BEST LOCAL JAZZ ARTIST José Negroni After teaching for seventeen years at the prestigious Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico, pianist José Negroni moved to Miami. In 2003 his trio released its first CD, Naturaleza/Nature, followed last year with Piano-Drums-Bass (both on Universal Latino). As part of a new wave of Puerto Rican musicians whose music goes beyond traditional salsa forms, Negroni and his band, which includes his equally virtuosic son Nomar on drums, combine a hard postbop style and a lyrical classicism with their Latin roots. It's a little Chucho Valdes with a bit of Chick Corea. And while Negroni's music has been gathering critical acclaim on a national scale, he can still be heard pounding the keys at local jazz joints like Van Dyke Café.

Readers´ Choice: Nestor Torres