University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, Texas
Batuquê Trio, featuring Natalie Boeyink (bass), Jamaal Baptiste (piano), and Andy Smith (drums), performs Latin-jazz throughout the U.S. This is their third appearance at the JEN Convention, and they presented Andy’s 21st Century Samba-jazz Drum-set clinic at PASIC in 2016. Recently, Batuquê Trio performed the inaugural David Baker Guest Artist Series Concert at The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. The group’s first CD, Transparency, released in 2015 with a second album planned for 2022. This new recording will expand the trio format, adding folkloric and keyboard percussion, and guest artists on select tracks.
Pianist Jamaal Baptiste grew up on the island of Aruba, a nexus for the music of the Americas and Europe. His instinctive feel and musicianship delight listeners and dancers alike. Jamaal is comfortable performing in a wide range of musical settings, including Jazz, Blues, R&B, Gospel, Latin, Brazilian, and Caribbean music. His island roots and versatility are central to the trio's unique sound. Jamaal is an original member of Ritmos Unidos, with band leader, Michael Spiro, appearing on “¡Funklorico!” and “Ritmos Unidos.” In 2016, Jamaal graduated with a master's degree in jazz at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he is now pursing a PhD in ethnomusicology.
Natalie Boeyink is an accomplished bassist, violinist, pianist, composer and educator who has worked primarily in jazz and Latin idioms. Equally influenced by bassists Ray Brown and Cachao, Natalie’s upright bass has traveled literally and figuratively through Brazil and Cuba, assimilating samba, son and rumba just as easily as she steadily walks through American jazz. In 2014 she was awarded a Tinker Foundation grant to study the performance and pedagogy of popular bass styles in Brazil. Boeyink has performed with Lorraine Feather, Jovino Santos Neto, Joe Piscopo, David 'Fathead' Newman, Almir Côrtes, Keith McCutchen, and John Hendricks. She has been an invited guest performer in Barbados, the Bahamas, Moscow, and Brazil. Natalie is a respected adjudicator and clinician, and performs regularly throughout the Midwest. She is currently on the jazz faculty at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and holds a DME from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and master's and bachelor's degrees in jazz performance.
Andy P. Smith is known for the depth of his “pocket” as a performer, his uncanny versatility as a pedagogue, and his wit and creativity as a composer. His 2021 CD recordings include “Festive Interplay” with Angel Roman and Mambo Blue, and Erik Unsworth’s “Deliberations.” He has traveled to Ghana West Africa and the Caribbean to be immersed in African diasporic rhythm. In 2012, Andy was awarded a Tinker Foundation grant to study contemporary Brazilian Samba-Jazz drumming in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Andy’s recent compositions include Two Maracatu for Drum-set Duo, and Brazilian Suite for Tambourines. Smith serves as Director of Percussion Studies at the University of Texas at El Paso. He is published by Row-Loff Publications, and self-publishes his eclectic works at andypsmith@squarespace.com. He is endorsed by Pearl/Adams, Evans Drumheads, Zildjian Cymbals, and Innovative Percussion.
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Latin Styles for Jazz Rhythm Section
Saturday, January 10, 2026
5:00 PM - 5:50 PM CST
