Denzel Mendoza (Illegal Son) – Past Concerts

Trombonist and composer Denzel Mendoza is Illegal Son, and opens for Joe with bassist Matthew Holmes. A Filipino National born in Singapore, raised in Las Vegas, NV; studied in NYC, NY, and based in Portland, OR; Mendoza has lived in the United States for the majority of his life but yet, he continues to chase the American Dream. Since 2004, Mendoza has been an Undocumented Immigrant. Labeled as illegal, criminal, and unwanted, Mendoza unwillingly carried that shame as a child into his years as a young adult to only then embrace those terms as strengths as the years progressed. Ironically, his achievements as a musician have outweighed his path towards citizenship; from traveling nationwide as a sideman and opener for Haley Heynderickx to being awarded at the Grammy Awards for his participation with John Daversa's American Dreamers: Voices of Hope, Music of Freedom in 2018.

Denzel Mendoza's Illegal Son is quite simply his interpretation of life as Undocumented Immigrant through sound and music. It is deeply emotional and incredibly vulnerable. Every passing day, there is no promise of a tomorrow; there is only fear and hope. To process life under the umbrella of being Undocumented consists of improvisation, a consistent chaos of what's to come – it's insecure, unstable, but hopeful.