ABOUT US
ADAM PUGLIA - GUITARIST, BAND LEADER
Adam Puglia was born in New York City, grew up in the New York area and now lives in Brooklyn. The son of a jazz guitarist, Adam has been a Santana fan from an early age. He studied both performance and music theory at The Juilliard School.
Adam played CBGB’s at 15 years old and has been playing shows in the New York area ever since.
With SantanaRia, Adam has played the New York venues, BB Kings Main Stage, The Cutting Room, The Taste Of Tribeca Food Festival, Cafe Wha?, Club Groove, The Front Row Cube, Drom, The Red Lion, The Stephen Talk House.
ALEX BRADFORD - VOCALIST, KEYBOARDIST
Alex is a classically trained vocalist and pianist from Dallas, Texas who now calls Manhattan home.
Santana's music is one of his earliest musical influences. So being a member of SantanaRia is a passion and a privilege for him.
GREG PAUL - VOCALIST, PERCUSSIONIST
Greg grew up a native of the California music scene and now lives in NYC. He plays percussion and guitar and has been singing professionally for over 30 years.
Greg sings and plays percussion in SantanaRia and has played shows with SantanaRia at BB Kings Main Stage, The Front Row Cube and Cafe Wha?, Club Groove.
An accomplished singer /songwriter, he was signed by Warner/Elektra/Asylum records. He performed as percussionist/vocalist with Bay Area Bands that include Santana, Malo, Azteca, The Doobie Brothers, Little Feat and Tower Of Power, while touring with them as a sound engineer.
Greg branched out from his musical career to follow a career in acting. He has appeared in the shows, Blue Bloods, Gotham, Person Of Interest, Law and Order, SVU. He works behind the camera as executive producer for the web series, “ When It Goes Wrong “ and the Comedy Central pilot “ Open House “. Look for Greg on ID Discovery, In The Perfect Murder, Redrum and the new series Momsters. See IMDG Greg Paul (II) for more info and follow Greg Paul-Actor on Facebook and Twitter@gregpaulstar.
JIMMY FONTANEZ - KEYBOARDIST, VOCALIST, PERCUSSIONIST
Jimmy Fontanez is a native New Yorker and now lives in North Bergen NJ. He’s been playing percussion since age five and piano since age thirteen. He is fluent on all latin percussion, and also on drums and keyboards. Jimmy plays all those instruments in SantananRia. Jimmy has played shows with SantanaRia at BB Kings Main Stage, The Front Row Cube and Cafe Wha?, Club Groove.
He’s a founding member of Los Ciegos Del Barrio, a multi-‐genre Latin group. Jimmy has shared the stage with legendary timbalero Tito Puente, salsa singer Andy Montañez . Jimmy’s musical talents have brought him to Russia, The Dominican Republic, and Cuba.
A gifted composer, Jimmy’s a cappella song Mi Salsa Vocal received a 2009 Independent Music Award in the Latin category (“judge’s pick”). He co-wrote the song Con Mi Ritmo (With Rhythm) featured in the Disney movie, "Old Dogs" and he recently composed music for BlindAlive, an innovative fitness program for the visually impaired.
Jimmy has over 25 years of experience in the field of Music Production with a certificate of audio engineering from The Institute of Audio Research in NYC. Jimmy’s studio work specializes in sequencing and sound design with virtual instruments from Native Instruments’ Massive as well as Logic Pro’s ES2 Virtual Synthesizer. He does freelance mixing and mastering projects, often working out of his home studio in North Bergen, NJ or Visionary Media Studios where he works as a Logic Pro Trainer and Studio Technician.
FERNANDO GARCIA - DRUMMER, PERCUSSIONIST
Fernando García is a native of Puerto Rico and is a Berklee College of Music graduate. He’s a drummer, percussionist, and composer who now lives in NYC. Fernando has played shows with SantanaRia at BB Kings Main Stage, Cafe Wha?, Club Groove.
From the age of 14 Fernando was playing drums and congas professionally in Puerto Rico. At 17 years of age, he was performing at the Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Fest. These early experiences inspired him to study music further at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico. During his time there, he took lessons with Héctor Matos, who would go on to become a life long mentor and friend.
Fernando proudly accepted the Juan Luis Guerra scholarship to study at The Berklee College of Music graduate campus in Valencia, Spain. Berklee Valencia gave Fernando the opportunity to study, work and perform with world-class musicians such as Abraham Laboriel, Perico Sambeat, and Diego “El Cigala,”. He has studied privately with Victor Mendoza, Mariano Steimberg, Yoel Páez, and Alain Perez.
Fernando graduated from Berklee Valencia and moved to New York City in 2013 where he has established himself as a drummer, percussionist, composer and educator.
ADAM BAINE - BASSIST
Adam Baine is a native and resident of Syosset Long Island. He is a bass player / composer and is in the final year of study for a bachelors degree in music from Nassau Community College. Adam plays bass in SantanaRia and has played shows with SantanaRia at BB Kings Main Stage, The Front Row Cube and Cafe Wha?, Club Groove.
He is a private bass instructor and is alsocurrently playing shows with his fusion jazz styled original project “Strategic”.
EMPRESS THEODORA - DANCER
American actress Sylvie Hartley, performing as "The Empress Theodora", is so thrilled to be a part of this amazing band. The Empress Theodora has played shows with SantanaRia at BB Kings Main Stage, The Front Row Cube and Cafe Wha?, Club Groove.
Sylvie carries a strong passion for theatre, musical theatre and classical ballet.
She has BFA in Modern Dance, and MFA in Acting. As a professional dancer she has worked with choreographers Ismael Ivo, Douglass Dunn, Garry Galbraith, Linda Diamond, Milton Myers and many more...
You can find her at sylviehartley.com
JIMMY LOPEZ - PERCUSSIONIST, VOCALIST
Hailing from Brooklyn, NY, Jimmy is a world music multi-Percussionist.
Jimmy plays percussion and sings in SantanaRia, and has played shows with SantanaRia at BB Kings Main Stage, The Front Row Cube and Cafe Wha?, Club Groove.
A student, explorer & experimenter with world percussion instruments, combining global ethnic playing techniques along with his diverse percussion palette, has led him to be the percussionist of choice for many artists. When not touring, Jimmy is a music educator in public schools and generously shares his knowledge with fellow musicians.
jimmy-lopez.com
“I am in love with percussion! I love all the textures, sounds, grooves, and looks of percussion instruments” – Jimmy Lopez