A List 1/31/05 LATIN JAZZ PERFORMANCE SLATED AT ST. LAWRENCE CANTON – Latin jazz musicians Chris Washburne and SYOTOS will perform at St. Lawrence University on Wednesday, February 2, at 8 p.m. in the Laurentian Room of the Student Center. It is open to the public, free of charge. SYOTOS (See You On The Other Side) was founded in 1992 by trombonist Washburne and features some of the best Latin jazz players on the New York scene. The group's regular performance schedule, performing at various venues throughout the New York area, as well as hosting the longest-running New York Latin jazz jam session at the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe for the past seven years, has enabled it to function as a workshop for developing new composing and arranging techniques that bring together Afro-Cuban, Puerto Rican, Brazilian, Armenian and various jazz styles. Washburne's goal for the group is to forge new sounds that bring a vitality and freshness to the Latin jazz arena and represent the next generation of Latin jazz performers. The group's name refers to a time in 1992 when Washburne was diagnosed with severe nerve cancer and told that he had only a 50-50 chance of surviving an operation but no chance whatsoever of ever playing the trombone again. He insisted that before going into the hospital he play one more gig. After the show, he turned to his bandmates and said "see you on the other side." Washburne survived the operation but was left with severe nerve loss and damage to one side of his face. Proving the experts wrong, he managed to re-master his instrument and become an even better player. -30- Back To News Releases Back to St. Lawrence Homepage