With six jazz CD's on record, and hot on the heels of his grammy nominated song "Luna Latina" from the CD "Treasures of the Heart", Nestor Torres takes you to "This Side of Paradise" on his latest production. It's his second CD with Shanachie Entertainment Corporation (www.shanachie.com). From the cha-cha-cha (Café Cubano) to Paz Pa' Vieques (bomba/plena inflection) to the festive and lively "Doesn't Really Matter" (Janet Jackson) and the merengue flavored "Tambora", his latest production delivers!!

As part of his promotional tour, Mr. Torres visited New York's S.O.B.'s (Sounds of Brazil) www.sobs.com. While there, he played a set which consisted of a mix of songs from the "Treasures of the Heart" CD and "This Side of Paradise". All music lovers will appreciate his latest production. The CD contains 12 tracks of music mostly written by Nestor Torres and one of the surprises on this CD is that he sings the lead in "No Te Enamores", a salsa dance tune.

The CD also contains featured guests such as Marc Quinones on percussion, Chuck Loeb on nylon string guitar, Ed Calle on Baritone Sax, and Pedro Guzman on the Cuatro. (although these individuals did not appear at S.O.B's, an appearance was made by Ralph Irizzary (Bamboleo fame) the touring band had excellent musicians such as Richie Flores on congas and Ruben Rodriguez on bass), Puerto Rican born (Mayaguez), and conservatory trained (New England Conservatory in Boston), Nestor Torres is a master at the flute. His versatility and compositions bring you a real mix of different rhythms to "This Side of Paradise". He has shared the stage and worked for and with some of the top performers in the business (Celia Cruz, Cachao, Gloria Estefan, Chucho Valdez) to name a few, and incorporates this experience to bring you pop-instrumental Latin jazz. With mentors like Mauricio Smith (Panamanian) and Hubert Laws (African-American), Nestor Torres connects with his audience with his unique sound. His aim? He says is "to establish a relationship with his audience through his music".

It was during his visit to S.O.B's, that Mr. Torres took time for an interview. Without exaggeration, Mr. Torres is humble, personable, with a mission in life, and of course, talented. As you will read in this interview, he acknowledges his style of music as "pop-instrumental with a tinge of Latin Jazz". Perfectly said. You will also read about his musical family and why he chose Miami as a home base. He also gives of his time to worthy causes and functions while having a strong passion for the children of the world.

With this latest production, Mr. Torres' goal is to establish a commercial crossover and bring "This Side of Paradise" to a wider listening audience. As for his future, he says "I strive to live my life that way and I strive to give my work meaning, that will be lasting meaning with whomever establishes a relationship with the music of Nestor Torres". Enjoy the interview.

Interview

Tell us about your latest production?

Torres: Second CD for Shanackie records, but my sixth jazz cd. I'm really excited about it because it's the closest CD that I've done that accomplishes what I've been working towards in terms of pop instrumental music. I've been fortunate to explore and to have tremendous freedom in my previous recordings throughout my career, which has been great and I'm very proud of the work I've done up until now. That being said, "This Side of Paradise" is varied, diversified and at the same time it has a sense of cohesiveness. I also think it has terrific crossover potential. The audiences enjoy what we do and we receive positive feedback.

The title? Any meaning to the title "This Side of Paradise"

Torres: we had to pick a title and Danny Wiess from Shanackie, he's like my guru in a sense, he's also the executive producer, he was stuck with the word Paradise. Now paradise has been used a lot. So many people use the word Paradise. Finally, I don't know who came up with it, either Danny or the art director. But then, I realize that it had great meaning. The second layer to that is that I come from Miami (born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico) and I'm about the tropics and so there are different kinds of paradise such as Hawaii and other areas. So this is about this side of paradise. Paradise doesn't exist. It's what we make of what we have. Therefore, I offer you "This Side of Paradise"!!! You make what you want of it. You create your own paradise with this music as your soundtrack. So ultimately it's about you creating your own paradise, your own situation. It's about having a good time and enjoying and being you.

Appearing as special guests are Chuck Loeb and Marc Quinones, some of the top musicians in the business. How did that come about?

Torres: Yes, the best guys in the business. Chuck and I met at the Capital Jazz Festival last year. We met, we got along fine and we wanted to work together and the opportunity came up. Interestingly enough, while he was recording in my cd, cutting the tracks up in the Westchester County, he says "nestor I'm working on my record, will you come and do a solo on my record, so I'm actually on Chuck's new release. So it was very nice.

Where were the photos taken that appear on the CD?

Torres: South Beach area. One photo is in the everglades and another is in the Keys. It's very much south Florida.

Why did you choose to live in Miami?

Torres: Because it is the best of both worlds!!! I was born and raised in Puerto Rico so naturally I don't like the cold that much. I love the tropical weather, the palm trees and beaches. I've been in Miami now for twenty years. Hansel and Raul had an influence in me deciding to go to Miami. I remember coming to New York where I would go to the Madison School of Music. I learned to improvise by playing with Charanga bands like Tipica Novel, Tipica Ideal, Conjunto Libre back in the late 1970's. I played here for about six years. Then I worked with Hansel y Raul. They had a big hit with Charanga 76 and they had a big hit with "La Lengua Afuera". They are not my biggest influences but I have a feeling I did my best work with them during those years. I'm grateful to them and they always treated me well. They decided to relocate and that's when I went to Miami. At that time, for me, it was either leave the latin scene all together and do my own thing in New York, or go elsewhere. I chose to go to Miami.

Could you tell us about the Cuban influence in your music?

Torres: The Cuban influence was inevitable because as fortune would have it, by the time I arrived in New York in the mid 70's, the Charanga style was still very much in fashion.
(Casa Blanca, Corso in New York City) I was very lucky because as I was studying formally in the school (thanks to Mauricio Smith who is my mentor, great Panamanian), he opened the doors for me. The story goes like this: my father (Nestor Torres) moves to New York a year ahead of us to establish things. My cousins and I,both of them musicians, come to visit my dad. He used to play at the Chateau Madrid on Sunday with Candido. I never forget this. It was a cold rainy December winter Sunday. And after he was done, we go to the Cabo Rojeno because Machito and Tito Puente were playing there. I have no idea how I got the nerve to ask Puente's band to let me sit in. They let me!!!! I don't remembered what I played. Tito Puente calls me over and he told me that for that music I have to play the high register. That's my memory there and after that Tito would always ask me how I was doing with the music because he knew I was going to the Conservatory in Boston. I was commuting between Boston and New York. He was always very good to me. So Mauricio Smith was playing with Machito that night and he heard me. So, we established contact through my father. My father and he stayed in touch. So when I would be in New York, Mauricio would call me to see if I could replace him on some of the gigs because he was always busy. That's how I got my first job. I auditioned at CasaBlanca on 73 Street one Friday night and then one saturday Tipica Ideal was playing at Chez Sensual. That's where my very first gig happened.

The Estafan connection?

Torres: I worked on the "Mi Tierra Album". They called me over. I have worked with Cachao. In 1991, Millie Melendez, promoter and manager here in New York, she meets with other agents that are working on a tour. I come to New York for a while to relocate while Cachao was doing those gigs because I had that opportunity. I had always wanted to play with Cachao. Andy Garcia is a friend of Cachao. There's a benefit concert in Miami, it's filmed "Como sufrimos no hay dos". I was part of that. That night that was filmed with Paquito, Chocolate, and others. The Estefans were there. They came on stage and I think that really sparked their interest for them to go back to their roots. And that's where "Mi Tierra" came from. My opinion is that this concert triggered them to tack action. So, during that time, they started working on "Mi Tierra" and they called me over to be included. I worked on "Mi Tierra" plus two other songs. I also did perform with her at the Grammys in 1994 when she won her first grammy. So we have that bond and on occasions we socialize. One of the reasons I chose Miami because at that time I felt there was room for what I wanted to do. I was already involved in the Salsa-meets-Jazz situation but I was really able to create my own situation in Miami. So I think that "This Side of Paradise" will open the doors for me.

"Luna Latina" received a grammy nomination last year. Your thoughts?

Torres: the nomination was last year for "Treasures of the Heart". It was the first Latin Grammys so that added a special touch. "Luna Latina" was the song that was nominated for pop instrumental. Which for me is meaningful because my music is closer to pop instrumental with a tinge of jazz. So, I'm very happy that I was nominated for the pop instrumental and the jazz because Arturo, Chucho and so many other colleagues, well, that's what they do and are the jazz greats, I can play with them and I do that but, I have my own sound.

Why New York to debut the CD?

Torres: It was all part of the timing. We were invited to be in Albany, and then to the Reading Pennsylvania Jazz Festival. So we had these dates in the Northeast and it worked out that we could be here in New York as well. It worked in well in the timing of the release.

Can you tell us about about your involvement with the Hispanic Heritage Awards?

Torres: I performed last year and a couple of times before. I love the way it has developed and it's such a great event. It inspires me to continue to work and serve. It's great to see the kinds of people that have been awarded. These are the kinds of people that have lived their lives thinking about everything but themselves. They have devoted to working for the sake of others. To develop their character and people who take action in the front lines. I strive to live my life that way and I strive to give my work meaning that will be lasting meaning with whomever establishes a relationship with the music of Nestor Torres.

Why the flute?

Torres: My dad is a musician and I was banging on the pots and pans since a kid. Santa Claus brought me a little drum set when I was five. My other cousins also had drums. Eventually, I went to the escuela libre de musica, they have six throughout the island. But to study drums, well, I didn't see it for me. Then I saw a picture of a flute and I also remember seeing a picture of and old man playing the flute when my mom went to visit his wife. I started playing when I was twelve. The drums were my first instrument but I eventually went to the flute. I also picked up the saxophone. That lasted about five years but I could never play the registered tune. So I since there were so many great saxophone players and not enough flute players, I said let me stick to this. Plus I heard Hubert Laws and he changed my life forever. He set such a high standard. I have yet to reach that standard.

Can you tell us more about "This Side of Paradise"?

Torres: Well, I did write a lot of the songs on this CD but I also feel that there was also a lot of collaboration on this CD as compared to the others. Each of the producers were able to include a song. No Te Enamores, and Tambora, were written by me with no collaboration but the rest had collaboration. Café Cubano and Paz pa Vieques were my fundamental idea but there was collaboration. Café Cubano, the title, is a commercial motivation for mainstream America. So, the song is like a good cup of coffee in the morning to wake you up.

Do you have any passions outside of music?

Torres: Bhuddism, religion, philosophy, family, children (I have none at the time). I do a lot of work for United Foundations for Aids, United Way. We do work for the community when it's needed. I like to do things that move me especially with children. Also, a book on Latin Flute Improvisation is another project I'd like to work on. I also have a book we are working on to chronicle my songs.

Do you teach any Master classes?

Torres: I am at point right now that I do want to concentrate on education and I do give master classes wherever the need is created. My master classes are simple. I get together with those interested and I let them play. The most important thing is to get the people together and to break those barriers that exist!!! It's not about good or bad. It's not about how proficient you are. It's about how are you expressing yourself. It's about enjoying what you do. Be who you are and explore that.

Visit Nestor Torres:
website: www.nestortorres.com

Contact Shanachie Entertainment Corp.
website: www.shanachie.com