Junior Santos

Juno and Marty’s Award nominee Junior Santos was born in the Dominican Republic and
developed an early interest in music while watching his father’s band rehearse in his
backyard.
As a child, he began exploring music on his own and soon realized that he had the talent
and passion for rhythm; shortly after, his parents registered him at the Academy of Music
in Puerto Plata, where he was taught theory and learned to read music and play
percussion.
Later, when he was only 15 years old, he started to perform professionally with different
bands in the country.
Throughout his life, Junior’s work has been influenced by Afro-Dominican and AfroCuban Music, as well as jazz artists such as Steve Gadd, Chick Corea, Yellowjackets and
Spyro Gyra.”
Arriving in Canada in 1989 and studying at Humber College, this Dominican-born
percussionist has lived in this country and recorded and performed with many influential
bands and ensembles. Some of his early performances were with Memo Acevedo
performing in music festivals in Ontario and the Montreal Jazz Festival.
As a touring artist, he has performed/recorded with the likes of Laura Fernandez, Rick
Lazar of Montuno Police, Joaquin Nunez Hidalgo, Zeynep Ozbilen, Roberto Linares
Brown, Kalabash, Hilario Duran, and other Latin-influenced bands.
Junior Santos’ work contributes to the showcasing and development of a unique rhythm
of the Dominican Republic called Pambiche, a dance music genre derived from Merengue
Tipico.