Latin Jazz Photo Album: Wayne Wallace

Each area holds musicians that garner widespread acclaim for their artistic skills, but only certain artists earn an avid respect. These musicians spend lifetimes refining their craft and performing in a number of artistic contexts. Their artistry rarely stops at the mastery of an instrument; they also build influential voices as composer, arrangers, bandleaders, and educators. As a result, their music touches countless people, makes connections in a variety of styles, and their names become regular fixtures in record collections nationwide. Musicians from their hometown make time to perform with these artists whenever possible, seeing the opportunity as more than a job – more like a musical opportunity. Even the area’s busiest musicians find time to perform with these artists, sharing their respect for the high-level artistry on display. These artists gain a reputation that travels far and wide, reaching past the boundaries of their local music scene and into a national arena. They soon earn opportunities to perform with musicians from across the nation and a whole cast of musicians across the country share a mutual sense of respect for the artist. As these musicians continue their journeys across the country, they make a strong effort to stay in touch with this artist and when in town, they take the time to do some playing with the artist. It’s a natural progression for an artist with an undying love for music that commits their life to the pursuit of strong performance skills, a defined artistic concept, and attempts to share that passion with the world.


The Bay Area Latin music scene holds many musicians with a strong background, but trombonist, composer, and arranger Wayne Wallace has earned major respect in many circles across the country. A San Francisco native, Wallace built his musical skills at San Francisco State University and soon cut his teeth on the rich North Beach jazz scene in the 1970s. He found a home in many musical circles, but kept a strong interest in the Latin Jazz world. In the 1980s, he dove headfirst into the heart of the Latin Jazz world, becoming an early member of the groundbreaking Machete Ensemble. He served as a core piece of this band’s sound, working alongside John Calloway and Rebeca Mauleon as one of the group’s prime composers. At the same time, Wallace joined percussionist Pete Escovedo’s Latin Jazz Ensemble, acting as a featured soloist as well as a composer and arranger for the group. Along the way, Wallace found time to perform with a number of top musicians across many genres, including Ray Charles, George Duke, Sammy Davis Jr., Gladys Knight, Patti Labelle, McCoy Tyner, and many, many more. Wallace has served as an active educator, teaching jazz and Latin music at San Francisco State University, San Jose State University, the Stanford Jazz Workshop, the Jazzschool in Berkeley, and more. In the past ten years, Wallace has become an important bandleader and producer, recording a number of Latin Jazz albums. He founded Patois Records, a label responsible for the promotion of his own music as well as several other Bay Area Latin Jazz artists. Looking at Wallace’s numerous important achievements, it’s not wonder that he gains so music respect and admiration from musicians across the country.

Today’s Latin Jazz Photo Album features Wallace captured in action during a set with his Latin Jazz Quintet at The San Jose Jazz Festival in August. His band includes some of the Bay Area’s top musicians from the Latin Jazz world, including pianist Murray Low, bassist David Belove, percussionist Michael Spiro, and drummer Paul VanWageningen. In an undeniable show of respect for Wallace’s massive musical skills, his group had a number of special guests, including fellow trombonists Steve Turre and Doug Beavers. It was a great concert that showcased some of the elements that make the Bay Area music scene so exciting. Enjoy!
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