KEYS TO THE GROOVE 2.0 is not a casual collaboration—it is the natural convergence of long-standing artistic relationships. Battistini and Valentino’s original 'Keys to the Groove' project earned a Global Music® Award for Latin Jazz, establishing a shared musical language rooted in trust and intuition. This second iteration expands that dialogue by welcoming Vergara into the core creative process, widening the rhythmic and expressive palette while remaining anchored to the same artistic center.
Recorded largely without rehearsal, the album relies on instinct, experience, and deep listening. Improvisation functions not as display, but as conversation—each track unfolding as a lived moment rather than a constructed statement. Moving fluidly across Latin jazz, blues, funk, swing, and global rhythmic traditions, KEYS TO THE GROOVE 2.0 reflects three artists meeting at a moment of artistic clarity—bringing history, joy, and restraint into alignment, and allowing groove to emerge as a shared experience rather than a destination.
Keys to the Groove 2.0 is a refined, deeply collaborative Latin jazz trio project rooted in trust, groove, and musical conversation. Featuring multi-GRAMMY® and Latin GRAMMY®-winning pianist and composer Lannie Battistini, multi-Latin GRAMMY® and EMMY®-winning bassist and multi-instrumentalist Dr. José Valentino, and percussionist Johnny Vergara, the album blends Afro-diasporic rhythms, Brazilian and Caribbean influences, blues language, and contemporary jazz sensibility. The music emphasizes lyricism, restraint, and joy—inviting audiences into a shared experience that is rhythmically engaging, emotionally resonant, and ideally suited for both indoor and outdoor, community-centered festival settings.
THE LATIN JAZZ BAND
Music Conversing. Soul Listening. Rhythm speaking.
KEYS TO THE GROOVE 2.0 unites three artists whose individual careers reflect international distinction and whose collective chemistry is grounded in long-standing trust, shared musical values, and deep listening.
Pianist Lannie Battistini is a multi-GRAMMY®, multi-Latin GRAMMY®, and multi-Global Music® Award–winning pianist, producer, and recording engineer whose work sits at the intersection of Latin jazz tradition and contemporary expression. As CEO of Hands in Motion Music Productions, Battistini has cultivated a sound defined by lyrical clarity, rhythmic depth, and spiritual attentiveness. His pianism favors invitation over exhibition—creating musical environments where groove emerges through listening, restraint, and intention rather than excess.
Bassist Dr. José Valentino is a multi-Latin GRAMMY®, EMMY®, and multi-Global Music® Award–winning composer, flutist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer whose artistry spans bass guitar, flute, and saxophone. Equally grounded in performance and scholarship, Valentino serves as a professor of Music Business and Entrepreneurship at the University of Florida, where he leads nationally recognized initiatives in creative enterprise. His musical approach treats composition and bass playing as narrative tools—shaping space, momentum, and dialogue within the ensemble.
Percussionist Johnny Vergara, a gifted Panamanian artist, is widely regarded as a first-call percussionist for Latin jazz and tropical music throughout the southeastern United States. His playing is defined by feel, clarity, and forward motion. Drawing from Afro-diasporic rhythmic traditions, Vergara contributes not as ornamentation, but as breath—providing propulsion while honoring balance, texture, and collective groove.
