Miguel Zenon

Miguel Zenón's alto saxophone carries the rhythms of his home island into modern jazz. Born in San Juan and raised in Residencial Luis Lloréns Torres, the largest housing project on the island, he took his first theory lessons at ten from an elderly teacher who travelled there daily to work with local young people. He later turned down an engineering scholarship to study music, moving to Boston in 1996 for Berklee College of Music. Across his work as composer, bandleader, producer and educator, he keeps returning to Puerto Rican forms, which gives his records their particular character.

His Miguel Zenón Quartet took shape in 1999, when he began rehearsing with Antonio Sánchez, Hans Glawischnig and Luis Perdomo in New York. Its first album under Zenón's name, Looking Forward, came out on Spain's Fresh Sound New Talent in 2002 and was picked by the New York Times as the top "Alternative" jazz recording of that year. Branford Marsalis then signed him to Marsalis Music, where Ceremonial, Jíbaro, Awake and Esta Plena followed, the last inspired by Puerto Rican plena and earning two Grammy nominations. Henry Cole replaced Sánchez in 2005, starting the longest-running version of the group.