Rio. Lisbon. Caribbean. Africa. Miami.

These are the places that inspired Niall McGuinness from South Lake Tahoe to create his breakthrough debut album, Limpopo.

We call it Soulful. Engaging. Contemplative. Original.

Niall McGuinness, saxophonist-flutist-percussionist and a second-grade teacher at Sierra House School, has brought together the most talented musicians in the region to create The New World Jazz Project to bring his passion for travel and world cultures to life.

A musical performer for over 30 years, Niall’s roots are from Miami where he was turned onto jazz and Latin music, particularly salsa that allowed Niall to freely improvise and develop a style of hand percussion all his own.

The ten songs on the album, seven which are originals by McGuinness, are inspired by Niall’s world travels. His songs come alive with an injection of soulful percussions, sax, flute and piano that create an engaging mix of Latin, Soul & World Jazz music.

While Niall may be the leader of the band, he definitely lets his individual band members shine.

Brazilian, African, and Caribbean percussion instruments fill most of the tracks on the album. Listen to it now. Click here.

Or better yet, you can catch Niall live and The New World Jazz Project on Friday nights at The Fresh Ketch at the Tahoe Keys Marina in South Shore.

Niall discusses his inspiration:

The essence of all art is found in its ability to convey an emotion or experience by the artist. The original compositions contained herein are reflections of those experiences whose great emotional impact has given birth to song. It is this album’s intent to capture and convey those feelings.

Travel does wonders to one’s musical inspiration. While trekking in Central America, the hauntingly long cry of a toucan resonating through the rain forest became the germ for Call of the Toucan. The experience of visiting South Africa and hearing the joyous music from that region created the inspiration for the simple Limpopo. The Latin-tinged Deevee is a nod to the great flutist Dave Valentin, caught while in Los Angeles. During a year-long stay in London, the constant, urban hustle-bustle of that great city gave rise to Wait a Minute. The ambiance of a mild winter sunset breeze shared with friends on a Southern California beach resulted in Laguna Sunday. Everything has its story.

Photos and web design by Mark Edwards, www.tikiglow.com