DJ Snowboy
Percussionist Snowboy has been one of the main cornerstones for the British and European Latin Jazz scene for over 15 years with his powerful band called THE LATIN SECTION. The band is literally comprised of a 'Dream Team' of the finest Jazz and Latin musicians based in the U.K.
As a non-Latin American Englishman, it is a surprise that percussionist Snowboy appears in the book ‘The Who’s Who Of Latin Music’. His band has recently been described as "one of the top Latin Jazz acts in the World, alongside Eddie Palmieri and Bobby Sanabria" by leading expert in Afro Latin Music, Professor Robert Farris-Thompson of Yale University. Snowboy has released 13 albums and 20 singles in the last twenty years and has performed all over the world from Greece to Australia, Hong Kong to Ireland, Singapore to Scandinavia, the U.S.A., Japan, Canada, Turkey, all over Europe and many more countries besides, with his own band and with artists such as LISA STANSFIELD, THE JAMES TAYLOR QUARTET and BASIA. His heavy schedule as a session musician has taken him to play on Johnny Carson, Arsenio Hall and David Letterman's T.V. shows amongst many others with the above artists. With these and his own band he has also played a lot of the world's top festivals.
As a prolific D.J. on the U.K.'s Jazz Dance scene since the late 1970's, in early 1983, Snowboy went on to take lessons from top Brazilian/Cuban percussion expert ROBIN JONES, and, after teaming up with many musicians, he established himself as a band leader and in-demand session musician.
His first 12" single - BRING ON THE BEAT - was released in 1985 but it was legendary label ACID JAZZ RECORDS that provided Snowboy with a platform for his first full length 'Latin Section' recording - RITMO SNOWBO - in 1988.
Acid Jazz released 7 albums by Snowboy and at the height of the so-called 'Acid Jazz' movement in 1993. He hit the U.K.Independent charts with the Latin Jazz album 'SOMETHING'S COMING', which nestled in the Top Ten right next to Depeche Mode and The Smiths!!
Until recently Snowboy was recording for the famous U.S. Latin Jazz label CU-BOP (a subsidiary of UBIQUITY) and has three critically acclaimed albums with them: 'MAMBO RAGE', 'AFRO CUBAN JAZZ' and 'PARA PUENTE' and with this label, he scored a worldwide club hit in 2000 with a 12" version of Edu Lobo's classic: 'CASA FORTE - remixed by respected producer JOE CLAUSELL.
Snowboy recently signed to the famous CHILLIFUNK record Label, and in Spring 2004, they released his 12th album entitled NEW BEGINNINGS. He had a joint project 12" single entitled 'ITS ABOUT TIME' by the INTERNS featuring SNOWBOY released in May, also on CHILLI FUNK.
Unlike many of today's overly polished and/or bland Latin Jazz recordings, Snowboys' albums comprise of non-stop Afro-Cuban Jams and catchy Mambos reminiscent of the early works of Eddie and Charlie Palmieri and Tito Puente and show a firm understanding of the Latin Jazz forefathers. His music has been described as fiery, hard driving, up tempo, authentic AFRO CUBAN JAZZ.
Snowboy is featured in The Who's Who of Latin Music. He is an endorser of L.P. percussion and Zildjian cymbals.