Felix Contreras
Felix Contreras is co-creator and host of Alt.Latino, NPR's pioneering radio show and podcast celebrating Latin music and culture since 2010.
In addition to his post behind the mic, Contreras programs music from the Latin diaspora for the acclaimed Tiny Desk concerts and hosts a weekly Instagram Live interview with a wide-ranging roster of guests.
A knowledgeable international ambassador for Latino heritage and arts, "Tio Felix '' travels extensively in search of new talent and new music and captures important legacy performers in jazz and Latin genres. Various national and international publications have quoted his expertise on the contemporary influences of Latin culture, music, and media.
His a recovering TV journalist whose first post at NPR in 2001 was as a Producer/Reporter for the NPR News Arts Desk. He is also NPR's resident Deadhead and performs around the DC area with his Latin music Beatles cover band, Los Day Trippers.
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The Cuban percussionist brought the rhythms of Havana to New York's jazz clubs in the 1940s and never stopped performing.
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The jazz singer and guitarist has multiple Grammy nominations to his name. He performed five songs for our Tiny Desk quarantine series.
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The Bronx-born González often played with his brother, Jerry, and had turns in the bands of Dizzy Gillespie and Tito Puente, among many others.
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Spanglish Fly is one of the pioneers of the boogaloo revival scene happening on the East Coast. For about sixteen minutes, they turned the NPR Music offices into the hottest Latin dance club in D.C.
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This year's edition of A Jazz Piano Christmas features a mix of artists from the East Coast and West Coast jazz scenes. We're celebrating the holidays with swing.
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Along with his trio, the pianist, multi-instrumentalist and composer cast a spell over the NPR Music offices in this joyful turn behind the Tiny Desk.
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The saxophonist, flautist and bandleader has been traveling to Cuba and performing its music for over 30 years.
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The Brazilian singer and guitarist, who won wide acclaim for his abundant technical skill and minimalist style, was behind one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time, 1964's Getz/Gilberto.
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The holidays aren't complete around NPR without our annual Jazz Piano Christmas concert. This year's event featured pianists Booker T. Jones, Jason Moran, Dánae Olano and James Francies.
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The iconic actor and musician teams with Jazz At Lincoln Center to sing big band swing tunes and songs from his catalog.