Five Degrees Of Soul

Taking influence from James Brown and Tito Puente, Five Degrees of Soul combines traditional Latin jazz with '70s funk. Though all members of the group are American born, their heritage spans from Mexico to Argentina and El Salvador. Building a strong fan base through playing Latin music festivals in their native California and across the states, their debut album, Esplendidos, was released in October of 2000. (Diana Potts)