The Lunar Octet

Preparing to celebrate their 40th anniversary of playing original Latin jazz, Ann Arbor’s award-winning Lunar Octet will celebrate their homecoming to the Ark by playing music from their new CD on Summit Records called “Convergence”. The record was the #1 New Release in Latin Jazz on Amazon and was named among the best jazz CDs in the Annual Jazz Critics Poll. Downbeat Magazine said, “Convergence bursts with joy and authority.” From the first note of the record, you know that the Lunar Octet offers creative and original Latin jazz. The band plays highly original and eclectic music, drawing on Cuban and Puerto Rican salsa, rock, African high-life music, and Brazilian sambas to forge a new sound enriched by these traditions. The band’s original compositions involve rich arrangements and Jazz Life Magazine called “colorful and tight grooves, gorgeous three-horn arrangements, and strong solos”. The band’s music is exciting, dynamic, and powerful, including fiery Latin grooves, driving funk rhythms, swinging bop tunes, and romantic ballads.