Caliente – Houston, TX

Caliente, Houston Press Best Latin Band Award Winner, is the nationally acclaimed repertoire ensemble for Diaz Music Institute. Caliente is the only youth group to receive the prestigious Houston Press Awards is under the direction of Jose Antonio Diaz, the ensemble has appeared with some of the music industry’s biggest stars such as Eddie Palmieri, Larry Harlow, Frankie Negron, Jimmy Bosch, Pete Escovedo, Danilo Perez, Nestor Torres, David Sanchez, Dave Valentin, Miguel Zenon, John Santos, Brenda K Starr and the Buena Vista Social Club. Caliente has appeared at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Illinois, the Oregon Music Educators Association Conference in Eugene, Oregon, at the Music Educators National Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Caliente also appeared at the Chocolate Bayou Festival, the Bayou City Arts Festival, and Dia de la Hispanidad at the Miller Outdoor Theater in Houston, Texas.

Johnny Pacheco rehearsing with Diaz Music Institute’s Caliente. Caliente, Houston Press Best Latin Band Award Winner, is the nationally acclaimed repertoire ensemble for Diaz Music Institute. Caliente is the only youth group to receive the prestigious Houston Press Awards is under the direction of Jose Antonio Diaz, the ensemble has appeared with some of the music industrys biggest stars such as Eddie Palmieri, Larry Harlow, Frankie Negron, Jimmy Bosch, Pete Escovedo, Danilo Perez, Nestor Torres, David Sanchez, Dave Valentin, Miguel Zenon, John Santos, Brenda K Starr and the Buena Vista Social Club. Caliente has appeared at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Illinois, the Oregon Music Educators Association Conference in Eugene, Oregon, and at the Music Educators National Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Jose Antonio Diaz is the Founder and Artistic Director for Diaz Music Institute. Currently, Diaz is in his twenty-sixth year as Director of Bands at MacArthur High School in the Aldine Independent School District in Houston, Texas. During his tenure, his bands have garnered many first place awards in local, regional, and national level competitions and have performed with such artists as Wynton Marsalis, Jon Faddis, Danilo Perez, David Sanchez, and Arturo Sandoval, to name just a few.

Diaz’s groups have performed twice for the International Association of Jazz Educators and six times for the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, IL. Diaz’s success with the MacArthur High School Jazz Program was the subject of a featured cover story in SBO Magazine and Band Director’s Guide Magazine. He received a DownBeat Magazine Award for Achievement in Jazz Education and was selected by FOX 26 and Univision Television stations as a Hispanic Hero. Recently, Diaz was inducted into the Texas Christian University Band of Fame. In addition, Mr. Diaz has received three artist grants from the Cultural Arts Council of Houston Harris County.

Jose Antonio Diaz is currently on the Board of the Midwest Clinic and Jazz Education Network. Diaz is Past-president of the International Association of Jazz Educators-Texas Unit, a past member of the Da Camera of Houston Teacher Advisory Board, and the Midwest Clinic Advisory Panel. Jose is also a member of Texas Bandmaster’s Association, Texas Music Educators Association, and Music Educator’s National Conference. Diaz is a member of Kappa Kappa Psi, Phi Mu Alpha, and Phi Beta Mu fraternities. Jose is co-author of Jazz Expressions™ and Middle School Music Expressions™ (Alfred Music formally Warner Bros. Publication) and is an active composer, arranger, and clinician.