For booking info or media requests contact Cynthia Ammerman kclatinjazz@gmail.com or 816.529.2681

Kansas City Latin Jazz Orchestra

In 2018, after two decades as an active musician, bandleader and educator Pablo Sanhueza co-founded the Kansas City Latin Jazz Orchestra & Latin Jazz Institute with historian & organizational strategist Cynthia Ammerman. KCLJO/LJI is the first cultural immersion education and performance non-profit Orchestra in the Midwestern United States dedicated to Jazz and Latin American music and dances. KCLJO & the Latin Jazz Institute, are initiatives with outreach in Kansas City, Las Vegas, San Diego, and South America through grassroots and corporate connections with American Corners, American Spaces and Young Leaders of the Americas initiatives. KCLJO is an intercultural, intergenerational organization, bringing transnational experiences to the stage, the dance floor, and intersectional communities. 

Los Subtropicales

Pablo Sanhueza y Los Subtropicales: Salsa, Cumbia, Merengue

Pablo Sanhueza Latin Jazz Band 

For smaller, and more exploratory settings, the quartet, and quintet blend traditional Latin American percussion with traditional American jazz styles. Former presentations include honoring Chilean Folk Artist Violeta Parra & Quinteto por la Paz celebrating International Jazz Day.

Kansas City Latin Jazz All-Stars (origins of KCLJO 2003-2018)

Established in 2003, the KC Latin Jazz All-Stars is Pablo Sanhueza’s most accomplished and long-standing project to date. The dynamic between the youngest up and coming Latino musicians combined with the expertise of the elder artists in the ensemble provides a unique experience of cultural relevance and continuity.

Calle Vida (2015 to 2018)

Calle Vida is the “Street Life Band” side of the KC Latin Jazz All-Stars–Calle Vida’s aim is to have a presence in the public space to generate improvisation in music and dance on site. This community interaction is experienced often when audience members join the professional musicians as guests during a performance.

Calle Vida delivers an eclectic and nuanced variety of Afro-Cuban and Latin American sounds including Cumbia, traditional Salsa and Latin Jazz, Merengue, and Son.

Makuza (2004-2012)

A nine-piece Latin jazz ensemble whose sound is a blend of salsa, funk, and Afro-Latin music.

Pablo Calle & The Subtropicals

A project dedicated to the exploration of  Afro-Latin music, Pablo Calle & the Subtropicals is a Nueva Electronica fusion of Cumbia and rock. This exploration takes on the infinite possibilities as a living culture that continues to travel in an eternal cycle of reinvention.