Aside from Guzmán, percussionist Aristarco Perea Pandales and accordianist, Lucho Campillo are also fellow Colombians; the other musicians, including pianists Otmaro Ruiz and Joe Rotondi, drummer Walter Rodriguez, accordianist Enrique Martinez and percussionists Luis Conte, Richie Garcia and Ramon Yslas all represent other countries on the Latin American map. Although Quintero's scintillating melodies and guitar performances are, as always, center stage, he is a master ensemble player who named the project Los Musicos (The Musicians) as an ode to the amazing, serendipitous way the performances came together.

"It was as if I was casting the performances among friends, and the perfect casting took the music I had envisioned to an entirely new level," says Quintero. "I basically handed out the music, and they all did their own takes on it. It was just an amazing gathering, and every ÔcharacterÕ played his part beyond expectations."

The somewhat abstract cover art, featuring large, faceless colorful men with white hats, was created by another fellow Colombian named Guilloume. Quintero saw a canvas of his at his (QuinteroÕs) cousin's house and tracked the painter down in New Mexico. Turns out that Guilloume was a fan of the guitarist and was excited to contribute to the overall creative presentation of Los Musicos. "I hope to collaborate with him on subsequent albums as well, building an association like The Rippingtons have with the Jazz Cat. I like the idea of not having my photo on the cover. That way the focus can be purely on the music."

Latin music was a very natural gravitation for Juan Carlos Quintero when he first picked up the guitar at age eight: "No matter what style I played in, I always came back to the Latin grooves. Latin music crosses so many boundaries, and its ability to seduce at the same time as it celebrates life and my cultural background has always amazed me. It's got a strong natural appeal to me."

Quintero was particularly inspired by Spanish flavored masters like Cal Tjader, Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Carlos Santana, but he felt that Chick Corea best brought out the excitement of bridging Latin music and American jazz. Quintero took this lead both when he was attending Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory in the early Ô80s and when he launched his own solo career later in the decade. Achieving his goal of "speaking positively about my homeland and helping others see it in a more positive light through my music," Quintero became a staple of NAC radio with tracks from his first two albums, a self-titled effort in 1990 and Through The Winds in 1992 on Nova Records. He worked in A&R and produced a handful of projects for Nova, then worked in artist relations for Latin Percussion Music Group, a noted manufacturer of percussion instruments.

Since the release of The Way Home four years ago, Quintero has also developed a career as a college professor, creating the guitar department at College of the Canyons in Valencia, California and teaching new courses in jazz guitar studies, music theory and music business. HeÕs also spent time shaping the concept for Moondo Records, which began as a platform for his publishing catalog; he now owns the rights to his music, which has been contracted out to numerous television shows, including Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, Extra, Hard Copy and various programs in Europe and Japan. Quintero was also featured on Jazz on the Latin Side Volume 1 (2000) and Volume 2 (2001), all-star live recordings (at B.B. KingÕs Blues Club, Los Angeles) for Ubiquity/Cubop Records alongside Alex Acu–a, Poncho Sanchez, Justo Almario, Otmaro Ruiz, Francisco Aguabella and Luis Conte, to name a few. While recording Los Musicos, he saw the possibility of turning Moondo into a regular label. Joining forces with DGM (which is distributed by RYKO Distribution Partners) proved to be a perfect creative and business match.

"There's always been an audience for my music, and I'm grateful to Discipline Records for giving me the opportunity to distribute it without compromise," says Quintero. "This is a unique project for them, and theyÕre embracing my vision wholeheartedly. This frees me to just do my thing and reach more people. It's an exciting time."

Open your ears to Los Musicos and, come experience the new sound of Latin jazz, JCQ style..free from borders or limitations - after all, in an ideal musical world, that's what world music should be about, isn't it?

--Jonathan Widran, Jazziz Magazine