Sofrito y Su Melao

Sofrito y Su Melao is a live Cuban, Caribbean, and Latin band under the federal nonprofit All Rhythms, which has provided performances, interactive workshops, and enrichment programs to underserved communities since 2012. Sofrito specializes in music from Cuba and the Caribbean, including son, salsa, guajira, chachacha, cumbia, merengue, pilon, rumba, bolero, and more. They've performed at emblematic Austin venues such as Central Market, Radio Coffee, and Regal Rooms, and regularly perform and teach at Title I schools and Austin Parks and Recreation centers, as well as rehearse and mentor their own Youth Ensemble on Saturdays. The band is known for interactive performance-workshops that integrate Cuban and Caribbean music with cultural and historical context, bilingual literacy-based learning, dancing, and opportunities for volunteers to play alongside the band. Musical director Ian Fry is American and Latin GRAMMY Award-nominated and draws on numerous trips to Santiago de Cuba to lead a group of Austin's virtuosic Latin-jazz musicians. Sofrito also performs musical readings of Cuban folktales, and an original story the group wrote based in Eastern Cuba. Their preferred instrumentation is a nine-piece band, but they are just as engaging as a septet or as a more intimate Cuban trovador-style quartet. Photo by Zebadiah Badgett - ZB Imagery.