Rick Reyes & Santos de Palo – March 1, 2025 @ 8pm

A troubadour, songwriter and storyteller, Rick Reyes, with Santos De Palo offer a dynamic presentation rooted in Latin Americana, fusing Caribbean mountain folk with North American folk, including bluegrass, country, and gospel, while creating a captivating exploration of cultural unity.
– Conscious Campus

Rick Reyes, Guitar Vocals
Musician | Artist | Cultural Advocate

Rick Reyes is a multifaceted musician, artist, and cultural advocate whose work reflects his roots in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Puerto Rico. As a songwriter, producer, and performer, he leads innovative musical projects, including The Cosmic Jibaros, a Latin rock band that blends Puerto Rican rhythms with socially-conscious lyrics, and The Pasofino Social Club, which pays homage to classic Latin bands.

Through his creative endeavors, Rick celebrates cultural unity by highlighting the shared stories and emotions across diverse musical traditions. His concept of Latin Americana explores the connections between Latin American music and traditional American folk genres, demonstrating how music transcends cultural boundaries. This groundbreaking work earned Rick the 2021 Artists Respond Grant and the 2023 Fellowship Grant from the Connecticut Office of the Arts for his significant contributions to the arts.

Rick has also released Novela sin Tiempo, an acoustic record that blends Latin and world music influences, further showcasing his talents as a storyteller and musician.

Rick’s work continues to serve as a bridge between cultures, fostering appreciation, understanding, and dialogue through creative expression.

Rich Zurkowsk, Bass/Cuatro
Rich Zurkowski Plays the thunderbroom. He lives for the most part below the Y in Yamaha on your house piano. This quarter note salesman provides deep tones for many beautiful people.

Asher Delerme, Percussion
Asher Delerme is a Master percussionist and educator with deep roots in World, Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Brazilian music. A Wesleyan University alum, he has toured globally, performed at Carnegie Hall and worked with legends like Pete Seeger, Phillip Glass, Foday Musa Suso, Hilton Ruiz and Paquito De Rivera. He is a co-founder and principle member of the award-winning World Beat band MIKATA.

Kris Jensen, Saxophone
Saxophonist, flutist and composer/arranger Kris Jensen is a versatile musician that resides in Connecticut, USA. He is associated with many well known acts in jazz and rock including the Allman Brothers Band and it’s individual members’ bands (Gregg Allman and Friends, Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band, Dickey Betts Band) trumpet legend Maynard Ferguson and members of Connecticut’s world class jazz community including Mark Templeton, Nat Reeves, Steve Davis, Phil Bowler, Jesse “Cheese” Hameen, Rohn Lawrence and others. Jensen both attended the University of Hartford and taught there under the auspices of jazz saxophone legend Jackie McLean.