LEHMAN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS is proud to present the Spectacular Season Opening Concert featuring THE MAMBO LEGENDS ORCHESTRA, LUCRECIA, and NELSON GONZALEZ with the DEL CARIBE LATIN JAZZ ALL STARS on Saturday, September 16, 2023, at 7:30 pm! Produced by ROBERT SANCHO.
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is on the campus of Lehman College/CUNY at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, NY 10468. Tickets for THE MAMBO LEGENDS AND LUCRECIA on Saturday, September 16, 2023, at 7:30 pm (VIP $100, $85, $65, $40, $35) can be purchased by calling the Lehman Center box office at 718-960-8833; Para Español: 718-960-8835 (Monday through Friday, 10 am–5 pm, and beginning 4 hours before showtime on weekends), or through online access. The Lehman Center is accessible by #4 or D train to Bedford Park Blvd.. It is off the Saw Mill River Parkway and the Major Deegan Expressway.
The MAMBO LEGENDS ORCHESTRA was created in 2000 by former members of the Tito Puente Orchestra, led by John “Dandy” Rodriquez, Mitch Frohman, and musical director Jose Madera. Famed bongocero John “Dandy” Rodriguez began performing as a teenager with Tito Rodriguez. He played with Ray Barretto and Típica ’73 in the ’70s before beginning his 27-year stint playing bongos in Tito Puente’s band. Bronx native Mitch Frohman was the sax and flute soloist with the Tito Puente Orchestra for 25 years and has also played and recorded with famed Latin artists, such as Eddie and Charlie Palmieri, Paquito D’Rivera, Chico O’Farrill, and the Grammy award-winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra. Musical director, timbalero, and arranger Jose Madera started playing timbales with Machito as a teenager and was the first musical director for the Machito Orchestra. He was Tito Puente’s conguero for 30 years and has performed on over 100 recordings by Latin, pop, R&B, and jazz artists. Their release, Watch Out! ¡Ten Cuidao! (2011) was nominated for the Latin Grammy Award for Best Salsa Album, and they were featured in the 2013 documentary film “For the Love of the Mambo.”
LUCRECIA was born in Cuba, where she studied music and piano at El Instituto Superior de Arte. She joined the acclaimed all-female orchestra Anacaona, contributing to the vocal arrangements, playing the keyboard, and making musical arrangements. She contributed to the soundtrack for the Oscar-nominated film Balseros, directed by Carles Bosch and Josep María Domenech. In 1996, she participated in the Three Generations of Cuban Musicians tour with Paquito D’Rivera and Patato Valdés. She performed at Festival Womad in Cáceres and Las Palmas de Gran Canarias. She is the producer and creator of the social-cultural event Premios Alegría de Vivir. Her album Álbum de Cuba, produced with the collaboration of Celia Cruz and Andy García, was nominated by the Latin Grammys as Best Contemporary Tropical Album in 2010. She collaborated on the American (2012) and Latin Grammy-award (2011) winning album The Last Mambo. She is currently on her AGUA’s tour in Spain and the US.
