Roger Zayas-Bazán, born in Santo Domingo on 2 August 1961, is a Dominican singer, musician, songwriter, voice artist and photographer. A founding member of Grupo 440, he has worked alongside Juan Luis Guerra since the ensemble's first recordings, while also pursuing studio work, photography and his solo project «Consuelo».

Piano, rock and the studio

He began piano lessons at ten at the «Academia Juan Sebastián Bach», run by Dianaida Taveras, Marco Hernández's mother. Guitar and neighbourhood bands followed. At fourteen he sang a jingle for «Divertilandia» under the direction of Jorge Taveras, beginning his professional work in recording studios.

He began with the neighbourhood band «Juventud 75» alongside Alex Mansilla and Carolina Hernández, then played guitar in «Nasty», with Marco Hernández on keyboards. During an AFS exchange in Washington state in 1979–80, he played bass in a school jazz band and bass drum in its marching band. Back in Santo Domingo he played with «Friends», which performed with the National Symphony Orchestra in 1984 under Jorge Taveras. Alongside his band work, he briefly studied accounting and finance at INTEC before training as a recording assistant at «EMCA» under Salvador Morales and progressed to engineering sessions himself. He has recalled that his first unassisted engineering session was also Guerra's first advertising-jingle production.

Joining the original quartet

Guerra initially rehearsed vocal transcriptions from Berklee with Maridalia Hernández, Mariela Mercado and Felipe Sánchez. When Sánchez could no longer maintain the rehearsal schedule alongside his medical studies, Zayas auditioned and took his place. Those sessions established the recording quartet known as Grupo 440.

The group's first album, «Soplando» (1984), brought vocal jazz harmony into merengue. Zayas helped bring the recordings to «Karen Records» owner Bienvenido Rodríguez, whose request for a more danceable merengue led to «Por eso ahora» and the album «Mudanza y acarreo» (1985). His studio background continued to inform his work as a singer and musician.

Touring and changes in the group

A 1988 road accident during a Venezuelan tour killed the percussionist known as Catarey and other people travelling with the musicians. Zayas has explained that the singers were travelling separately, while musicians from Sergio Vargas's orchestra provided their accompaniment. After a long interruption, 4.40 resumed work with its own touring band.

Zayas remained associated with Guerra through the group's changing formations. He and Marco Hernández have nevertheless stated that they did not record on «Fogaraté» (1994). During Guerra's later break from touring, Zayas presented the Beatles programme «El submarino amarillo» on «Viva FM» and subsequently directed its musical programming. He also developed the recording project «Espacio Pagado» with Hernández. The project did not receive a complete release.

«Consuelo» and a solo voice

In November 2024 he presented «Consuelo», a song he had written in 1996, imagining a story for the woman mentioned in Guerra's «Amor de conuco». Dani Barón arranged the recording and coproduced it with Zayas. Guerra appeared in the video.

The complete «Consuelo» EP followed in May 2025 through «La Oreja Media Group». It contained six songs, including «Mi negra», «Te extraño» and «Fuiste mía», plus a duet version of the title song with Ana Félix. Zayas and Barón developed the recordings between Caracas and Santo Domingo, with Janina Rosado on piano and Alex Mansilla and Marco Hernández among the backing singers. In 2026 Zayas continued that collaboration with Barón on the bachata «Me enamoras». His solo work developed alongside his continuing place in 4.40.

Photography and voice work

Photography became a second professional practice. His projects included «365 manos» and «365 rostros»; in the latter he combined black-and-white portraits in natural light with accounts of the people photographed. His 2021 exhibition «En vivo», presented at the Centro de la Imagen with curatorship by Mayra Johnson, focused on street musicians. Photographs of street musicians also formed his contribution to «Crónicas» at Madrid’s «OCCO Art Gallery» during «PHotoESPAÑA 2024».

He also sings with «Boba Band», a cover band whose work in private events brings together several 4.40 musicians. Commercial voice work has remained part of his studio career. In the animated film «Capitán Avispa» (2024), he voiced Alcalde Panales, alongside Adalgisa Pantaleón as Reina Ada.

Legacy

Zayas connects several working traditions: Dominican rock bands, commercial studios, the vocal ensemble of 4.40, photography and independent songwriting. «Consuelo» added his own songs to a career long associated with collective performance.