would like to see more people enjoy jazz”

By Feliciano Hernández, Hola Iowa

Pella, IA- Playing music didn’t just give musician Gabriel Espinoza fulfillment, it was an opportunity to travel and share his musical compositions with audiences around the world. Today this Mexican American musician, composer, arranger, and producer lives in Iowa and has taught new generations of young people with dreams of succeeding in fine arts.

Espinoza came to the United States from Merida, located on the southeast peninsula of Mexico, where he was born in 1952. His education brought him to the United States and in 2018 he became a citizen of both countries. “Since I lived there until I turned 23, my musical roots come from Mexico. When I came to the United States I studied in three different institutions, and I have three degrees.” After years of studies and work, this persistent and hardworking musician ended up with a bachelor’s in arts from

Central College in Pella, a master’s degree in jazz from the University of North Texas, and a graduate degree in arrangements from the prestigious Berkley College of Music in Boston. He emphasizes that being exposed to music in the two countries gave him the knowledge and inspiration to create his unique hybrid style of music, making him a passionate instrumentalist in diverse rhythms.

“When I do concerts I play bass guitar but the truth is I spend most of my time composing and arranging because that’s what I like best,” shares Espinoza.

Although he plays different rhythms and musical genres, he prefers jazz. That’s why he created Ashanti Latin Jazz, a musical group that does concerts, but he often performs as a soloist, too. He has many recordings and videos on his webpage (www.gabrielespinosamusic.com) and on social media.

They say music is a universal language of the soul that everyone translates in their own way. Thanks to musicians like Espinoza, listeners can experience worlds of surprising sensations. Music is powerful. It makes us sing, dance, meditate, remember, and sometimes cry, especially when the music is live. That’s why Espinoza is so passionate about collaborating with other musicians. “My best experiences have always been those when I can make music with different people from other countries. I love working with Brazilian musicians because I grew up listening to Bossa Nova in the 60s. Playing music gave me a chance to travel and share my music with different audiences. From an education standpoint, I enjoyed sharing music with my students at Central College for the last 27 years, and with students from Grinnell College for the last 18 years. The students helped me stay updated on today’s music.” During his professional career, Espinoza has lived through diverse experiences that have influenced his music. He started learning to play guitar with his mother at an early age. When he was 14, he tried bass guitar and never let go. His love of jazz led him to form the Ashanti Latin Jazz band in 1983 with one of his friends and classmates, a saxophonist from Switzerland, George Robert. The two men met while studying music at Berkley College of Music in Boston. Ashanti Latin Jazz has performed with some renowned jazz musicians like Anat Cohen, Gil Goldstein, Alex Acuña, and Dave Samuels. A few years after launching the band, Espinoza moved to Cancun, Mexico but the band continued performing until 1991. “George would come over once a year and play with the band for a month,” Espinoza recalls. “Between 1991 and 1996 Ashanti was not performing because I moved to Denton, Texas to get a degree in jazz.” A few years later he moved to Pella and relaunched the band until 2010, when he started his career as a soloist. “Today I dedicate all my free time to my solo career. Since 2009 I’ve recorded 5 albums, two of them with Hendrik Meurkens,” a composer, jazz harmonica

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Continues from last page virtuoso and master vibraphonist. Perhaps because of his colorful costumes, coupled with the influence of the young people he taught, Espinoza projects a youthful energy when he’s on stage.

When he wasn’t performing and collaborating with other musicians, Espinoza was the Director of Jazz Studies at Central College in Pella, Iowa. In addition to teaching, he initiated successful programs, recorded three albums, produced his own music, and collaborated with other known musicians and singers, including jazz and other music genres. With his band and solo, he performed at festivals all over the United States and other countries, including México and his native city of Merida, Yucatan. In October of 2014 Espinoza was inducted into the Greater Des Moines Community Jazz Center’s Hall of Fame in Des Moines, IA.

Espinoza strives to bring joy to his listeners through his compositions and arrangements. “I like to touch the soul of the audience with my music, which is mostly instrumental. It is not easy to do when the composition does not have words.”

When it comes to his music compositions, he found inspiration from many genres and time periods. He lists, “Antonio Carlos Jobim, Armando Manzanero, Hermanos Castro, Burt Bacharach, the Beatles, the Carpenters, José José, Chicago, Ivan Lins, and many others,” as some of the musicians that influenced him. As an educator, he found that students have a lot of options to study music in the United States. “Starting in middle school kids have access to a lot of classical and jazz music. It also helps that many schools have the instruments that students need. The beauty of music is that there is an infinite number of genres and that gives everyone a chance to explore and choose the type of music they wish to dedicate themselves to. I respect every type of music because everyone has a right to play or sing the style of music they like most. The most important thing is to do it with professionalism, learning and reinventing constantly.” This jazz musician highlights that an audience has the freedom to choose what they like.

“There is an audience for all types of music and that’s the positive side, but I wish more people would enjoy jazz.”

Espinoza plans to continue composing, producing, arranging, and taking his music everywhere he can.

“I am always looking for new collaboration projects with other musicians, singers and arrangements that constantly help me learn more. My goal in music is always moving and I don’t want to reach it. I prefer to continue growing, learning and moving forward to create new and challenging projects.”

Music fans can catch Gabriel Espinoza live at 7 pm on Friday May 5th during the launch of his most recent album at Noce located at 1326 Walnut Street in Des Moines. Tickets are available at https://tinyurl.com/semx9c4bin Des Moines.