Officials from the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts said they are proud to present a spectacular season opening-concert produced by Robert Sancho, featuring The Mambo Legends Orchestra, Lucrecia and Nelson Gonzalez, with the Del Caribe Latin Jazz All Stars on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 7.30 p.m.

According to the Center’s representatives, the Mambo Legends Orchestra was created in 2000 by former members of the Tito Puente Orchestra, led by John “Dandy” Rodriquez, Mitch Frohman, and musical director Jose Madera. They said famed bongocero John “Dandy” Rodriguez began performing as a teenager with Tito Rodriguez and played with Ray Barretto and Típica ’73 in the ‘70s before beginning his 27-year stint playing bongos in Tito Puente’s band.

They said Bronx native Mitch Frohman was the sax and flute soloist with the Tito Puente Orchestra for 25 years and has also played and recorded with famed Latin artists, such as Eddie and Charlie Palmieri, Paquito D’Rivera, Chico O’Farrill, and the Grammy award-winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra.

The Center’s representatives said musical director, timbalero and arranger Jose Madera started playing timbales with Machito as a teenager and was the first musical director for the Machito Orchestra. They added that he was Tito Puente’s conguero for 30 years and has performed on over 100 recordings by Latin, pop, R&B, and jazz artists. Their release, “Watch Out!” “¡Ten Cuidao!” (2011) was nominated for the Latin Grammy Award for Best Salsa Album and they were featured in the 2013 documentary film “For the Love of the Mambo.”

The Center’s representatives said Lucrecia was born in Cuba where she studied music and piano at El Instituto Superior de Arte [The Higher Institute of Art]. They said she joined the acclaimed all-female orchestra “Anacaona,” where she contributed to the vocal arrangements, played the keyboard, and also did musical arrangements.

They said Lucrecia contributed to the soundtrack for the Oscar-nominated film, “Balseros,” directed by Carles Bosch and Josep María Domenech. They added that in 1996, she participated in the tour, “Three Generations of Cuban Musicians with Paquito D’Rivera and Patato Valdés” and performed at Festival Womad in Cáceres and Las Palmas de Gran Canarias.

In addition, they said she is the producer and creator of the social-cultural event, “Premios Alegría de Vivir” [Joy of Living Awards]. Her album titled, “Álbum de Cuba,” [the Cuba Album] which was produced with the collaboration of Celia Cruz and Andy García, was nominated by the Latin Grammys as Best Contemporary Tropical Album in 2010. They went on to say that Lucrecia also collaborated on the American (2012) and Latin Grammy-award winning (2011) album “The Last Mambo.” She is currently on her “Aguas” [Waters] tour in Spain and in the U.S.

The Center’s representatives went on to say that Nelson Gonzalez, leader of the Del Caribe Latin Jazz All Stars and renowned tres [Cuban string instrument] player, was born in Puerto Rico and immigrated to New York in the 1960s. They said his first tres was lent to him by Andy Gonzalez and musicologist René López helped him learn how to play. They said in 1971, he performed his newfound instrument for the first time in Justo Betancourt’s Orchestra.

They said Gonzalez went on to play in the Larry Harlow Orchestra, which led to the creation of the Revelation Orchestra with Ismael Miranda. In 1973, they said he joined Grupo Típica ‘73, which went on to win the Best Salsa Band in Latin America award at the 1976 World Salsa Festival. They said his other achievements include winning the Best Tres Player of the Year award by Latin New York Magazine (1997-1999) and participating at  the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter in 1977.

They continued, saying Gonzalez is also featured on five Grammy Award-winning albums from artists, Gloria Estefan, Tito Puente, and Eddie Palmieri. They said he is the leader and tres player of Del Caribe Latin Jazz All Stars, which features Johnny ‘Dandy’ Rodríguez, Bobby Allende, Rubén Rodríguez, Orestes Vilató, Ricardo Pons and Pete Nater. Nelson, along with this legendary band, released Gracias Dizzy in 2021, which is a tribute to Dizzy Gillespie.

Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. is supported, in part, by public funds through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council and the Bronx delegation. Additional funding is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with support from the Office of the Governor of New York and the New York State Legislature. The 2023-2024 season is also made possible through sponsorship by Goya Foods, Con Edison, The Howard Gillman Foundation, Havana Café, and Friends of Lehman Center.

The Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is located on the campus of Lehman College/CUNY at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, NY 10468. Tickets for The Mambo Legends and Lucrecia on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 7:30 p.m. (VIP $100, $85, $65, $40, $35) can be purchased by calling the Lehman Center box office at (718) 960-8833 [para español (718) 960-8835] Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and beginning four hours prior to showtime on weekends, or online. The Lehman Center is accessible by subway via the 4 or D trains to Bedford Park Boulevard subway stations, or by road off the Saw Mill River Parkway and the Major Deegan Expressway.