Santa Mamba is a complex fusing of musical styles and personalities that is best described through the unique offerings each member brings to the band. There’s Gio, icon and visionary, whose voice is strikingly unique in the way it oscillates between the salsa troubadour and the rocker. There’s John, whose expressive approach to the guitar ranges from flamenco fingerstyle to Hendrixian wailing. There’s Candido, a deeply-feeling drummer who has been appropriately described as blending “equal parts John Bonham and Tito Puente.” There’s Aaron, who tinges the band’s flavor with a touch of jazz and classical through his schooled understanding of the piano, and whose bass voice offers a unique counterpoint to Gio’s lead vocals. There’s Nick, who looks like he’s in the wrong band, but who has found an unprecedented way to make it seem like slap-punk-funk bass and Latin music always belonged together. His attitude and energy are hallmarks of the Santa Mamba live performance. And there’s Gary, who embodies both the power and the party with a presence behind the congas that is both commanding and fun.

Rock, salsa, reggaeton, funk, rap, jazz, rhumba, merengue, bachata, disco, reggae, bolero, son… elements of all these sounds can be heard in the music of Santa Mamba. Influences include Santana, Ruben Blades, the Beatles, Juan Luis Guerra, the Police, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Buena Vista Social Club, the Gipsy Kings, and Mana.

Though the name Santa Mamba has only been around since 2005, the band has evolved naturally from Planet Groove, a RI-based genre-defying sonic experiment that was started in 1994 by Ajay Coletta, John Medeiros, and Leith MacArthur. Though Leith and Ajay have since retired from the project, John continues to bring to Santa Mamba the experience and professionalism of a much longer-lived music project. The band takes as much pride in offering dependable, professional service as they do in creating top quality music and entertainment.

If you would like to know more about Santa Mamba, please visit Santa Mamba’s website, which has a robust archive of photos from various live shows, a music page where you can listen to studio and live sample cuts, a complete gig schedule, press & media downloads, and profiles on all the band members and their history: www.santamamba.com.