La Excelencia
La Excelencia is an eleven-piece salsa dura band from New York City founded in 2005 by percussionists Julian Silva and Jose Vazquez-Cofresi. The band's music has a salsa dura style, with themes incorporating immigration, poverty, and discrimination. La Excelencia recorded and released three albums in their first seven years. The group disbanded in 2012, with Vazquez-Confresi and some of the membership reforming as Orquesta SCC. The band reunited in 2017 under the direction of Silva to start working on their 4th album, "Machete."
Members
Current
- Julian Silva - Owner/Producer/Composer/Arranger/Timbales
- Luis Arona - Bass
- Ronald Prokopez - Trombone
- Mike Engstrom - Trombone
- Willy Rodriguez - Piano
- Jonathan Powell - Trumpet
- Gilberto Velazquez - Vocals
- Nerio Matheus - Congas
- Nestor Villar - Bongos/Cowbell
- Danny Enrique - Vocals
Former
- Jose Vazquez-Cofresi - Former co-owner/Composer/Congas
- Jack Davis - Trombone
- Charles Dilone - Bongos /Cowbell
- Sam Hoyt - Trumpet
- Rene Leslie - Vocals
- Hector Luis Pagan - Vocals
- Edwin Perez - Composer/Vocals
- Jorge Bringas - Bass
- Miki Hirose - Trumpet
- Tokunori Kajiwara – Arranger/Trombone
- Junior Beltran - Background Vocals
- Yuniel Jimenez - Tres/Background Vocals
- Jonathan Gomez - Congas
Discography
Single
- ''Salsa Na'Ma''