Jazz Concert: The Zahili Zamora Quartet

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The esteemed Arts Wayland Berklee Faculty Jazz Series, under the Direction of Neil Olmstead, Berklee College Professor, continues with The Zahili Zamora Quartet.

Join us for an afternoon of Afro-Cuban jazz with theThe Zahili Zamora Quartet.

Enjoy the talent of Cuban pianist, composer, and bandleader, Zahili Zamora. During this special concert she will unveil a selection of her new compositions from her upcoming album, set to release this year. These innovative pieces delve into the complexities of socio-cultural and psychological challenges through her unique lens. Zahili will also present beloved standards, each infused with her signature Afro Cuban twist, ensuring a captivating and dynamic experience for all. Zahili will be accompanied by Panamanian saxophonist Samuel Batista, Dominican percussionist Francis P, and Dominican bassist Abner Cabrera

Please join us!

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Thank you to the First Parish in Wayland for co-sponsoring this event.

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Panamanian saxophonist, composer, and educator Samuel Batista explores diverse cultures and soundscapes through improvisation and structured musical arrangements. Graduating from Berklee College of Music in 2018, Batista has worked at The New England Conservatory, The Berklee Global Jazz Institute, and performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Montreal Jazz Festival, Áak'w Rock Indigenous Music Festival, and the Kriol Jazz Festival.

His debut album, Panama United, was produced by pianist Alain Mallet and premiered during the 19th edition of the Panama Jazz Festival along with his “Panamanian Sextet”. In 2018, Batista returned to Panama and toured with Panamanian singer Ruben Blades while working as a professor at the Danilo Perez Foundation. As a recent graduate student from the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, Batista lives in Boston while working on his upcoming album Rising to Love.

Francis Peña Almonte is a drummer and percussionist, born on September 19th, 1994, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He began playing at the age of 2, starting with empty milk cans. At just 3 years old, in June 1998, he performed with the Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil Juan Pablo Duarte at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música. Around this time, he also began taking music classes, developing the ability to read and understand basic musical phrases.

At the age of 4, Francis performed in his first musical theater production, La Pinky Hood & La Flecha Mágica, by the late Dominican actress Nuryn Sanlley, at the Teatro Nacional de Santo Domingo. The show won the "Best Children’s Show of the Year" award at the Premios Casandra (National Awards). By the time he was 5, Francis had the opportunity to perform with the legendary Johnny Ventura, the artist credited with bringing merengue to a global audience. He began his formal musical education at Escuela Elemental Elila Mena, later transferring to the Conservatorio Nacional de Música to study Classical Percussion. During his time at the conservatory, Francis continued to perform with numerous national and international bands and orchestras as an independent drummer and percussionist.

In December 2017, Francis was awarded a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, sponsored by renowned pianist Michel Camilo. He began pursuing a major in Performance in the Fall of 2018. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Francis returned to the Dominican Republic, where he continued his studies online. During this time, he remained active in the music scene, performing and recording with various artists, including Johnny Ventura. He played with Ventura’s band until the musician’s passing in 2021. That same year, Francis was invited to be the drummer for the first season of The Voice Dominican Republic, but he had to leave mid-season to return to the United States and complete his studies at Berklee in person. After graduating from Berklee in 2022, Francis remained in Massachusetts, where he continues to showcase his versatile drumming skills across a range of genres, performing and recording for various projects.

From Afro-Caribbean Music to Funk, R&B, CCM and Jazz, Abner Cabrera is a very versatile Bassist, producer, engineer and composer. Abner is passionate about creating quality music that is attractive and competitive in the music industry market, but also music that offers the consumer an experience of being able to connect with music on a deeper and more emotional level. Abner studied at the National Conservatory of Music in the Dominican Republic and then at the Berklee College of Music. He studied Music Production & Engineering, Contemporary Writing and Production with a Minor in Post-Production.

Among the credits achieved by Abner are Sony Music Japan, Sony Music India, Light-Keepers Movie, Performance at the Monterey Jazz Fest California, Peabody Essex Museum, among other collaborations and recordings with different Jazz, Latin Music and CCM music artists like Sheila Del Bosque, Javier Vargas, Maridalia Hernandez, Anibal Cruz, Barabara Zamora, Ivanna Cuesta, Diego Ureña, and many others.