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