Line-Up
Claudia Ramos Barreto
Vocals / Violin
Claudia Ramos Barreto. She grew up in a family of musicians in Havana, Cuba. In 2008, she began her training in classical music as a violinist at the Paulita Concepción School. Some time later, she discovered jazz singing. Numerous performances followed, including a permanent engagement at the renowned Jazz Café. In 2018, she graduated from the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory. She was a singer in the Coro Polifónico de La Habana. In 2020, she was a member of the young women’s vocal quartet Quadrigales. She currently lives in Cologne and is a singer with the “Benedikt Hesse Trio” and a violinist and singer with “Los Pipos”.
Geo del Valle Miranda
Trumpet / flugelhorn / valve trombone
Mexican trumpet player Geo del Valle began his musical studies at the age of 8 under the guidance of his father (trombonist). Before graduating from FAM – UNAM (Mexico), he was accepted at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln (Germany) to finish his studies.Geo plays different styles of music and works as a freelancer in Germany and Europe. He has experience in different orchestras such as: Orquesta del teatro de Bellas Artes, OFUNAM, Klassische Philharmonie Bonn, Kammerphilharmonie Rhein-Erft. He has also accompanied pop music singers such as Lila Downs and Kike Neira. Throughout his musical career he has played on various stages such as the Berlin Konzerthaus, Jazz Schmiede, North Sea Jazz Festival, Palacio de Bellas Artes, Düsseldorf Festival, Auditorio Nacional, Kölner Philharmonie and many others. He currently plays in the “Neue Rheinische Kammer Orchester”, is a trumpet teacher at the Musikschule Düren (Germany) and conducts trumpet development courses in Mexico. Geo is the trumpet player of the Latin jazz ensemble “Los Pipos”, with whom he recorded his first studio CD “HILOS”. Perseverance is a key trait he uses to grow and inspires him every day to continue and share his music.
Philip Kukulies
Percussion Set-Up
Born in Düsseldorf, Germany, percussionist Philip Kukulies had his first contact with drums at the age of 6 through his father Thomas Kukulies, drummer and founder of the band “Salsa Picante”. He studied with various drummers/percussionists such as Yeismel Grandal, Betún Valdes, Tomas “el Panga” Ramos, Nils Fischer, Adel González, Juan Carlos “el Peje” Rojas, Udo Demandt, Iuri Passos and others. He specializes in Latin Percussion and received his Bachelor of Music (Cum Laude) in 2019 from Codarts Music Academy in Rotterdam (The Netherlands). During his studies, he was awarded the Holland Scholarship and completed a six-month exchange in Salvador da Bahia (Brazil). In his professional career, it is worth highlighting the musical activity of recent years, in which he has had numerous performances with different groups such as Salsa Picante, Colektivo, Codaku, Son de Aquí, Leonardo Prieto Ensemble, Vientos del Sur and Los Pipos. In 2022, Philip went on a multi-week tour to Mexico with the groups Leonardo Prieto Ensemble and Son De Aquí, performing concerts throughout the country. In addition, the percussionist has already collaborated with world-renowned choreographer Jean Sasportes in the dance project “Scenes from Chaos”. Philip has performed at prestigious international festivals including the North Sea Jazz Festival, Dürener Jazzfestival, Afro Latino Festival (Belgium), Zwarte Cross (Netherlands), Días Latinos (Netherlands), Düsseldorf Festival!, De Doelen Rotterdam, Biblioteca Vasconcelos (Mexico City), Los Pinos (Mexico City).
Juniors Cesar Sarracent
Bass
Classical guitar meets Cuban joie de vivre: Juniors Cesar Sarracent feels two hearts in his chest. Born in La Habana (Cuba) in 1988, he fell in love with his instrument at an early age. He began his musical training at the age of eight. His teacher Roberto Kessel accompanies him through his apprenticeship at the renowned Paulita Concepción music school in La Habana. Juniors Sarracent completed his academic training as a chamber music teacher at the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory in 2006. In 2010, he graduates with top grades in classical guitar and popular music at the Instituto Superior de Arte de la Habana and receives first prize in the guitar competition “Isaac Nicola” (Ira Edición). Through the associated scholarship, he comes to Germany to continue his studies, including in Düsseldorf as a master student in the class of Professor Joaquin Clerch. In 2017, he receives his concert exam with top marks – for his Germany orchestra debut, he was selected to perform as a soloist with the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen. Due to his artistic diversity, he was also invited by the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf in 2018 to teach the subject South American Folklore and has been a lecturer ever since. In addition to his academic and artistic training in the classical subject, the traditional music of his homeland plays a major role for Sarracent. In numerous bands and projects, such as the international band Los Pipos, he pursues this great love and is an active and respected member of the nationwide music scene. In the foreground always his almost indomitable passion for music and the great joy of playing. Whether as a solo guitarist in the classical field or as a multi-instrumentalist in his bands, at concerts, sessions or spontaneous situations in which it overcomes the full-blooded musician – in any case, it is intoxicating when Juniors Cesar Sarracent makes music.
Ramón Mendeville
Vocals / Percussion
Chilean-dutch Ramon Mendeville started making music at an early age. Throughout the years he gained experience with a broad variety of genres and instruments that made him to be the musician, singer and producer he is today. Latin, hiphop, jazz and pop form an important part of his musical background and he brings their musical elements together in his music.
After getting his bachelor degree in latin vocals at the Rotterdam conservatory in 2016, he threw himself into playing, touring and producing. He has been touring with projects of Lucas van Merwijk, Gerardo Rosales, Drumdrumdrum and his band ‘Modji’ amongst others.
In the last six years Germany has started to become his second home due to the fact that he has a significant role as frontman/songwriter/percussionist of the, in Germany based, latin-jazz band ‘Los Pipos’. Apart of playing shows together Ramon actively takes part in the composition and production of their new music. They recently recorded a videoclip together for a new original composition called ‘La Selva’. Also with Lucas van Merwijk’s ‘Latin Devils’ he has been touring around in German theaters as lead singer since 2019.
Ramon recently spends most of his time in his studio frequently releasing new music on Spotify amongst other platforms.
Enrique Delgado
Piano / Keyboard
Enrique Delgado Maguiña, born in Lima (Peru) in 1998, began playing the piano at the age of 10. However, music had accompanied him since his early childhood. After graduating from the German school in Lima, he decided to move to Germany to study music. At the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, he was taught by outstanding pianists of the jazz scene, including Florian Weber, Lars Dupler and Thomas Rückert. They accompanied him in his education and deepening in the jazz language as well as in the development of his own sound. In 2022, thanks to the support of the DAADs scholarship, he finished his music studies with very good results.
Since 2019, the young (Latin) jazz pianist has been active in the German music scene, either with his own trio or as a band member of various formations such as Rayen (South American folk jazz) or Los Pipos (Latin jazz band). With his projects he was allowed to perform on many stages in the Westphalian area like in the Theater Münster, Bunker Bielefeld or Blue Note Osnabrück.
