Negrita

Martirio, accompanied by Chano Domínguez on piano, pay tribute to the unforgettable Cuban singer, composer and pianist Bola de Nieve, with an album of 15 songs called: “A Bola de Nieve”. The music of Andalusia, Cuba, Spain and Latin America, come together in this unique work that is intertwined with bolero filin, copla, jazz, and flamenco.

Put the force of McCoy Tyner, the superhuman keyboard agility of Art Tatum, and the delicacy of Erroll Garner into a 6-foot-4 Cuban-born frame, and you'll get Jesus "Chucho" Valdes, one of the greatest piano players on the planet. For three decades, Valdes led the Cuban superband Irakere, with Paquito D'Rivera and Arturo Sandoval. But in the last few years, Valdes has been spotlighting his pianistic prowess in small combos such as the quartet he led during a spirited stint at the legendary Village Vanguard in 1999. Backed by a young group of Cuban musicians–drummer Raul Pineda Roque, percussionist Roberto Vizcaino Guillot, and bassist Franciso Rubio Pampin–Valdes turns the piano into a hurricane of melody, harmony and rhythm.

Jazz music is very much a living art. The music’s best practitioners are elite heard in live performance. The energy of an audience brings something special to a performer, especially in a solo setting. Spanish pianist Chano Dominguez proves this on his extraordinary new live recording Over The Rainbow, a wonderfully nuanced and diverse collection of music spanning many of Dominguez’s own musical interests, including flamenco music, Latin American folk music and the classic jazz composition.

Roberto Fonseca is one of the most dazzling pianists and accompanists in Cuba. Although he hasn't quite delivered the big one yet, Fonseca - best known to us as the young jazz pianist who was parachuted into the Buena Vista Social Club is unquestionably a serious talent in the making.