FUENTES
BAYNES

Miguel was born in New York City and raised in Puerto Rico. He studied at the Manhattan School of Music and Yale University, mastering all forms of Latin percussion — conga, batá, timbales, chekere, bongo, drum kit, and orchestral timpani. His international touring credits include Patti LaBelle, Grover Washington Jr, George Benson, and Isaac Hayes. Since relocating to New Zealand he has become the country's first-call Latin percussionist, performing and recording with Nathan Haines, Jennifer Zea, Mark de Clive-Lowe, Sola Rosa, and Jonathan Crayford. He also collaborated on the single Loophole with Tim Hopkins, Russell Harrison, and King Kapisi.

Tim was born in Auckland and raised in Brisbane. He graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and won the Australian National Jazz Award at the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz. He performed for years alongside Mike Nock, and his credits span rock and jazz — from touring with Midnight Oil and Ed Kuepper (The Saints, Laughing Clowns) to work with Vince Jones, Paul Grabowsky, James Morrison, Don Burrows, Kevin Field, and Nathan Haines. His Rattle Records album Seven was a Jazz Album of the Year finalist, described by Mike Nock as “a stunning statement from an extraordinary musician.” Tim brings a distinctive edge to the Fuentes Hopkins Baynes trio on saxophone and percussion.

Mark holds a DMA (Doctorate of Musical Arts), with a thesis analysing consonance and dissonance in Western music. He is an Aotearoa Music Awards winner. Over 20 years performing at the highest level, he has collaborated with Cley Jenkins (Buddy Rich & Count Basie Big Bands), Mark Kramer (Eddie Gomez), Che-Fu, King Kapisi, Don McGlashan, and Troy Kingi. He arranged for the Royal NZ Ballet (alongside composer Claire Cowan) — winning a DANZ award for Best Original Composition (Classical) — and recorded with the NZ Symphony Orchestra. As leader of The Ironic Trio he released two albums, with a composition selected by Alyn Shipton for Air NZ's The Jazz Café album. His duo with vocalist Allana Goldsmith — Goldsmith Baynes — released the Creative NZ-funded album E Rere Rā, jazz performed in te reo Māori. The duo has toured internationally, performing at the Melbourne and Perth International Jazz Festivals (Australia, 2025) and in Toronto, Canada. E Rere Rā has been broadcast on BBC Radio, Jazz FM (UK), CBC (Canada), and Radio New Zealand. Mark is a columnist for NZ Musician Magazine and presenter of 95bFM's The Jazz Show.