Orquesta Universal is a veteran San Francisco Bay Area Salsa band led by Danilo Páiz. Páiz, who hails from Nicaragua, understands the importance of playing for the dancers. He provides a varied menu that makes it hard to get bored given the musical surprises he offers with diverse beats and textures. Orquesta Universal has added the sensual voice of Olga Vinnik, a newcomer to the salsa scene from Latvia (a former republic of the Soviet Union). She is one of the lead singers of the band and her harmonies and duet parts will keep your ears open and your feet moving.

As a percussionist, Páiz is a first-class musician who has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Rubén Blades, Benny Velarde and many others. As a bandleader, he has always led ensembles made up of high-caliber musicians assigned to perform his compositions and covers. In his extensive musical career, Páiz has played with extraordinary, internationally-known musicians such as Ray Baretto, Mary Wilson (of The Supremes), Andy Narell, Ray Obiedo, Dave Valentin, Dizzy Gillespie and Cal Tjader just to name a few. He demonstrates some of his best work on bongo and vocals on Rubén Blades' album, Rubén Blades y Son del Solar...Live!

(AAH-VAAN-CEH) v. Ahead of contemporary thought; the act or process of moving forward.

This is just one of many descriptions used to define this 13-piece salsa ensemble people have come to know as Avance. Avance originates and consists of the hottest and newest talents the San Francisco Bay Area has come to know.  Four electrifying bilingual singers, a sizzling horn section and one of the best rhythm sections on the West Coast. You put this all together and you get a new and unique sound that crosses the language barrier: Spanish and English.  Leading the group is Carlos Santana percussionist/musical director, Karl Perazzo, and co-founder/vocalist, Armando Cordoba. From Central America, Jeff Cordoba, Jimmy Flores and Armando Cordoba, bring to the table each, his own style of vocals; enriching each song with its own personality. Delivering rich vocals and an exhilarating dance show, these singers leave all audiences wanting more! Avance's musical productions combine and fuse all the different styles of Salsa: Puerto Rican, Cuban, New York and Colombian. Add to the mix R&B/pop, then you’ve got yourself a group with diversity and innovation; yet they are always familiar to the ear and, more importantly, to the soul. 

Avance's ultimate goal is to spread their music and inspire all over the world.

When you see and hear Avance you're guaranteed three things: sizzle, style and most of all swing!

Avance: on the cutting edge of excellence.

Pacific Mambo Orchestra has taken the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond by storm since its inception in 2010. Pacific Mambo Orchestra (PMO) has created quite a buzz recently. The orchestra established itself within just months as one of the most exciting live acts in the Bay Area by featuring some of Northern California’s finest musicians. Trumpeter Steffen Kuehn and pianist Christian Tumalan, both experienced bandleaders in their own right, formed this Latin Salsa Big Band to bring back and build upon the great Latin Big Band sounds of the 1940s through 1960s.

PMO plays the music of Latin giants, such as Machito, Tito Puente and Celia Cruz, and includes those rich traditions with their own contemporary and original arrangements. PMO is currently the only Latin Big Band on the West Coast that plays regularly; the orchestra performs in San Francisco on Monday nights at Café Cocomo (voted third best Salsa Club in the country by USA Today).

PMO's instrumentation consists of four trumpets, four trombones, five saxophones, piano, bass, timbales, congas, bongos and the female lead singer, Alexis Guillen.

The orchestra's members have performed and/or recorded with the industries' biggest names like Carlos Santana, Ray de la Paz, José Lugo Guasábara Orchestra, Los Adolescentes, Isaac Delgado, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Tito Rojas, La India, Victor Manuelle and many others.