The Cuban Research Institute is pleased to announce the 13th installment of its annual concert series. This year’s concert will be dedicated to Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz, in memory of the renowned Cuban saxophonist and former FIU music professor, Carlos Averhoff, Sr. The event will be directed by his son Carlos Averhoff, Jr., in collaboration with artists who performed alongside Averhoff, Sr., including Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Brian Lynch, Elena Burke, Federico Brito, Mike Orta, Aldo Salvent, Jim Gasior, and Manuel Valera.

Carlos Averhoff, Sr., was a recognized tenor saxophonist in the Latin jazz world, as well as an educator. Born in Matanzas, Cuba, he graduated from Havana’s Conservatorio Amadeo Roldán with a major in classical music. In 1973 he was a founding member of the world-renowned Cuban jazz group Irakere. In 1980, he received a Grammy Award for the album Irakere. Throughout his lifetime, he collaborated with prominent musicians such as Chucho Valdés, Paquito D’Rivera, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Emiliano Salvador, and Horacio “El Negro” Hernández. He was a Professor of Music at Florida International University until December 2016.

Carlos Averhoff, Jr., is a tenor saxophonist, bandleader, composer, and educator. Born in Havana, Cuba, he was classically trained in Cuba’s top music schools: the Manuel Saumel Conservatory of Music, the Amadeo Roldán School of Music, and the Higher Institute of Art. He continued his education in the United States, receiving a bachelor’s degree (Summa Cum Laude) at the Berklee College of Music and a master’s degree with honors from the New England Conservatory of Music. He recently earned a teacher fellow position at the University of North Texas in Denton, where he started his doctoral studies.