Manteca (band)

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Manteca is a Canadian jazz fusion band that toured during the 1980s and 1990s. It was formed by percussionist Matt Zimbel and bassist Henry Heillig in 1979.

Their repertoire consisted of pieces composed by keyboardist Aaron Davis and Rick Tait. In addition to having horn sections and Latin and African percussion, they included synthesisers, creating music in a "pan-fusion" style, essentially jazz improvisation drawing from salsa, samba, funk and tribal influences.

They began playing in Toronto in 1979, and by 1987 were touring annually in Canada. Their US debut was at the Concord Jazz Festival in 1989, and they played at the North Sea, Pori and Stockholm jazz festivals in 1990.

They received a Juno award in 1989 for Instrumental Artist of the Year.

After a hiatus, Manteca released a new album, Onward in 2007, and are touring again. They have included some different instruments on this album, such as EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument) and pennywhistle. Guest composers for this album are Gord Sheard and Doug Wilde.

Other members of the band have included keyboardist Aaron Davis, saxophonist John Johnson, Gordon Sheard, Wayne Baker, Herb Koffman, Rick Tait, Steve McDaid, Kirk MacDonald, Ralph Bowen, Gary Bogon, Phil Dwyer, Earl Leader, Norman Jones, Art Avalos, Mike Sloski, David James and Charlie Cooley.