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Grupo Son is a Seattle based group consisting of:
Fred Hoadley - tres guitar, coro:
Originally from New England, Fred studied music at Hampshire College and Berklee College of Music, where his teachers included Jaki Byard, Vishnu Wood, and Charlie Banacos. He founded the Seattle salsa band Bochinche in 1983, and produced the band's first album, Ahora Bochinche. After leaving Bochinche in 1990, Fred toured nationally with the West African band, Kukrudu, and founded the Seattle based Afro-Cuban jazz band, Sonando, whose 1994 and 1998 releases received critical acclaim around the country. His love of latin music brought him to Cuba in 1983, 1990, 1993, and 1996, where he studied piano and arranging with Cesar Pedroso and Nelson Diaz, and Cuban tres guitar with Antonio Perez and Jorge Boulet. He currently plays piano and tres in Yerba Buena, and Sonando.
Elspeth Macdonald - lead vocals, maracas, clave
Elspeth grew up in rural Maine and received a BA in Music from Wesleyan University in Connecticut. After a brief stint singing with Hell¹s Kitchen Opera Company in New York City and doing summer stock theater, Elspeth landed in Seattle. She continued her vocal study in Seattle with Valerie Yockey and Thomasa Eckert. A lucky encounter with Cuban music in 1992 caused the epiphany that led Elspeth to dive into Latin music and culture. In 1993 she traveled to Venezuela and studied Cuban percussion with conguero Tomás Fajardo, and has since studied with several Cuban musicians and dancers both here in the U.S. and in Cuba. In 1994 she co-founded the charanga band Yerba Buena, and continues to lead this group. Elspeth has sung lead and played percussion for Cuban son group, Son de Cinco a Siete, folkloric ensemble Out of My Gourd, and Samba Seattle, and Los Nietos del Son.
Miguel Garrido - bass, coro:
Miguel Hails Montevideo, Uruguay, where he learned to play the bass in his father's orchestra at age 12. After singing in rock bands and studying the double bass, he moved to Spain, where he performed in a Brazilian trio. A few years of trio work in Madrid led to a larger group called Batuke, which toured Europe and North Africa. After Batuke, Miguel worked Spain's Costa Blanca circuit before moving to Seattle. He has been playing Latin and Brazilian Jazz in the Northwest since joining Sonando in 1990. He has performed and recorded with Sonando, Evolution, Urban Oasis, Beija Flor, and others.
Ernesto Pediangco - bongos, percussion:
Ernesto is a professional percussionist with twenty years of experience in live performance and studio recording. A native of Seattle, he began his career in local jazz and dance clubs. Since then he has extensively toured the United States, Canada and the Bahamas, with The Seattle Rhythm Band, Bochinche, and Expresion Latina. Ernesto also designs Latin percussion instruments. Utilizing specially designed hardware his designs improve the sound quality of percussion instruments.
Ted Bowden - trumpet, coro, clave:
A Washington native, Ted has played professionally since moving to the Seattle area in 1983. An in demand lead trumpet player, he has performed locally and toured nationally with such diverse artists as Mel Torme, Vic Damone, Terry Gibbs, Linda Ronstadt, The Mills Brothers and the O'Jays. Ted is one of the founding members of Expresion Latina.
Listen to an MP3 sample:
![[Grupo Son]](gruposon.jpg)
