Santi Wilson Debriano (born 1955 in

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

) is a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

bassist, composer and music teacher.Santi Debriano biography

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Early life and education

Debriano was raised in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, having moved there with his family at age four. His father is known as a song composer in Panama. Debriano started playing jazz instruments as a teenager in Franklin K. Lane High School. From 1972 to 1976 he studied composition and politics at

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

in New York, then attended the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

and

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

Career

He worked with

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

in the late 1970s and early 1980s, then moved to Paris and played with Sam Rivers for three years. He then returned to New York City. He currently lives in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

. Debriano has led several of his own units, including small groups in the late 1980s and Circlechant, a

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

-influenced ensemble which has had among its members Helio Alves,

Will Calhoun William Calhoun (born July 22, 1964) is an American drummer who is a member of the rock band Living Colour. Career Calhoun was born in the Bronx, New York. He moved to Boston to attend the Berklee College of Music, where he graduated with a mu ...

, and

Abraham Burton Abraham Augustus Burton Jr. (born March 17, 1971) is an American saxophonist and bandleader. Biography Burton was born in New York City on March 17, 1971, and was raised in Greenwich Village. He studied at the Hartt School from 1989 to 1993, gra ...

. As a sideman and bandmember, he has worked with

Larry Coryell Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist, widely considered the "godfather of fusion". Alongside Gábor Szabó, he was a pioneer in melding jazz, country and rock ...

Sonny Fortune Cornelius "Sonny" Fortune (May 19, 1939 – October 25, 2018) was an American jazz saxophonist. He played soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones, clarinet, and flute. Biography He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Af ...

Hank Jones Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians have described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts h ...

Don Pullen Don Gabriel Pullen (December 25, 1941 – April 22, 1995) was an American jazz pianist and organist. Pullen developed a strikingly individual style throughout his career. He composed pieces ranging from blues to bebop and modern jazz. The great ...

Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in comple ...

, Chucho Valdes, and

Randy Weston Randolph Edward "Randy" Weston (April 6, 1926 – September 1, 2018) was an American jazz pianist and composer whose creativity was inspired by his ancestral African connection. Weston's piano style owed much to Duke Ellington and Thelonious M ...

. He leads an ensemble called Flash of the Spirit. Santi's latest release is titled "Ashanti" is on JoJo Records. Santi also performs frequently on guitar, with his organ group that features vocalist Nina Shanka. His several concerts were broadcast by

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

WBGO WBGO (88.3 FM, "Jazz 88") is a public radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. Studios and offices are located on Park Place (AKA "Wayne Shorter Way" as of April 2022) in downtown Newark, and its transmitter is located at 4 Times Square i ...

and

WNYC WNYC is an audio service brand, under the control of New York Public Radio, a non-profit organization. Radio and other audio programming is primarily provided by a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations: WNYC (AM) and WNYC- ...

. With the Garth Fagan and

, he participated in the realization the dance piece Sacred Common Ground in 1995. Santi participated in the production of two documentary films on jazz with filmmaker Marc Huraux. In 1988 he worked on a documentary film ''Bird Now'' and during 1996 on ''Check the Changes''. Debriano was also the music director for arts at Dwight Morrow High School in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...

, and was given an award for jazz education by

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 2001.

Discography

As leader

* ''Obeah'' (1987,

Freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

) * ''Soldiers of Fortune'' (Freelance, 1989) * ''Panamaniacs'' (

Evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...

, 1997) * ''Circlechant'' ( HighNote, 1999) * ''

Artistic License Artistic license (and more general or contextually-specific, derivative terms such as creative license, poetic license, historical license, dramatic license, and narrative license) refers to deviation from fact or form for artistic purposes. It ...

'' (

Savant Savant syndrome ( , ) is a phenomenon where someone demonstrates exceptional aptitude in one domain, such as art or mathematics, despite significant social or intellectual impairment. Those with the condition generally have a neurodevel ...

, 2001) * ''3-Ololy'' ( Bellaphon, 2006) * ''Flash of the Spirit'' (Truth Revolution Records, 2021) * ''Ashanti'' (Jojo Records, 2022)

As sideman

* Bill Barron: '' Live at Cobi's'' (SteepleChase, 1988-89

005 ''005'' (pronounced "''double-o five''") is a 1981 arcade video game by Sega. They advertised it as the first of their RasterScan Convert-a-Game series, designed so that it could be changed into another game in minutes "at a substantial savings. ...

Baikida Carroll Baikida Carroll (born January 15, 1947) is an American jazz trumpeter. Carroll studied at Southern Illinois University and at the Armed Forces School of Music. Following this he became a member of the Black Artists Group in St. Louis, where he dir ...

: '' Door of the Cage'' (Soul Note, 1994

995 Year 995 (Roman numerals, CMXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 17 May - Fujiwara no Michitaka (imperial regent) dies. * 3 June: Fujiwara no Michikane gains power and becomes Rege ...

: '' Monk, Trane, Miles & Me'' (HighNote, 1999) *Larry Coryell: '' Inner Urge'' (HighNote, 2001) * Stanley Cowell: '' Back to the Beautiful'' ( Concord, 1989) *

: ''

Four in One 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

'' (Blue Note, 1994), '' From Now On'' (Blue Note, 1996) * Chico Freeman: ''

Focus Focus (: foci or focuses) may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in East Australia Film *Focus (2001 film), ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based on the Arthur Miller novel *Focus (2015 ...

'' (

Contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

, 1994) *

Don Friedman Donald Ernest Friedman (May 4, 1935 – June 30, 2016) was an American jazz pianist. He began playing in Los Angeles and moved to New York in 1958. In the 1960s, he played with both modern stylists and more traditional musicians. Early life Fr ...

: ''Red Sky Waltz'' ( Alfa Music, 1996) *

Billy Hart Billy Hart (born November 29, 1940) is an American jazz drumming, jazz drummer and educator. He is known internationally for his work with Herbie Hancock's "Mwandishi" band in the early 1970s, as well as with Shirley Horn, Stan Getz, and Quest (b ...

: ''

Amethyst Amethyst is a Violet (color), violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek from - , "not" and (Ancient Greek) / (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from Alcohol into ...

'' (Arabesque, 1993), '' Oceans of Time'' (

Arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foliate ...

, 1997) *

Louis Hayes Louis Hayes (born May 31, 1937) is an American jazz drummer and band leader. He was with McCoy Tyner's trio for more than three years. Since 1989 he has led his own band, and together with Vincent Herring formed the Cannonball Legacy Band. He i ...

: ''Louis at Large'' (Sharp Nine, 1996) *

Oliver Lake Oliver Lake (born September 14, 1942) is an American List of jazz saxophonists, jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer, poet, and visual artist. He is known mainly for alto saxophone, but he also performs on soprano saxophone, soprano and flute. D ...

: ''Compilation'' ( Gramavision, 1982–86) * Oliver Lake: '' Virtual Reality (Total Escapism)'' (Gazell, 1992) *

Kirk Lightsey Kirkland "Kirk" Lightsey (born 15 February 1937), is an American jazz pianist. Biography Lightsey had piano instruction from the age of five and studied piano and clarinet through high school. After serving in the army, Lightsey worked in Detr ...

: '' Kirk 'n Marcus'' (Criss Cross Jazz, 1987) with Marcus Belgrave * Charles McPherson: '' Come Play with Me'' (Arabesque, 1995) * David Murray: '' Black & Black'' ( DIW, 1991) * David Murray: '' Long Goodbye: A Tribute to Don Pullen'' (DIW, 1996) *

Jim Pepper Jim Gilbert Pepper II (June 18, 1941 – February 10, 1992) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and singer of Kaw and Muscogee heritage. He moved to New York City in 1964, where he came to prominence in the late 1960s as a member of The ...

: ''Dakota Sound'' ( Enja, 1987) *

: '' Sacred Common Ground'' (Blue Note, 1995) *

Charlie Rouse Charlie Rouse (April 6, 1924 – November 30, 1988) was an American hard bop tenor saxophonist and flautist. His career is marked by his collaboration with Thelonious Monk, which lasted for more than ten years. Biography Rouse was born in Wash ...

: '' Soul Mates'' ( Uptown, 1988

993 Year 993 ( CMXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – The 12-year-old King Otto III gives the Sword of Saints Cosmas and Damian (also known as the Sword of Essen) as ...

featuring

Sahib Shihab Sahib Shihab (born Edmund Gregory; June 23, 1925 – October 24, 1989) was an American jazz and hard bop saxophonist (baritone, alto, and soprano) and flautist. He variously worked with Luther Henderson, Thelonious Monk, Fletcher Henderson, Tad ...

: '' Soul Song'' (Enja, 1982) * Bob Thiele Collective: ''Louis Satchmo'' (1991) * Larry Willis: ''

Let's Play A Let's Play (LP) is a video (or screenshots accompanied by text) documenting the playthrough of a video game, often including commentary and (in some cases) a camera view of the gamer's face. A Let's Play differs from a video game walkthrough ...

'' (SteepleChase, 1991) * New York Unit: '' Tribute to George Adams'' (Paddle Wheel, 1992)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Debriano, Santi 1955 births Living people American jazz double-bassists American male double-bassists Wesleyan University alumni HighNote Records artists 21st-century American double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Motéma Music artists Mapleshade Records artists