By Coral Gables Gazette staff
Nomar Negroni has spent more than two decades behind the drum kit alongside his father in one of Puerto Rico’s better-known Latin jazz ensembles. On Saturday, at Sanctuary of the Arts, he takes the bandleader’s role for an evening devoted to the American jazz repertoire.
“The Great American Jazz Standards” begins at 8 p.m., with Negroni leading an ensemble of Miami musicians through familiar jazz classics alongside guest vocalist Tanya Maria.
A career built alongside his father
Negroni was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1981 and moved with his family to Miami at age 14. After playing in the jazz band at Miami Sunset Senior High School, he studied at Berklee College of Music on scholarship before joining his father, pianist and composer José Negroni, in forming Negroni’s Trio in 2002.
The trio blends jazz with Afro-Caribbean, Latin and classical influences and has built an international following through recordings, club appearances and festival performances. Its Piano/Drums/Bass was nominated for a Latin Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2005, and On the Way earned another nomination in the category in 2013. José Negroni received a further Latin Grammy nomination in 2015 for Negroni Piano +9.
The group’s catalog has grown to more than 10 recordings across several labels, with later projects released through Sony Music. Negroni’s Trio has performed at venues including New York’s Blue Note and at festivals across the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Away from the trio, Nomar Negroni has performed and recorded with musicians including Alejandro Sanz, Arturo Sandoval, Dave Valentin and Sammy Figueroa. In 2008, Latin Jazz Corner nominated him for Drummer of the Year.
His father’s career has combined performing, composing and music-industry work. José Negroni spent about a decade with Sony Music Publishing’s Latin division and studied with Puerto Rican pianist and salsa figure Papo Lucca before establishing the trio that bears the family name.
A night centered on the American songbook
Saturday’s program shifts the emphasis from the Latin-jazz fusion associated with Negroni’s Trio toward standards that have become part of the American jazz repertoire.
Event organizers describe Negroni as leading an ensemble of Miami-based musicians, with vocalist Tanya Maria joining the group for arrangements built around improvisation and familiar songs from the jazz canon.
For Negroni, the format puts the drummer in the organizing role rather than simply presenting another performance by the family trio. The program is being billed around his leadership of the ensemble and his interpretations of established jazz material.
Jazz inside a restored Coral Gables sanctuary
The concert takes place at Sanctuary of the Arts, the nonprofit arts organization operating in the historic First Church of Christ, Scientist complex at 410 Andalusia Ave.
The organization opened its Coral Gables campus in April 2022 after the historic church property was restored for performances and arts education. The campus includes a 314-seat theater, professional-size studios, classrooms and offices.
The church complex itself includes sanctuaries designed by Phineas Paist, one of the architects closely associated with early Coral Gables. The first was designed in 1928 and completed in 1933; a larger sanctuary followed, designed in 1937 and completed in 1942.
If you go…
The Great American Jazz Standards begins at 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, at Sanctuary of the Arts, 410 Andalusia Ave., Coral Gables.
