Picante Xpress Latin Magazine writes :
"Marrón... Brownman... Ali... this young trumpeter has as many skills as he has names.  To Latinos he is known as "Marrón" - the Trinidadian-born New York City schooled trumpet soloist who got his start in Canada's Latin community with DOMINICANADA and has since grown to become one of the most called upon Latin trumpet players in the country.  Honoured to represent Canada at the Havana Jazz Festival in Cuba (2002), he would perform with his own group and a special ensemble comprised of members of the legendary IRAKERE and the AFRO-CUBAN ALLSTARS.  In July 2001 his latin-jazz unit CRUZAO would win the coveted Montreal Jazz Festival's Grand Prix Du Jazz Award becoming the first latin-jazz group in the history of this prestigious national jazz award to win.  His growing acclaim in early years of the New Millenium would see his return to Havana in 2004 to perform again with CRUZAO and this time as a special guest soloist with the grammy winning IRAKERE and Oscar Valdes' DIAKARA.  In the jazz world, as "Brownman" - top notch studio musician and Canadian National Jazz Composer of the Year (2002) - he has appeared on just over 300 CDs, has been a featured soloist in every major jazz and latin festival in Canada and has toured both the U.S. and Europe extensively.

Drawing on years of playing in the horn sections of multitudes of Latin bands in the city (Dominicanada, Banda Bella, Orchestra Fantasia, Fuerza Latina, Bestial, Energia Latina, Son Del Caribe, Macondo, Cimarron, Pacande and far too many more to name here) and driven artistically to create a group of his own, he formed this all-star Salsa band - MARRÓN MATIZADO - which debuted at Berlin Nightclub on Oct. 3rd, 2001; a legendary hot spot for modern Salsa in Toronto in those years.  Using the members of his award winning latin-jazz unit CRUZAO as it's core, the group features the slick vocals of Ricky Franco from Son Ache, Juan Carlos Cardenas from Cache and Alex Naar from Fito Blanko.  The group is co-led by Marrón's equally recognizable younger sibling Marcus Ali - alto saxophonist for Banda Bella and Orquesta Fantasia; and also features Luisito Orbegoso on congas - 2002 Canadian National Jazz Award nominee for "Percussionist of the Year". 

The group has quickly become Canada's "Salsa Dream Team" and has garnered critical acclaim nationally since it's inception.  Additionally, unlike many other salsa bands, ALL tunes the band plays have been painstakingly orchestrated by either Marrón or Marcus, both accomplished composer-arrangers. 

Now, over a decade after it's birth, the ensemble continues to make waves in the National Salsa community, delivering an energized powerful show where ever they tour to and respected as one of the nation's most revered Salsa outfits.

MARRÓN MATIZADO tackles modern progressive salsa in a way that this country has never seen before.  Bringing elements of funk, jazz, and hip-hop to the table this powerhouse all-star ensemble creates a high-energy whirlwind of modern salsa.

                            Picante Xpress Latin Magazine
                            Nov. 26th (Vol. 1, Issue 5)


Download the band's printable
High-Res Bio
(1.1meg JPG)
Click the link to see it, or right click on the link
and choose "save as" to save to your hard-drive

Check out 2 tracks from the band's
appearance on the TORONTO SHOW
(tracks are taken from TV and unfortunately were recorded in mono)
Guataca City
by Paquito D'Rivera
BIG FILE WARNING - 10.5meg
Live on The Toronto Show 2004
(lead vocal - Juan Carlos Cardenas)
Color De Unidad
by Brownman Ali / Alex Naar
BIG FILE WARNING - 10.7meg
Live on The Toronto Show 2004
(lead vocal - Luisito Orbegoso)
VIDEO - Guataca City
by Paquito D'Rivera
Live on The Toronto Show 2004

Marrón was interviewed by SalsaSPOT.com after Matizado
took the Silver in the SalsaSpot Poll for "Toronto's favourite Salsa Band"
Read the SalsaSpot interview


Marrón was interviewed by Picante Latin Xpress Magazine after
a fiery performance by MATIZADO at the Berlin Nightclub one Sept 2002.
Read the Latin Xpress interview
Awarded the 2004 
SalsaSPOT.com
SILVER medal for
Toronto's Favourite 
Salsa Band
Read the interview

Ricky Franco
(Mexico) - Vocals
Alex Naar

(Panama) - Vocals
Juan Carlos Cardenas

(Venezuela) - Vocals
Marrón

(Trinidad) -Trumpet / Flügelhorn
Musical Director
Marcus Ali

(Trinidad) - Alto Sax / Bari Sax / Flute

Jonathon Kay
(Panama) - Tenor Sax
Luisito Orbegoso

(Peru) - Congas / Perc
Ruben Esguerra

(Colombia) - Bongos / Campana
Chendy Leon

(Cuba) - Drum set / Timbales
Ruben Vazquez

(Cuba) - Piano
Paco Luviano

(Mexico) - 6-string Electric Bass

 

Email:
matizado@brownman.com
 

Performance Dates:
Please check the
Gig Schedule
for all MATIZADO dates

Photos:
click here

Luisito Orbegoso - congasMarcus Ali - alto saxBERLIN Dec.19, 2000 - Is that Marrón singing??  Oh god... make it stop....!!Marrón - trumpetRicky being silly... Juan Carlos on guiro.
Click on images to enlarge.

The whole MARRÓN MATIZADO crew - Berlin Nightclub, Toronto - Oct 2001
 


MARRÓN MATIZADO's front line at Lula Lounge, Toronto - Jan 2003
 


A full house for MARRÓN MATIZADO at Lula Lounge, Toronto - Jan 2003
 


MARRÓN MATIZADO's front line at Markham Jazz Fest - Aug 2004
L to R - Marcus Ali, Marrón, Ricky Franco, Alex Naar
 


A'ight... we out... peace!


Visit the Brownman.com website
Visit the CRUZAO website
Visit the CRUZAO GRUPO MONSTRUOSO website
Visit the MARRÓN MATIZADO website
Visit the BROWNMAN AKOUSTIC QUARTET website
Visit the GRUVASYLUM website
Visit the ALI BROS website
Visit the CHIVA website
Visit the ODDBAWL website