"Asere Ko" represents my vision of combining Afro-Latino music with whatever musical styles I feel comfortable mixing into them. this recording brings a conglomeration of influences from artists of different backgrounds, musical styles, and geographic locations to make this vision a musical reality. Finding material is always a challenge for me

"Asere Ko" represents my vision of combining Afro-Latino music with whatever musical styles I feel comfortable mixing into them. this recording brings a conglomeration of influences from artists of different backgrounds, musical styles, and geographic locations to make this vision a musical reality. Finding material is always a challenge for me because of how I hear the flute orchestrated in my music. This project started slowly, with the recording of just two songs in a one-year period, and with only a handful of musicians. Not having a set band, however, allowed me to use different orchestrations, instrumentations, and music styles, and bring in some of the most talented people to record with me for the first time: Erick Barberia, Madeleine Eastman, Oscar Hernandez, Mark Levine, Louie Romero, Jovino Santos Neto, and Destani Wolf. Over a period of two years, some 40 musicians and singers from the San Francisco Bay Area, Havana, New York, Los Angelels and Seattle helped this project come to fruition. The Title track "Asere Ko," based on the Arsenio Rodriguez song "Dilo Como Yo," aptly represents the CD because of its African American and Afro-Latino elements. The title is also a reworking of "aserekó", a traditional Efik-language greeting or salutation among close friends. Here I wish to thank all the participants in the project as well as those who will listen and enjoy it! ~John Calloway

It has been some time since my first CD "Diaspora" was released, and given commitments to teaching and doctorate studies, the process for this recording began a couple of years ago. I wanted to create something similar to my first recording but with more jazz influences. What was lacking was a theme for the project and its compositions. Certain

It has been some time since my first CD "Diaspora" was released, and given commitments to teaching and doctorate studies, the process for this recording began a couple of years ago. I wanted to create something similar to my first recording but with more jazz influences. What was lacking was a theme for the project and its compositions. Certain pieces were written almost immediately after my first CD, while others were developed during the sessions as the theme began to firmly take root. Upon some reflection, I realized what was being created here came mostly from a group of musicians who have played together for many years in various bands and projects. there was a certain amount of "knowing" amongst us, a certain understanding or "code" unspoken, that allowed for intimate interaction in the music. i believe that our collective experiences as performers and members of a larger music and art community allows us to share more than notes, patterns and musical phrases. They permit us to share our humanity. Hence the title track is dedicated to the artists on the CD.

"Diaspora" is the culmination of an effort to capture what I had been conceiving for many years: combining Afro-Cuban and Latin Jazz music with textures and concepts from other "World Music." While part of the work here is conventional in style, much of it strays from the norm. In short, it is an Afro-Cuban foundation with a potpourri of

"Diaspora" is the culmination of an effort to capture what I had been conceiving for many years: combining Afro-Cuban and Latin Jazz music with textures and concepts from other "World Music." While part of the work here is conventional in style, much of it strays from the norm. In short, it is an Afro-Cuban foundation with a potpourri of influences from Europe, Africa, South America, Asia and the barrio. Just as importantly, Diaspora, as the title for this project, represents for me a sense of solidarity with people who are away from their native or spiritual land. To many, the work Diaspora (Greek, "dispersion") evokes images of forced migration, upheaval and sadness. Diaspora, I believe, is our experience in it, the hardships and adversity along with the johs and triumphs. simultaneously, it is our struggle to preserve our spiritual essence and the honoring of our ancestors. Indeed, many of the artists who have honored me by contributing to this project have themselves arrived in the U.S. for economic or political reasons, or are descendants of those who have done so similarly. They too have shared their perseverance through the music and the spirit of their art. ~¡Disfrutenlo! — John Calloway