William Cepeda unearths Puerto Rico’s musical roots

“For nearly two decades, trombonist-composer William Cepeda has been unearthing Puerto Rico’s musical roots — while at the same time fusing it with international sounds.

For him, those seemingly contradictory approaches do not conflict.

“Many genres also belong to our roots. For instance, we have been influenced by Spanish and Arab music,” says Cepeda, who in 1990 founded the Afro-Rican Jazz band, and has played with giants Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente and Celia Cruz.”*

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