Luis Orta

Luis Orta is a jazz saxophonist from Puerto Rico who spent much of his NAMM Oral History interview engaging us with the rich history of Latin Jazz. He spoke of the importance of the percussion instrumentation and the role such artists as Tito Puente played in developing what we now know as Latin Jazz. We also learned about Luis’ own career as a sought after musician and bandleader. He began playing in the 7th grade on a Bundy sax and was earning money as a musician by the time he was in the 9th grade. He saved his money to purchased his own horns, a Yamaha alto and tenor. From that point on Luis has played in several bands, for many artists and on dozens of recordings. Luis and his current band can often be seen using Victory Musical Instruments, which were designed by his his friend and fellow Puerto Rican, Melvin Quimones.