, country), Johnny Kilowatt (R&B), and the Saints Dixieland Band (traditional jazz) that he met his future wife, Terri. In 1998, Tim played for the first time with Ashanti.
Tim and Terri were married in 1999 and moved to Pella. Ian and Ella now complete the family and do their best to arrange and orchestrate lots of activity in the Crumley household.
Dave Kobberdahl - trumpet, flugel horn & EWI
Dave received his B.M.E. from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri in 1988 and his Master's degree at the Vandercook College of Music in Chicago. He is currently the director of the Jazz Studies Program at Valley High School in West Des Moines. In addition to playing trumpet with Ashanti, Dave has been a member of the Des Moines Big Band for the past 17 years and is in demand as a clinician, adjudicator and guest artist.
Bryan Schumacker - saxophones
Bryan spent his college years at the University of Missouri-Kansas City where he studied with Tim Timmons and Gary Foster. At UM-KC he had the experience playing with great musicians such as Bobby Watson, Antonio Hart, Bob Brookmeyer, Paquito DeRiviera, Bill Cunliff, Kim Park, Louie Bellson, Mike Methany, and many others. Today, he performs regularly with Ashanti and the Des Moines Big Band. That said, Bryan ended up getting a few business degrees and now manages a customer service department. His first love is music; and, in the past few years he’s shared the stage with artists such as George Robert, Claudio Roditi, Edsel Gomez, Gil Goldstein, Anat Cohen, Alison Wedding, & Ciara Civello.
Eric Sickler - piano & vocals
Eric has been playing the piano since his early childhood, thanks to the influence and support of his very musical family. In 1980, his former band director John Keller invited Eric to play drums in a southwest Iowa trio called Opus 3 and his semi-professional musical career was launched. Since then, Eric has performed almost without interruption in a host of Iowa-based bands playing pop, R&B, jazz, and even country music.
Eric is the former vice president for admission and marketing at Central College. After 15 years on the Central payroll, he served as managing partner at Think Corporation in Des Moines, and as client service director for The History Factory in Washington, D.C.
Today, Eric is a marketing consultant with Stamats, the nation’s premier advertising agency serving higher education. He studied communication, marketing and higher education at Central College, Creighton University and Drake University.
Ryan Mullin - guest hand percussion
Ryan Mullin is a Des Moines native who has returned after living in Tampa, Denver, Austin, and Pasadena. Ryan studied percussion at The Los Angeles Music Academy with over twenty teachers in a vast array of styles. Ryan has played with groups such as Tito del Barrio Malaga (rumba flamenca), Mistura Fina (brazilian jazz), Chico Mera (samba), O Positivo (salsa), The Sugar Kings (choro), and The Maria Vaquez Flamenco Dance productions. Ryan currently plays with Ashanti, Salsa Vibe, World Port, Los Saltinos, DM Choro Group, Salsa Cana, and Brazilian Sunset in Des Moines and teaches hand percussion at Joyful Noise.
Mike Pfaff - guest vibes, hand percussion & drums
On those increasingly rare occasions when the moon and all the stars align, Mike Pfaff joins Ashanti on the bandstand and catapults the band into the stratosphere! Mike recently finished his master's degree from the New England Conservatory of Music where he was recognized for Distinction in Jazz Performance. While in Boston, he played with Boston Afrobeat Society, Bob Moses, Danilo Perez, Sophie Brous and worked at Fenway Park.
In addition to his work with Ashanti, Mike is in demand as a pianist, percussionist and vibist for a number of regional jazz and pop projects, both live and in the studio.
Dave Sharp - guest saxophonist
David Sharp is the Instructor of Instrumental Music and Jazz at Indian Hills Community College where he teaches a variety of music courses and directs and arranges music for the Indian Hills Jazz Band. From 1989 through 1998, David was on the faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Music where he taught courses in the jazz studies department including jazz history and directed various UNL Jazz Ensembles. Mr. Sharp earned his Bachelors of Music degree in composition from the University of Miami (Florida) and holds a Masters of Music degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
As an educator, Sharp is regularly a guest lecturer and clinician on various jazz topics including history and appreciation, composition, arranging, improvisation, and jazz saxophone styles. He has been an adjudicator, clinician, and guest artist at numerous jazz festivals throughout the Midwest.
As a free-lance saxophonist and woodwind specialist, David is in high demand working out of the Lincoln, Omaha, Des Moines, and Kansas City areas and has traveled extensively throughout the United States. He is a member of the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra and was the director of the Monday Night Big Band in Lincoln for several years. In addition to leading his own small jazz groups, David is a regular performer with local popular and blues entertainers and has performed in pit orchestras of numerous Broadway national touring shows. He has also performed with numerous national and internationally renowned jazz and pop artists including the Woody Herman Orchestra, Mel Torme, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Bobby Watson, Claudio Roditi, Karrin Allyson, Rob McConnell, Terance Blanchard, David Friesen, Victor Lewis, Marvin Stamm, Jay McShann, Lou Rawls, Rod Stewart, Shirley Jones, Bobby Vinton, The Temptations, and the Stars of the Lawrence Welk Show.
David is a prolific composer and arranger of jazz and big band music. His works have been performed or recorded by numerous professional and scholastic jazz groups throughout Europe and the United States. During the summer of 1997, the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra featured his compositions and arrangements during performances in Paris; Heidelberg, Germany; and at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. David has also written and published two textbooks on jazz history.
Former members
In the past 10 years, Ashanti has enjoyed having some tremendous musicians in the band as long-term members, including...
Molly Blythe, vocals (Boston)
Erin Fishler, vocals (Chicago)
Ryan Rumery, drums (New York)
Bob Long, saxophones (St. Joseph, MO)
Rich Miller, drums & hand percussion (Omaha)
Wayne Page, saxophones (Ankeny, IA)
Heidi Vrankin, vocals (Chicago)
Tammy Brice, vocals (Des Moines, IA)
David Aguiar, saxophones (Ames, IA)
Dustin Bear, saxophones (Miami)
Willie Garza, hand percussion (San Francisco)