Virtuoso jazz flutist John Calloway has earned stature among the elites of Latin jazz and Afro-Cuban
music, through three decades of distinguished contributions as a multi-instrumentalist, improviser, composer, arranger,
and educator.
Born in San Francisco in 1959, John Calloway began performing in the city's
Mission District as a teenager. In the 1970's, Latin Beat Magazine says, "Calloway's flute helped to spark a Caribbean
musical renaissance, as part of the neo-traditionalist band Tipica Cienfuegos" with John Santos, Greg Landau, and Anthony Blea. In the early 1980's, Calloway moved to New York, where he performed with Manny Oquendo & Libre, Charanga
76, Oscar Hernandez, Jimmy Bosch and others, while working toward a degree at CUNY.
Returning
to the S.F. Bay Area in the mid-1980's, Calloway joined Batachanga and then became a founding member of the influential Machete
Ensemble, led by master conga player John Santos. In addition to performing with Machete, Calloway wrote and arranged much
music for the group, including for the GRAMMY-nominated album, "S.F. Bay." When, after 20 years and nine albums, The
Machete Ensemble decided to sunset, a small group of the musicians went on to form the John Santos Quintet, of which
Calloway is a member.
Calloway's recording and writing credits also include two more
GRAMMY-nominated albums, "Ritmo y Candela" and "Ritmo y Candela II," produced by Greg Landau and featuring Cuban percussionists Changuito,
Patato, and Orestes Vilato.
In 2003, Calloway released "Diaspora", the first album under
his own name, which he recorded with friends Rebeca Mauleon, John Santos, Jesus Diaz, Omar Sosa, and Mike Spiro, among others.
The album combines Afro-Cuban and Latin Jazz music with textures and concepts from other forms of World Music. As Oscar
Hernandez says:
“John Calloway’s musical talent is on full display on Diaspora. John’s flute playing
on this CD is outstanding. His concept and sound on the flute although influenced by the great Latin/Latin-jazz flautists of the past
is uniquely all his own and he should be included when we speak of the great Latin- jazz flautists of today. As if this were not enough,
John shows how prolific he is by composing and arranging most of the songs and also by playing some piano and percussion."
More recently, Calloway released a second album, "The Code", which includes a brilliant, friendly "showdown" with Cuba's
flute legend, Orlando Valle. Recorded with an ensemble of West Coast talents -- Jesus Diaz, Murray Low,
Mike Olmos, David Belove, David Flores -- plus friends like John Santos, Mike Spiro, and Melecio Magdaluyo, this CD
features a dizzying range of Afro-Cuban, jazz, and salsa, mostly Calloway's own compositions.
In
the liner notes of "The Code", Dave Valentin writes:
"I have known John for a very,
very long time. After listening to the birth of this CD, I suggest you put your seat belts on and get ready for the ride of your
life."
Over the years, Calloway has performed across the U.S. and in Europe (with Cachao),
Cuba and the Caribbean (with John Santos), Asia and the Philippines (with Kulintang Arts), Chile (with Quique Cruz), Colombia, and
Venezuela. He has worked with many of the best known Latin and jazz artists of our era, recording or performing
with Israel "Cachao" Lopez, Max Roach, Omar Sosa, John Santos, Pete Escovedo, Manny Oquendo, Jesus Diaz, Rebeca Mauleon, Patato,
Orestes Vilato, Dizzy Gillespie, Orlando "Maraca" Valle, Wayne Wallace, Quique Cruz, and others.
He currently works with his own ensemble, Diaspora, as well as with the John Santos Quintet (with whom he has recently recorded two
albums), Quijerema (with Quique Cruz), and the Bay Area Afro-Cuban All-Stars.
In addition to maintaining
a rigorous performing, composing and recording schedule, Calloway is passionately devoted to education. He co-founded and
is music director for the Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble, considered one of the finest groups of its kind in the U.S. In
the Bay Area, he teaches at San Francisco State University, the Jazzschool (Berkeley), and in the S.F. Unified School District
plus, in summers, at the Stanford Jazz Workshop and Jazz Camp West. In addition, he is program coordinator for Plaza Cuba, an
educational organization that facilitates legal travel and study for music and dance programs, in conjunction with the National
School of the Arts in Havana. In this capacity, he has traveled frequently to Cuba, jamming with the island's top flute
players.
Calloway's educational credentials include a B.A. from City University
of New York and an M.A. in music education from San Francisco State University. He is working toward his doctorate
in multi-cultural education at the University of San Francisco.
In August of 2008, the mayor of
San Francisco named John Calloway to the San Francisco Arts Commission.
PARTIAL DISCOGRAPHY:
John Calloway
- The Code
- Diaspora
The John Santos Quintet
- Perspectiva Fragmentada
- Papa
Mambo
The Machete Ensemble
- Brazos Abiertos
- John Santos and Machete Ensemble 20th Anniversary
- SF Bay (GRAMMY nominated)
-
Tribute to the Masters
- John Santos and The Machete Ensemble
- Machete
- Machetazo, 10 Years on the Edge
- Africa
Other Latin/Latin
Jazz
- E Music - Pete Escovedo
- Bembon - Omar Sosa
- The Legend of Percussion, Patato
- Round Trip - Rebeca Mauleón
- Ritmo y Candela
- Patato Valdez, Changuito Quintana, Orestes Vilato (GRAMMY nominated)
- Ritmo y Candela II - Patato Valdez, Orestes
Vilato (GRAMMY Nominated)
- African Crossroads - Orestes Vilato, "Changuito" Quintana
