Annette A. Aguilar

Did You Know?

• The band has been selected three times as Latin Jazz Ambassadors by the U.S. State Department's 'Rhythm Road' program.
• In Madagascar, the band played for President Marc Ravalomanana.

Early life and education

Aguilar was born in San Francisco to Nicaraguan parents. She began playing drums in sixth grade after seeing the Beatles on television, starting with drum set and hand percussion at a summer workshop and later taking up snare drum. Influenced by the San Francisco music scene and Santana, she played Latin rock as a teen and performed with José Areas, Cal Tjader, and Sheila E. by age sixteen. As an undergraduate in classical music at San Francisco State University, she played in a Latin-Brazilian jazz group and the Bay Area Women's Philharmonic. She earned a master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music and another in music education from the City University of New York, and studied Latin music with Louis Bauzo and Jerry Gonzalez.

Career

Aguilar first joined the all-women reggae group Casselberry-DuPreé in 1981, relocating with them to New York City four years later. She contributed to their album City Down, which was produced by Linda Tillery and earned a NAIRD award for Best Reggae Album of 1986; the band also toured Europe, where they had a larger following than in the U.S. She helped found the San Francisco band Chevere. In 1992 she launched her own Latin and Brazilian jazz ensemble, Annette A. Aguilar & StringBeans, a name that reflects the prominent use of string instruments like violin and harp.

The group gained a following in New York’s Lower East Side and East Village, has released three albums, and has performed at venues such as the Kennedy Center and Jazz at Lincoln Center, as well as internationally. Aguilar has played percussion alongside Tito Puente, Stevie Wonder, and the Grateful Dead, and appeared in Broadway productions including Streetcorner Symphony, The Capeman, and the Grammy-winning Smokey Joe's Cafe. She teaches percussion at the Third Street Music School Settlement in New York and founded the first annual Women in Latin Jazz Festival in Upper Manhattan in 2014.