José Lugo is a Puerto Rican pianist, arranger, and producer whose Grammy-winning work includes collaborations with salsa superstars such as Gilberto Santa Rosa as well as solo albums such as Guasábara (2008). Influenced by legendary salsa bandleaders Bobby Valentín and Willie Rosario, Lugo first emerged as one of salsa's premier arrangers during the 1990s, when his piano and keyboard work graced dozens of albums by a range of recording artists. In addition to Santa Rosa, with whom he formed a longstanding working relationship, Lugo worked over the years with salsa superstars Elvis Crespo, Victor Manuelle, Grupo Manía, Milly Quezada, Ismael Miranda, and Issac Delgado, among many others. He won numerous Grammys in the process for his work on albums such as Grupo Manía's Latino (2002) and Santa Rosa's Directo al Corazón (2006). Lugo made his solo album debut in 2004 with the Latin jazz effort Piano con Mata on the independent label Bronco Records. Several years later he returned with another solo album, Guasábara, this one billed to the José Lugo Orchestra. Released in 2008 on Santa Rosa's Sony-distributed label Camínalo Discos, Guasábara is a critically acclaimed collaborative effort including the vocal talents of frontmen Herman Olivera, Issac Delgado, Carlos Cano Estremera, Victor Manuelle, and Santa Rosa himself. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi