Music of America | Melvis Santa

The National Jazz Museum in Harlem and the National Arts Club present for an evening of live music exploring the vibrant connections between Cuban musical traditions and jazz. Curated by the Museum, the performance takes place at the National Arts Club kicking, off year six of the Fine and Mellow Jazz Series.

Born in Havana and based in New York, Santa is a vocalist, pianist, percussionist, and composer who draws on her rich cultural heritage to blend expressive storytelling, rhythmic energy, and improvisation. At 14, Santa put together a vocal ensemble that the great Chucho Valdés called “the best Cuban vocal quartet of the past 30 years.” Santa landed in New York in 2014 and immediately began working with the biggest names in jazz and Latin music. She is currently touring the world with NEA Jazz Master Kenny Garrett and has four projects of her own: Ashedí, Gata Jazz-an all female ensemble, and Melvis Santa & Jazz Orishas—a multidimensional band which made their Newport Jazz Festival debut in 2023. Santa is a Brooklyn Conservatory of Music’s Jazz Leaders Fellow and has been commissioned as a composer by the New York City College’s Aaron Davis Hall and NYC Women’s Fund.