The free June 21 performance at the Rio Grande Theatre is presented by the Mesilla Valley Jazz and Blues Society as part of the Juneteenth Jazz Arts Festival.

Organ Mountain News report

LAS CRUCES - David Rodriguez and the Havana Quintet will perform a free concert June 21 at the Rio Grande Theatre as part of Las Cruces’ Juneteenth Jazz Arts Festival.

The performance is presented by the Mesilla Valley Jazz and Blues Society, which is collaborating with the festival for its June gathering.

Rodriguez is an El Paso-based musician, composer and educator who leads the Havana Quintet, a group made up of Cuban musicians. The group is part of the larger Team Havana project, which works to share Cuban and Latin jazz music with audiences around the world.

Rodriguez, an electric and double bassist born in Havana, studied at the Havana Conservatory of Music and performed with Orquesta La Farandula and the Cuban American Youth Orchestra.

He has performed with musicians including Grammy-winning drummer Raul Pineda; Grammy nominees Jesús Díaz, Frankie J and Jerry Rivera; saxophonist Jerry Lopez; guitarist Shaun Mahoney; and the Carlos Barba Trio.

The concert will feature traditional and contemporary Cuban rhythms and arrangements, including danzón, bolero, son, cha-cha-chá, mambo and modern Latin jazz.

The free performance begins at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 21, at the Rio Grande Theatre, 211 N. Main St.

The Mesilla Valley Jazz and Blues Society also hosts a monthly jazz jam on the third Thursday of each month at Boba Cafe and Cabaret on Espina Street. Musicians interested in joining the jam can email MVJBSjazzjam@gmail.com.

Annual society dues are $25 for individuals, $40 for families and $5 for students. More information is available at mvjazzblues.net.