Omara Portuondo Peláez is a Cuban singer and dancer. A founding member of the popular vocal group Cuarteto d'Aida, Portuondo has collaborated with many important Cuban musicians during her long career, including Julio Gutiérrez, Juanito Márquez and Chucho Valdés. Although primarily known for her rendition of boleros, she has recorded in a wide range of styles from jazz to son cubano. Since 1996 she has been part of the Buena Vista Social Club project, touring extensively and recording several albums with the ensemble.
Irakere is a Cuban band founded by pianist Chucho Valdés in 1973. They won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Recording in 1980 with their album Irakere. Irakere was a seminal musical laboratory, where historic innovations in both Afro-Cuban jazz and Cuban popular dance music were created. The group used a wide array of percussion instruments like batá, abakuá and arará drums, chequerés, erikundis, maracas, claves, cencerros, bongó, tumbadoras (congas), and güiro.
Habana Abierta is a Cuban band. They are a member of a generation of composers, musicians, sculptors, authors, actors, etc. which emerged in the early 90s with its own identity in Havana, even though some of their creations had already been well known for some years in the island's cultural circles.
Alfredo Rodríguez was a Cuban pianist who played Afro-Cuban music as well as Latin jazz. Born in Havana, his musical career began in New York, where he struggled to establish himself, playing with dozens of Latin music groups over two decades. In 1983, he moved to Paris, where he enjoyed greater success, recording several albums as a leader to critical acclaim. In his later years, he founded a new group, los Acerekó, featuring Tata Güines, Changuito and Joel Hierrezuelo among others.
Roberto Fonseca is a Cuban jazz pianist. From an early age, Fonseca was surrounded by music: his father was drum player Roberto Fonseca, Sr, his mother, Mercedes Cortes Alfaro, a professional singer, and his two older half-brothers from his mother's previous marriage to the pianist and musician Jesús "Chucho" Valdés are Emilio Valdés (drums) and Jesús "Chuchito" Valdés Jr. (piano).
Descemer Bueno is a Cuban singer, songwriter, and record producer. His first professional gigs were playing bass with Santiago Feliú, one of Cuba's greatest troubadours.
Guillermo Barreto was a Cuban drummer and timbalero. He was a major figure in the Cuban music scene for more than fifty years and one of the first drummers in Cuba to play Afro-Cuban jazz.
Haydée Milanés is a Cuban singer. She is the daughter of the important “Nueva Trova” figure Pablo Milanés. Haydée Milanés is part of the Cuban fusion new scene. Her style is often compared to that of Norah Jones: shy, sultry, and jazzy.
Mezcla is a music group from Cuba.
Kumar is a Cuban musician who was born in Havana in 1984. He also appeared as an actor in Benito Zambrano’s movie Habana Blues, and his song "No Se Vuelve Atras" is featured in the movie’s soundtrack.
Yasek Manzano Silva is a Cuban trumpet player and composer who was born on December 10 in 1980 in Marianao. He has performed with major figures like Celia Cruz, Los Van Van, Irakere, Bobby Carcassés and the British band Simply Red.
Chucho's Steps is an album released by jazz pianist Chucho Valdés and his band, the Afro-Cuban Messengers. The album was released in 2010 by Four Quarters Entertainment and was produced by Valdés himself, who also composed all of the music. It won the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album.
Interactivo is a collaborative group of Cuban musicians, led by the pianist, singer and composer Roberto Carcasses. As an acknowledgement of their growing notoriety, the band has recently been the subject of a documentary directed by Tane Martinez, and premiered at the Havana International Film Festival in December 2010.
Eliel Williams Lazo Linares is a Cuban percussionist, songwriter, composer, producer, jazz, rock, Latin and pop musician living in Denmark. Eliel is one of the most unique percussionist of these times. In 2011, he received the Danish Music Awards World for his album "El Conguero". He won also the "International Percussion Percuba Prize". During his career, he collaborated with musicians such as Oscar Valdes, Chucho Valdes, Herbie Hancock, Bob Mintzer, Wayne Shorter, Michel Camilo and Bands such as Diakara, Habana Ensemble, DR Big band, The Savage Rose, The Antonelli Orchestra, Mikkel Nordsø Band and others. In 2008, the newspaper Havana Times labelled him "one of Cuba’s top percussionists".
Lágrimas Negras is a 2003 album by Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger Bebo Valdés and Spanish flamenco singer Diego el Cigala. Lágrimas Negras is a fusion of Cuban rhythms and flamenco vocals, produced by Spanish composer, producer and guitarist Javier Limón and book editor, screenwriter, film director and producer Fernando Trueba and released by Calle 54 Records and BMG Music Spain.
Pedro Nolasco Jústiz Rodríguez, better known as Peruchín, was a Cuban pianist specializing in jazz-influenced Cuban popular music. He was an important figure in the 1950s descarga scene in Havana, and one of the most influential Cuban pianists of the 20th century.
Dayramir Gonzalez Vicet is a Cuban pianist, composer, arranger, and producer.
Francisco Emilio Flynn Rodríguez, better known as Frank Emilio Flynn, was a renowned Cuban pianist. Despite being blind, he was a skilled and versatile pianist who mastered many forms of Cuban music, from danzas and danzones to filin, descarga and Afro-Cuban jazz. He was the founder and director of several ensembles, including Loquibambia (1946) and Los Modernistas (1951), both co-founded with José Antonio Méndez, as well as the Quinteto Instrumental de Música Moderna (1958), which later became Los Amigos.
