Calixto Oviedo is a Latin Grammy nominated artist (La Rumba del Siglo, 2000) who has had the opportunity to play with numerous internationally known artists such as Paquito D’Rivera, Arturo Sandoval, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Chucho Valdés, Danilo Pérez, David Sanchez, Luis Conte, Ray Barreto, Giovanni Hidalgo, Alfredo Rodriguez, Dave Valentin, Juan Pablo Torres, Orlando “Maraca” Valle and Tony Martínez as well as the celebrated Cuban percussionists Tata Güines, José Luis “Changuito” Quintana, and Miguel “Angá” Diaz in a very successful career that spans over 38 years.

Calixto was born on October 14, 1955 in the Havana barrio of La Vibora and his earlier musical recollection was at the age of two or three, waiting in front of the television, toy violin in hand, waiting to play along with the performances of his favorite band, La Orquesta Aragón.

It was at the advanced age of four, however, that it became clear to this young prodigy that his true calling was to play the drums so, he discarded his toy violin in favor of a plastic bucket, several empty cans, and an old frying pan, all of which he played with drumsticks fashioned from coat hangers.

At the ripe age of eight, he entered the primary music school of Caturla in Havana, and appeared with several famous Cuban musicians, among them the piano master Rubén Gonzalez. After graduating from the National High School of the Arts, he plays with many different bands, such as the Radio & Television Orchestra, Grupo Achére. Later, he joined the band of the Cuban bolero singer Pacho Alonso. In the early 80’s, he became the very first drummer in the band of Arturo Sandoval, after he left Irakere.

In 1983, with his old school mate, Adalberto Alvarez, he founded the Adalberto y Su Son orchestra, where he played timbales and stayed there until the beginning of 1990, when he joined the music group Pachito Alonso y Sus Kini Kini, where he stayed for a year until 1991, where he would start playing the drums and timbales in N.G. La Banda, considered by many to be the creators of the a new Cuban sound, the “Timba”, the best and most exciting Cuban dance group of the 1990s. That band was formed in 1988 by flute player José Luis Cortés and included many brilliant musicians who had formerly played with Irakere and Los Van Van.

The group was best known for placing emphasis on tight rhythms and their aggressive brass section, nicknamed the Terror Brass, with Calixto’s drums and timbales at the forefront. He was their drummer during the period that produced many of their greatest recordings; Santa Palabra, Échale Limón, and El Trágico. In the mid-90’s, he relocated to Sweden, during which time he made an excellent Timba record, La Recompensa, with his son Yulién and other key members of Charanga Habanera while also being the drummer of the Afro-Cuban All Stars band.

Calixto moved from Stockholm to Lakewood, Colorado, in July of 2013, and since then, has been performing and teaching clinics at major United States Universities such as the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU), California State University at Los Angeles (CSULA), and Berklee College of Music.

Through the years, he has been privileged to play in many of the most illustrious festivals around the world such as: La Feria de Cali (Colombia); Montreaux Jazz Festival (Canada); Paleo Rock Festival (Switzerland); Carnaval in Panamá (Panama); Nice jazz Festival (France); A Sulle Festival (Italy); Roskilde Festival (Denmark); Festival de Salsa de Madrid (Spain); North Sea Jazz Festival (Netherlands); Antillansefeesten (Belgium); Gottingen Jazz Festival (Germany); Festival de Salsa en Barcelona (Spain); Umbria Jazz Festival (Italy); Couleur Café (Belgium); Festival di San Remo (Italy); Riga Ritmi Festival (Latvia); Copenhagen Jazz Festival (Denmark); Nordischerklang (Germany); Red Sea Jazz Festiva (Israel); Imatra Big Band Festival (Finland); Umeå Jazz Festival (Sweden); Oslo World Music (Norway); Salsa Festival de Madrid (Spain); Feria del Pacífico (Peru); Frutas Tropicales (Finland); Molde Jazz Festival (Norway); Udine jazz (Italy); Montreal Jazz Festival (Canada); Portland Jazz Festival (USA) and The Sun Festival (Singapore).

In October 1st, 2014, Calixto became a member of the music faculty at the California State University at Los Angeles (CSULA) as a percussion professor.

Gino Castillo is an Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist, singer and leader of SoulFunKubanized, a tribute to African-American music that influenced a change in modern Cuban music in the 1970s.

Watch SoulFunKubanized perform their unique version Prince’s “When Doves Cry” HERE.

Gino’s background includes an honorary degree in percussion teaching from George Gershwin Conservatory (Ecuador), a degree in percussion studies from the Caturla Conservatory and the Felix Varela Conservatory, and many private lessons, included studies with Cuban artist Oscar Valdes (Cuba).  Gino’s musical talent has been heard on many albums, and in live shows, and he has collaborated with many international artists, such as: Etienne Charles, Earl Klugh, Ray Parker Jr, Horacio el Negro Hernández , Charleston Jazz Orchestra , Jose Pepito Gomez, John Benítez, Pascoal Meirelles,, Paulo Moura, , Alex Alvear , Oscarito Valdés, David Lee, Jessy J, André Neiva, Zacai Curtis, Rafael Paceiro, Emilio Morales, Frank Rubio, Ymelda Marie-Louisa , Cruks en Karnak, Juan Fernando Velasco, Carmen González, and more.

In 2007, Pearl became Gino’s exclusive sponsor, making him the first Latin American percussionist to appear in their regular e-newsletter, to be quickly followed by their promotion of his record release of “Ya Llegamos” and inclusion on Pearl’s website and catalogues. At the same time, since year 2003 Gino has maintained his cymbals sponsor with Sabian, becoming the first Ecuadorian musician to be sponsored by a worldwide brand.

Gino has served as the head Percussion teacher for the “Instituto de Musica Contemporanea” from Universidad San Fransisco de Quito and which is part of the Berklee College of Music Network. He also owns the “Centro de Percusion Latina Gino Castillo” which is part of the George Gershwin Conservatory in Quito, Ecuador, where he has been developing a modern method of learning based on his many years as a musician and teacher.