When the Ottawa Latin Jazz Conference returns to the National Arts Centre from September 25–27, 2026, its third edition will place Canada’s multicultural music community at the center of the conversation.

Presented by Latin Hub Canada, this year’s conference celebrates the creative strength of Canada’s diaspora and the ways artists from different backgrounds are reshaping the intersections between jazz, Latin American music, Caribbean traditions, Brazilian music and contemporary improvisation. Along with three days of concerts, the program includes a panel on Latin jazz education and an Afro-Cuban jazz workshop.

Rachelle Behrens: An Ottawa Voice Rooted in the Americas

Opening-night artist Rachelle Behrens gives the conference an important connection to Ottawa. The Chilean-descended Canadian vocalist has been part of the city’s musical community for more than three decades, developing a style shaped by Latin music, jazz and soul.

Her multilingual repertoire draws from across the Americas, while collaboration with Ottawa-area musicians has given her performances a strong sense of place. Behrens represents one of the conference’s central ideas: multicultural music in Canada grows locally as artists combine heritage, experience and new surroundings.

Anh Phung & Civil Lizard: Music Without Borders

Flutist and multi-instrumentalist Anh Phung brings another kind of musical openness. With Civil Lizard, she joins guitarist Sam Gleason, bassist Alan Mackie and drummer Steven Foster in a quartet built on the chemistry of longtime collaborators.

Their music moves freely among jazz, rock, traditional music and improvisation, leaving room for each performance to evolve onstage. In a conference devoted to cultural exchange, Civil Lizard offers a reminder that crossing musical boundaries can be as meaningful as defining them.

Orlando Cardoso Trio: Cuban Tradition in Motion

Born in Matanzas, Cuba, pianist and composer Orlando Cardoso brings decades of Cuban musical experience to the conference. His career has included years as a pianist with Juan de Marcos González and the Afro-Cuban All Stars, alongside collaborations with Andy Montañez, José Alberto “El Canario,” Roberto Roena, David Sánchez and Giovanni Hidalgo.

As a bandleader, Cardoso has released Personal Touch and his latest album, Passing By, issued in October 2025. The nine-track recording further develops his voice as a pianist and composer and features renowned Cuban drummer Horacio “El Negro” Hernández.

For his Ottawa debut, Cardoso appears with Mark Kelso on drums and Yoser Rodriguez on bass, forming a trio ideally suited to the dialogue between Cuban rhythmic traditions and jazz improvisation.

João Lenhari: Brazilian Jazz, Education and Montréal

Brazilian-born trumpeter, composer, arranger and educator João Lenhari has been based in Montréal since 2021. After studying at UNICAMP in Brazil, he completed a doctorate in jazz performance at the Université de Montréal, where he serves as a guest professor and directs the university’s Big Band.

Lenhari also joins Hilario Durán and Carleton University’s Allyson Rogers for the panel “Bringing Latin Jazz into Canadian Music Education.” His dual role as performer and educator reflects a conference concerned not only with presenting the music, but with passing its history and language to future generations.

Oná Ensemble: Brazil Meets Toronto

Toronto’s Oná Ensemble offers a clear expression of the conference’s multicultural theme. The Canadian-Brazilian chamber-jazz group draws largely on compositions by guitarist André Valério and combines Brazilian traditions with jazz improvisation and chamber-music textures.

Its distinctive instrumentation—two French horns, bassoon, reeds, guitar, bass and percussion—gives the ensemble an immediately recognizable sound. Traces of Brazil, Voices of Toronto places Brazilian ideas within Toronto’s creative environment, showing how migration and collaboration can generate new possibilities without losing connection to cultural roots.

Adis Rodríguez: The Continuing Power of Cuban Song

Toronto-based Cuban vocalist Adis Rodríguez brings the legacy of Cuban song into Saturday’s program. Her Havana 1950s project revisits the richness of Cuba’s popular-music traditions, while her performances place equal emphasis on song, personal memory and cultural storytelling.

Rodríguez adds an essential reminder that Latin jazz is not only an instrumental language. It is also inseparable from song, storytelling and cultural memory.

Joy Lapps Project: Expanding the Caribbean Conversation

With Joy Lapps, the conference broadens its Caribbean perspective beyond Cuba. The Toronto-born steelpan artist, composer and educator is of Antiguan and Barbudan descent and has built a distinctive musical voice around an instrument deeply rooted in Caribbean history.

Her work brings steelpan into dialogue with jazz and wider Caribbean influences, while her broader practice emphasizes education, community engagement and recognition of women’s contributions to the steelband movement. Her appearance reinforces the Caribbean’s place within this musical conversation.

Hilario Durán & Jorge Luis “Papiosco” Torres: Returning to the Afro-Cuban Source

The conference reaches one of its deepest historical points with pianist Hilario Durán and percussionist Jorge Luis Torres “Papiosco.”

Durán, born in Havana, was Chucho Valdés’ successor in the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna before spending nine years as pianist, arranger and musical director with Arturo Sandoval. Since moving to Canada in 1998, he has become one of the country’s leading Latin jazz artists and educators.

A multiple JUNO winner and GRAMMY nominee, Durán won the 2024 Latin GRAMMY for Best Arrangement for “Night in Tunisia.”

At OLJC, Durán and Papiosco present Yoruba & Jazz, a project exploring the meeting of Yoruba-derived Afro-Cuban rhythmic traditions and contemporary jazz improvisation. They will also lead Saturday’s Afro-Cuban Jazz Workshop, linking the conference’s educational mission directly to its performance program.

Many Journeys, One Canadian Stage

Friday, September 25 features Rachelle Behrens, Anh Phung & Civil Lizard and the Orlando Cardoso Trio. Saturday brings Oná Ensemble, João Lenhari and Adis Rodríguez. Sunday closes with the Joy Lapps Project and Hilario Durán with Jorge Luis Papiosco.

What connects these artists is not a single nationality or a narrow definition of Latin jazz. It is movement—of people, traditions, ideas and musical languages across borders.

For three days in Ottawa, those paths will meet on the same stage, offering a vivid picture of a Canadian Latin jazz scene rooted in history while continuing to expand through migration, collaboration and cultural exchange.

Ottawa Latin Jazz Conference Celebrates the Strength of Canada’s Multicultural Diaspora in Its Third Edition

OTTAWA, ON – The Ottawa Latin Jazz Conference returns to the National Arts Centre from September 25–27, 2026, bringing a dynamic third edition shaped by a powerful and timely theme: celebrating the extraordinary talent of Canada’s multicultural diaspora and its growing impact on the evolution of Latin jazz.

Presented by Latin Hub Canada, this year’s conference highlights how artists from diverse cultural backgrounds have enriched Canada’s musical landscape, transforming the intersections between genres and redefining the future of Latin jazz.

The 2026 program features concerts, workshops, panel discussions, and networking sessions showcasing leading multicultural performers, including Anh Phung, Orlando Cardoso, Rachelle Behrens, Oná Ensemble, João Lenhari, Adis Rodriguez, Joy Lapps, and Grammy Award–winning Cuban-Canadian pianist, composer, and educator Hilario Durán, internationally recognized as one of the foremost ambassadors of Latin jazz.

Designed for students, professional musicians, and music enthusiasts, this year’s educational focus centers on Afro-Cuban rhythmic traditions and the importance of strengthening Latin jazz education in Canada. Participants will engage in an immersive learning experience that deepens understanding of the genre’s roots and contemporary expressions.

The Ottawa Latin Jazz Conference continues to serve as a vital meeting point — a unique platform where artists, educators, students, and audiences come together to collaborate, amplify the presence of Latin jazz within Canada’s artistic ecosystem, and shape new musical narratives that resonate far beyond the stage.

Event Information

Ottawa Latin Jazz Conference 2026
September 25–27, 2026
National Arts Centre – Public Spaces and Fourth Stage. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

The complete artist lineup and schedule will be announced shortly.

Follow us on social media for more updates:
Instagram: @thelatinhubcanada
Facebook: Latin Hub Canada

(Bronx, N.Y.)—As the FIFA World Cup shines a spotlight on cultures from around the globe, the Bronx Music Hall (BMH) is celebrating the borough’s own international roots with a July lineup featuring Afro-Dominican music, Latin jazz, and a concert honoring the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s first World Cup appearance since 1974.

Highlights include July 11’s tribute to the late Afro-Dominican music legend Enerolisa Nuñez, known as the “Queen of Salve,” featuring a performance by her daughter Yrene “Yeni” Nuñez. On July 17, the Bronx Rising! Kuba Festival celebrates Congolese culture through music, dance, drumming, and visual arts.

Currently, Bronx Music Hall is participating in New York City’s new NYC Neighborhood Passport program, launched in conjunction with the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ to encourage New Yorkers and visitors to explore the city’s diverse neighborhoods, cultural institutions, and community organizations.

July Lineup

Thurs., July 9 — Nuevas Voces: Gabriela Anders & Los Dukes

8 PM | $15

Contemporary vocalist Gabriela Anders’s new nine-piece band “Los Dukes” features Duke Ellington songs, but reimagined in a wildly distinctive Latin American style. Anders describes “Los Dukes” as an explosive, artistic, riotously fun post-macho latin-jazz experience featuring New York City’s baddest gauchos. Los Dukes rocks the groove from all corners of Latin America from North to South and beyond. Her all-star band features Bobby Sanabria, Chris Washburne, Oreste Abrantes and more.

Fri., July 11 — Tributo a Enerolisa Nuñez La Reina de las Salves 

7:00 PM – 10:00 PM | $20

Join us for a night of Afro-Dominican music in celebration of the life and legacy of Enerolisa Nuñez, “The Queen of Salve.” Enerolisa’s daughter, Yrene “Yeni” Nuñez, will sing the ancestral songs she inherited from her mother, and the long lineage of Afro-Dominican musicians that came before. Enerolisa was the most famous salve singer of the Dominican Republic and her voice gave light to these traditions all over the world. Enerolisa passed away on February 28, 2026, but her legacy lives forever through the songs she left the world. Join us in elevating her legacy and celebrating her life!

Wed., July 15 — Bochinchando: Uptown Solo Festival

Doors: 6:30 PM | Event: 7 PM | $12

Our comedy series returns with a new format featuring comics performing excerpts from their solo shows. New York comedy staple Peaches Rodriguez hosts the show, featuring comics Sashalyn Medina and Sara Contreras, who has opened up for El Gran Combo. After the two featured comics, a Q&A is scheduled to occur.

Thurs., July 16 — The Word on 163rd

Event: 7 PM | $5

The Bronx Music Hall’s spoken-word open mic returns, hosted by Bronx poet Sumbodies Mama, and special guest Kai Diata Giovanni. Sumbodies Mama is a Bronx-born spoken-word artist and 2024 Nuyorican Grand Slam Champion known for her heartfelt performances, introspection, and masterful wordplay.

Fri., July 17 — Bronx Rising!: Kuba Festival – Rumba: From Kinshasha to the Bronx

6:00 PM | Free – $20

Kuba Festival: Rumba from Kinshasa to the Bronx is a multidisciplinary cultural festival celebrating Congolese Rumba, Kuba aesthetics, Afro-diasporic artistic exchange, community drumming, dance, visual arts, and cultural diplomacy. The festival bridges traditions from the Democratic Republic of the Congo with Bronx and Afro-diasporic cultural communities through live performance, fashion, drum circles, art exhibitions, and educational engagement.

• Concert: $20
• Drummers and artwork: Free

Thurs., July 30 — History of Rincón Criollo

7:00 PM – 9:00 PM | $15

Join us to commemorate the legacy of José “Chema” Soto, a beloved Bronx leader who founded the La Casita community garden. A historical panel discussion will celebrate 50 years of Rincón Criollo with never before seen photos by award-winning photographer Martha Cooper. Afterwards, Mildred Cruz and Sembrando Cultura are scheduled to perform.

About the Bronx Music Hall

The Bronx Music Hall is a 14,000-square-foot performance venue and community cultural center developed by WHEDco. Opened in 2024, it is the borough’s first newly constructed, independent music performance venue in more than 50 years and serves as the permanent home of the Bronx Music Heritage Center (BMHC). The BMH features a 250-seat theater, lobby and exhibition hall, multi-use classroom and studio, green room, and outdoor plazas, and serves as the permanent home of the Bronx Music Heritage Center (BMHC). The venue presents live music, dance, film, theater, classes, and community events that honor, showcase, and cultivate the Bronx’s creative legacy. Learn more and purchase tickets: bronxmusichall.org.

About WHEDco

The Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco) is a nonprofit based in the South Bronx that builds award-winning affordable homes and creates access to resources that support thriving neighborhoods—from high-quality early education and youth programs to economic opportunity, healthy food, and the arts. Learn more: whedco.org.

Source: Bronx Music Hall