Season 3 Episode 17 Santi Debriano

Bassist-composer Santi Debriano, who emigrated to the United States from Panama at the age of four, has one of the most fascinating backstories around his new release, ASHANTI, that we’ve covered on All That’s Jazz.

During the pandemic lockdown, Santi created a sanctuary and communal practice space for New York area jazz musicians in the basement of his Staten Island home. He would organize weekly bembés based on a West African ritual of the Yoruba tribe involving a celebration of food, drink, music and dance. Santi created his own, pandemic-inspired intimate jam session tradition that offered a musical lifeline for artists until it was safe to go back to the recording the studio again.

Out of this came increasingly more complex compositions for his group of musicians now known as Arkestra Bembé, including Santi as leader and anchor on bass, with Robby Ameen on drums, TK Blue on alto saxophone, Andrea Brachfeld on flute, Tommy Morimoto on tenor saxophone, Ray Scro on baritone saxophone, Emile Turner on trumpet, Adrian Alvárado on guitar and Mamiko Watanabe on piano.

In our conversation with Santi - as well as with the selected sample tracks - we give you an inside look at how love, ingenuity, and determination to continue to create during the pandemic produced a remarkable album that may not have otherwise happened.