A living legend of Latin jazz, Colombian-born Justo Almario is a saxophone virtuoso, composer, arranger, and longtime UCLA jazz faculty member who was among the first artists to bring Afro-Colombian and Latin jazz traditions to American audiences, helping lay the groundwork for a movement. His influence runs so deep that Colombia has named a festival in his honor. Discovered by Mongo Santamaria while studying at Berklee College of Music, he went on to perform and record alongside Charles Mingus, Freddie Hubbard, Tito Puente, Herb Alpert, and Cachao, appearing on multiple Grammy-winning recordings along the way. A master of soprano and tenor saxophone, clarinet, and flute, Almario fuses Latin, Afro-Cuban, South American, funk, and jazz into something entirely his own. At VMF, he performs music from his newly released album Alegria, a celebration of Afro-Colombian jazz and a testament to a career built on joy, mastery, and generosity of spirit.