Cuban pianist/composer/arranger Edgar Pantoja is nothing less than a force of nature on the contemporary jazz and Latin music scenes. His international collaborations with the likes of Rubén Blades, John Benítez, David Murray, Angelique Kidjo, Descemer Bueno, and Pedrito Martinez speak volumes, but witnessing a live Pantoja performance is where you will be converted. He is deceptive in his calm demeanor, making the difficult seem easy and the impossible, doable. He is a musical facilitator with elegant melodic taste and an uncanny rhythmic sense, always making his bandmates shine. And speaking of bandmates, he has assembled a monster crew of Bay Area heavies: bassist Ernesto Mazar Kindelán (Santiago de Cuba), percussionist Carlitos Medrano (Havana), guitarist David Lechuga-Espadas (San Jose) and drummer Colin Douglas (New York City).