Cuban jazz band Tiempo Libre will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 6, at Skidmore’s Zankel Music Center, kicking off this year’s SaratogaArtsFest in a performance with pianist-composer Alfredo Rodriguez.

Tiempo Libre, based on Miami, consist of classically trained musicians playing timba, a mix of Latin and Cuban jazz  inflected with Spanish and African influences. They’ve performed on “The Tonight Show” and “Dancing with the Stars” and have earned three Grammy nods for their albums “Bach in Havana,” “Arroz con Mango” and “Lo Que Esperabas.” Their most recent album, “My Secret Radio,” was released in 2011.

Rodriguez, also Cuban, was called “one of the most prolific and gifted jazz pianists of the 21st century” by Quincy Jones.