Melvis Santa

Grammy Nominee Melvis Santa is known for her multidisciplinary artistry. Vocalist, composer, actress, and educator born and raised in Havana, Cuba, Melvis made a splash at 14 when she founded the all-female collective Sexto Sentido, a project that jazz great Chucho Valdés deemed as “the best Cuban vocal quartet of the past 30 years.” In 2010 Melvis spread wings and became one of the lead vocalists of seminal Cuban Timba-Funk fusion band Interactivo, led by Roberto Carcassés. Later she went solo and formed her own group. Her debut album as a bandleader, Santa Habana (Bis Music) obtained a Cubadisco nomination in 2012. Currently based in New York, Melvis continues to make a mark as an educator and performer. Her project Ashedí, it’s a collaboration that has features original compositions and traditional folk Afro Cuban styles, including Rumba. Likewise, Melvis has taught clinics and masterclasses at NYU, Yale University, UArts, Chicago Jazz Phillarmonic, and she’s a teaching artist of City Lore and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. Collaborations along her career includes the who’s who of the Latin and Jazz communities, such as Buena Vista Social Club, Muñequitos de Matanzas, Team Cuba de La Rumba, Pedrito Martínez, Román Díaz, Xiomara Laugart, Arturo O’Farrill, Bobby Sanabria, Osmany Paredes, David Virelles, Ravi Coltrane, Christian McBride, Andy Bey, Dee Dee Bridgewater,and many others.