Louie Cruz Beltran is a charismatic entertainer, singer and master percussionist who has captivated audiences with his dynamic stage presence and wonderful vocals. Louie’s musical career was crafted upon the soulful sounds of his ethnic American background and flavored with contemporary R&B, Jazz, Latin Jazz, and Salsa as well as the Great American Songbook. Steeped in music from early childhood, his first memories recall his mother singing gospel music, Mexican and Caribbean folk tunes. As early as third grade, Louie was playing bongos and learning the guitar and piano. “The beauty of Afro-Cuban music stole my heart,” he says. Early in his career, Louie performed with great artists such as Ray Barretto, Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente, Francisco Aguabella, and Jorge Claudio. Recently he has performed with legends Natalie Cole, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Poncho Sanchez and many other renowned artists. In 2010 he shared the stage with Dave Koz, James Ingram, Patti Austin, Macy Gray and others at the annual Society of Singers Ella Award Presentation at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Louie’s highly anticipated third CD, “Paint the Rhythm”, made its debut in November of 2011, and features an all-star lineup of some of the most exciting and recognized names in Jazz, including Abraham Laboriel, Poncho Sanchez, Giovanni Hidalgo, Hubert Laws, Justo Almario, Peter Michael Escovedo, Bill Conte, Otmaro Ruiz and many more. The album spent 12 weeks on the Media Base National Smooth Jazz Charts reaching #11, and his popular single from the album-“Esperando”-climbed to #4. His original song, “Cu Rumba”, from his first CD, “It’s My Time” is featured in the new feature film, Water and Power, set for release summer of 2013. All of Louie’s music is available on iTunes, Amazon.com and all popular internet sites.