Rona Allen and In The Light Band
Fort Lee, New Jersey, United States
Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
The In The Light Band just returned from The Anguilla Tranquility Jazz Festival on the beautiful island of Anquilla. The band was hosted by the extraordinary Viceroy Anguilla Hotel and Resort and...“Lit Up” The Caribbean on Island Tour! - Positive Tourism
Shining at the Shrine
Rona Allen and the In The Light Band, fresh from impressive engagements at the Tranquility Jazz Festival in Anguilla and the Princess Hotel and Casino in St. Maarten, will be performing at the Shrine Bar and Restaurant, 2271 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd. (between 133rd and 134th Sts.) in Manhattan on Wednesday.
"We had a great time," said vocalist Allen, looking back on the group's recent Caribbean shows and looking forward to this week's performance at the Shrine.
Showtime is 8:30 p.m. for the band, which has perfected a unique meld of jazz, R&B and Afro-Caribbean sounds. Call the Shrine at (212) 690-7807 and visit www.weareinthelight.com to get information on the Rona Allen and the In The Light Band.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2009/12/27/2009-12-27_atty_presses_bam_on_deport_policies.html?page=1#ixzz0uPltsKTc
- New York Daily News
Discography
CURRENTLY IN PROCESS OF RECORDING;
PLEASE VIEW VIDEOS TO HEAR BAND PERFORMING LIVE.
Photos
Bio
Rona Allen - Lead Vocals
Beautiful and sultry, the lead vocalist for IN THE LIGHT BAND has many years of experience in the music and theatre world. She is a dynamic and versatile entertainer as well as projecting her own unique ‘singing style’. Ms. Allen and the band bring original and exciting music of the Jazz, R&B, and Latin Genre to their audiences.
Mike Torres - Guitar
Musical Director, has performed with a wide range of groups, including Gato Barbieri, Ray Santos, Roxy Perry, Melvin Sparks and Lenny White. He was a finalist in the 2005 New York-New Jersey Blues Society competition. Torres is a composer, arranger, lyricist, band leader in his own right, and Musical Director for In the Light Band.
Zaccai Cutris - Keyboards
After graduating from the New England Conservatory of Music in 2005 Zaccai Curtis has been living in New York City playing with such artists as Ralph Peterson, Bill Saxton,Will Calhoun, Christian Scott, Brian Lynch, Sean Jones, Ray Vega, Antoine Roney, Cindy Blackman, Steve Hall, Jimmy Greene, Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band, Papo Vasquez, Kendrick Oliver and the New Life Orchestra, and Donald Harrison.
Zaccai leads the Latin-Jazz group Insight, releasing their album “A Genesis” in 2007. As a composer and arranger he has written works for his own small ensembles, solo piano, big band, orchestra, and for large and small ensembles with strings. In 2001 he was commissioned by the Hartford Symphony Chamber Orchestra for his arrangement of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Capriccio Espagnol." He was chosen as a winner of the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer's competition four consecutive times from 2003-2006. Zaccai was awarded the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism's Artist Fellowship for original composition in 2007.
Zaccai and the "Insight" rhythm section have performed two outreach tours for the U.S. State Department "American Music Abroad" (Jazz Ambassadors) program, traveling to Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Zaccai teaches on the faculty of the Litchfield Jazz Camp every summer.
Hyorkie Nieblas Valderrama - Drums
Born in Matanzas, Cuba, Hyorkie and his parents relocated to Miami Florida in 1985 in search of a better life. Hyorkie fell in love with music at the age of 10 and started to simply emulate everything he heard on the radio. While attending Miami High School and under the tutelage of the legendary music teacher Michelle Fernandez, he excelled in all styles of jazz drumming. At age 21 after playing professionally since age 15, Hyorkie decided to make the big leap into the big city of New York and continues his journey in music with great passion. Hyorkie performed with artists Arturo Sandoval, Bill Wattrues, and Arial de la Portilla. He has played at Montreax Jazz Festival in Switzerland, IAJE in NYC, Midwest Clinic Music Conference in Chicago, Il, various Miami Arts Festivals, the band Tower88, and has recently become part of Rona Allen and In The Light Band.
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