Arthur Latin II
Bio

            Arthur Latin remains one of the busiest and most talented musicians to date.  A native of Nacogdoches Texas he has earned the respect of his peers with his brilliance and impeccable timing as a drummer.  Perhaps the greatest moment  in Arthur “Bam Bam” Latin’s career began early when he embraced at the age of 3 his passion and desire for drums by playing in his father’s church.  Despite his limited resources of one snare drum, a card board box , one cymbal and one pair of sticks, He played skillfully and with heart in the Lord’s service. They say no good thing can stand without a solid foundation. Arthur’s early church experiences are the foundation in which his drumming career stands. By the time Arthur was eleven, he began his formal music education in the Nacogdoches Public School System. Over the next seven years he competed and won several honors which includes a two time Texas All-State, All-Area, and All-Region placement in band and orchestra. He also competed and won the young artist award which earned him a four year scholarship to Stephen F. Austin State University.  While at Stephen F. Austin he majored in Percussion Education where he studied night and day to fine tune his craft.  He performed in the Stephen F. Austin wind ensemble, symphonic band, jazz ensemble, percussion ensemble, ethnic ensemble, Lumberjack pep band, steel drum band, just to name a few. At age nineteen, Arthur composed , performed, and  produced his first record titled Forever One, under the artist name ALII  which was released in local and surrounding stores.  This experience prompted Arthur’s new desire for sound engineering.  Because Arthur wanted to know more about recording and producing records after three years of study under percussionist Dr. Chris Hanning, Arthur transferred to Southwest Texas University (now know as Texas State University) where he changed his major from Percussion Education to Sound Recording Technology (SRT). Upon arrival at Texas State University, Arthur had planned to study audio engineering with esteemed engineer Bobby Arnold who had previously worked as Willie Nelson’s engineer. Not only did he study with the great Bobby Arnold but in the matter of a few days on campus, Arthur was introduced to Dr. James Polk (keyboardist to Ray Charles and others) and Dr. Keith Winking (Trumpeteer of Sam of Sam & Dave and the Temptations) who both headed the Department of Jazz Studies and Band.  After being convinced by his fellow peers and classmates, Arthur decided to audition for a position as drummer in one of the Jazz big bands and combos.  As fate would have it, Arthur was placed in the top jazz band and combo.  Arthur, now age 21 along with the Southwest Texas Big Band performed with great artists such as Clark Terry, Frank Foster, David “Fathead” Newman, Bill Watrous, and Kirk Whalum. He also performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland and the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and the International Association of Jazz Educators Convention in Atlanta, GA with the Texas State Jazz Ensembles.  One year later at age 22, Arthur began playing with jazz saxophonist Kyle Turner.  With Kyle,  Arthur played in many festivals throughout the south region of the country.  At these festivals, he shared the stage with acts such as Zapp and Roger, Shirley Murdock, SOS band, Norman Brown, David Benoit, Poncho Sanchez, and performed with Saxophonist Kim Waters, and Jazz Violinist Michael Ward. While still a full time student, Arthur decided to take a break from drumming to complete his first album, Arthur was now groomed and primed for the next phase of his career. While subbing as drummer for the Elias Haslinger Septet in July of 1997, Arthur met the brilliant, Grammy Award winning Jazz Pianist and Vocalist Harry Connick Jr. in Austin TX. For more details click HERE  He now to this day tours and performs with Harry Connick Jr. Arthur has recorded eight albums with Harry on Columbia  records and has performed in many major events and television broadcasts as follows:
David Letterman, Oprah Winfrey, The Rosie O’Donnell Show, Conan O’Brien, The View, The Today Show; Good Morning America, The Early Morning Show, the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony in Oslo, Norway, the Christmas Tree Lighting at Rockefeller Center, Walt Disney Christmas Parade in Orlando, FL. NBA All Stars Half Time Show 2001, 2002 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremonies, John Williams with the Boston Pops PBS Special. Arthur has toured the world sharing his gift as a drummer at venues and festivals such as: The Newport Jazz Festival, The New Orleans Jazz Festival, Redrock in Colorado, Wolftrap, the Grand Ole Opry, Lincoln Center Workshop with Harry and Susan Strohman, the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA, Royal Albert Hall in London, Olympia Theatre in France, just to name a few. Other artist Arthur has recorded with are John Ussery on the album “ Cryin’ and Screamin’”full tilt records; Maria Muldaur “A Woman Alone with The Blues...Remembering Peggy Lee” Kermitt Ruffins “1533 St. Philip St.” Dany Brilliant “Jazz...A La Nouvelle Orleans.” Along with Harry Arthur recorded with  Branford Marsalis, George Jones, Marc Anthony, Kim Burrell, Alex Acuna, and Paulinho DaCosta. When not touring and recording, Arthur is busy doing pre-production and recording electronic music in his home studio with various artists. 

Contact Arthur at: Arthur@arthurlatin.com