Julio Jauregui

Julio Jauregui (piano) was born in Baton Rouge, LA and grew up in Mexico City. His mother, Mireya Lopez, also a pianist, instilled in him a passion for music. Julio’s musical education began at age 6 at Artene, a school which focuses on rhythmic structures in a group format. He studied at the National School of Music with a focus on percussion, studying with Julio Villegas and performing with the National Symphony Orchestra. In 1990, Julio moved to Eugene, OR, attending Lane Community College and later the University of Oregon, where he finished his music degree. There he studied jazz piano with Gary Versace and jazz improvisation with Steve Owen. In Eugene, Julio directed the salsa band Caliente, and collaborated on original compositions for Caliente’s recording “Voces Morenas”. He also played with “Saundunga” and “Combination to Go”, the latter a collaboration with Santana’s drummer, Mingo Lewis. Julio moved to Seattle in 1997, later becoming musical director of both Latin Expression and Matices, and co-founding Cambalache. Julio has recorded with Children of the Revolution, Guil Guimares, Jeff Busch, Nueva Era and others. He performed with Giovanni Hidalgo, Joe Santiago, Pablito “El Indio” Rosario and others in Joe Santiago’s Salsa All Stars concert in 2003. He has also performed with Adalberto Santiago, David Pabón, Hector Tricoche and Lalo Rodriguez. In 2001 he co-founded Tumbao, a latin sextet, with singer and long-time friend Carlos Cascante. Tumbao affords them the freedom to experiment with many avenues and types of performances; Tumbao’s recording, “Recuerdos” features that versatility.