Author: miamibeat305_drkjib

Calixto Oviedo is a Latin Grammy nominated artist (La Rumba del Siglo, 2000) who has had the opportunity to play with numerous internationally known artists such as Paquito D\’Rivera, Arturo Sandoval, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Chucho Valdés, Danilo Pérez, David Sanchez, Luis Conte, Ray Barreto, Giovanni Hidalgo, Alfredo Rodriguez, Dave Valentin, Juan Pablo Torres, Orlando \”Maraca\” Valle and Tony Martínez as well as the celebrated Cuban percussionists Tata Güines, José Luis \”Changuito\” Quintana, and Miguel \”Angá\” Diaz in a very successful career that spans over 38 years.

Calixto was born on October 14, 1955 in the Havana barrio of La Vibora and his earlier musical recollection was at the age of two or three, waiting in front of the television, toy violin in hand, waiting to play along with the performances of his favorite band, La Orquesta Aragón.

It was at the advanced age of four, however, that it became clear to this young prodigy that his true calling was to play the drums so, he discarded his toy violin in favor of a plastic bucket, several empty cans, and an old frying pan, all of which he played with drumsticks fashioned from coat hangers.

At the ripe age of eight, he entered the primary music school of Caturla in Havana, and appeared with several famous Cuban musicians, among them the piano master Rubén Gonzalez. After graduating from the National High School of the Arts, he plays with many different bands, such as the Radio & Television Orchestra, Grupo Achére. Later, he joined the band of the Cuban bolero singer Pacho Alonso. In the early 80’s, he became the very first drummer in the band of Arturo Sandoval, after he left Irakere.

In 1983, with his old school mate, Adalberto Alvarez, he founded the Adalberto y Su Son orchestra, where he played timbales and stayed there until the beginning of 1990, when he joined the music group Pachito Alonso y Sus Kini Kini, where he stayed for a year until 1991, where he would start playing the drums and timbales in N.G. La Banda, considered by many to be the creators of the a new Cuban sound, the “Timba”, the best and most exciting Cuban dance group of the 1990s. That band was formed in 1988 by flute player José Luis Cortés and included many brilliant musicians who had formerly played with Irakere and Los Van Van.

The group was best known for placing emphasis on tight rhythms and their aggressive brass section, nicknamed the Terror Brass, with Calixto’s drums and timbales at the forefront. He was their drummer during the period that produced many of their greatest recordings; Santa Palabra, Échale Limón, and El Trágico. In the mid-90\’s, he relocated to Sweden, during which time he made an excellent Timba record, La Recompensa, with his son Yulién and other key members of Charanga Habanera while also being the drummer of the Afro-Cuban All Stars band.

Calixto moved from Stockholm to Lakewood, Colorado, in July of 2013, and since then, has been performing and teaching clinics at major United States Universities such as the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU), California State University at Los Angeles (CSULA), and Berklee College of Music.

Through the years, he has been privileged to play in many of the most illustrious festivals around the world such as: La Feria de Cali (Colombia); Montreaux Jazz Festival (Canada); Paleo Rock Festival (Switzerland); Carnaval in Panamá (Panama); Nice jazz Festival (France); A Sulle Festival (Italy); Roskilde Festival (Denmark); Festival de Salsa de Madrid (Spain); North Sea Jazz Festival (Netherlands); Antillansefeesten (Belgium); Gottingen Jazz Festival (Germany); Festival de Salsa en Barcelona (Spain); Umbria Jazz Festival (Italy); Couleur Café (Belgium); Festival di San Remo (Italy); Riga Ritmi Festival (Latvia); Copenhagen Jazz Festival (Denmark); Nordischerklang (Germany); Red Sea Jazz Festiva (Israel); Imatra Big Band Festival (Finland); Umeå Jazz Festival (Sweden); Oslo World Music (Norway); Salsa Festival de Madrid (Spain); Feria del Pacífico (Peru); Frutas Tropicales (Finland); Molde Jazz Festival (Norway); Udine jazz (Italy); Montreal Jazz Festival (Canada); Portland Jazz Festival (USA) and The Sun Festival (Singapore).

In October 1st, 2014, Calixto became a member of the music faculty at the California State University at Los Angeles (CSULA) as a percussion professor.

https://www.innovativepercussion.com/artists/calixto_oviedo

BORN IN HAVANA – CUBA ON MAY 12, 1979 • CUBAN SINGER WHO INTERPRETS VARIOUS GENRES (SALSA, SON, RUMBA, BOLEROS, BALLADS AMONG OTHER LATIN AMERICAN RHYTHMS. SHE DEVELOPED HER CAREER FROM A VERY YOUNG AGE IN CUBA AND SO THE REST OF THE WORLD WITH DIFFERENT CUBAN FEMALE ORCHESTRAS IN THE YEAR 2005 SHE CONTINUED DEVELOPING HER CAREER IN LIMA PERU FOR MANY YEARS WHERE SHE HAD A GREAT RECEPTION FROM THE PUBLIC. LATER SHE TRAVELED TO THE UNITED STATES TO CONTINUE HER MUSICAL CAREER WHERE LITTLE BY LITTLE SHE HAS BEEN CLIMBING AND PLACING HERSELF IN HIGH POSITIONS AMONG ARTISTS OF GREAT MUSICAL RANKS. CURRENTLY CONTINUES EXPANDING HER DISCOGRAPHY CURRENTLY WITH 2 CDs, ONE CALLED “PERFUME Y AROMA” THE OTHER “RAICES” NOW WITH HER NEW SINGLE CALLED DUELE BY THE COMPOSERS DIEGO WHICH WILL BECOME ONE OF THE SONGS ON HER NEW AND 3RD CD. HER BEST KNOWN STAMP WHEN SINGING AND BY WHICH EVERYONE KNOWS HER IS THE WORD “CAMINALO” WHICH SHE HAS ADOPTED AND IS REMAINING IN THE MEMORY OF THE PUBLIC, WITHOUT A DOUBT, AN ARTIST WHO WITH HER LOVE AND DEDICATION IS LITTLE BY LITTLE ACHIEVING TO PLACE HERSELF IN THE MUSIC GUILD AND CONTINUE TO OFFER THE PUBLIC A DIVERSITY OF RHYTHMS, CHARISMA AND LOVE.

NACIDA EN LA HABANA – CUBA UN 12 DE MAYO DE 1979 •CANTANTE CUBANA QUE INTERPRETA VARIOS GENEROS (SALSA,SON,RUMBA,BOLEROS, BALADAS ENTRE OTROS RITMOS LATINOAMERICANOS. DESARROLLO SU CARRERA DESDE MUY CORTA EDAD EN CUBA Y ASI EL RESTO DEL MUNDO CON DIFERENTES ORQUESTAS FEMENINAS CUBANAS EN EL ANO 2005 SIGUE DESARROLLANDO SU CARRERA EN LIMA PERU POR MUCHOS AÑOS DONDE TUVO UNA GRAN ACOGIDA DEL PUBLICO POSTERIORMENTE VIAJA A LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS PARA SEGUIR SU CARRERA MUSICAL DONDE POCO A POCO HA IDO ESCALANDO Y COLOCANDOSE EN ALTOS PUESTOS ENTRE ARTISTAS DE GRANDES RANGOS MUSICALES ACTUALMENTE CONTINUA AMPLIANDO SU DISCOGRAFIA CONTANDO EN ESTE MOMENTO CON 2 CD UNO LLAMADO \”PERFUME Y AROMA\” EL OTRO \”RAICES\” AHORA CONTANDO CON SU NUEVO SINGLE LLAMADO DUELE DE LAS COMPOSITORAS DIEGO QUE PASARA A SER UNO DE LOS TEMAS D SU NUEVOY 3ER CD SU SELLO MAS CONOCIDO AL CANTAR Y POR EL CUAL TODOS LA CONOCEN ES LA PALABRA \”CAMINALO\” QUE HA ADOPTADO Y ESTA QUEDANDO EN LA MEMORIA DEL PUBLICO SIN DUDA ALGUNA UNA ARTISTA QUE CON SU AMOR Y DEDICACION ESTA LOGRANDO POCO APOCO COLOCARSE EN EL GREMIO MUSICAL Y SEGUIR OFRECIENDO AL PUBLICO DIVERSIDAD DE RITMOS, CARISMA Y AMOR.

\\Born Lena Pérez on February 18, 1978, in Havana, Cuba, Lena Burke hails from a distinguished musical lineage as the daughter of renowned singer Malena Burke and granddaughter of the legendary Elena Burke. Displaying prodigious talent from a young age, she began composing songs at three, learned guitar at five, and pursued classical piano studies by seven. After 12 years of rigorous training, she emerged as a concert pianist, earning several accolades. Her vocal abilities were later discovered, leading her to provide backing vocals for prominent artists such as Gloria Estefan, Julio Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez, Thalía, Jaci Velasquez, Chayanne, and Alejandro Sanz. Sanz played a pivotal role in advancing her career by introducing her to his record label, resulting in her debut single \”Tu Corazón,\” a duet with Sanz that garnered a Latin Grammy nomination for Song of the Year. In 2008, she released her second album, \”La Mala,\” further solidifying her position in the Latin music scene. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lena_Burke?utm_source=chatgpt.com

A direct descendent of Cuban singers Elena Burke and Marlena Burke — her grandmother and mother, respectively — as well as daughter of producer Rey Nerio, Lena Pérez knew from an early age that she wanted to be a musician. Born in Havana, Lena took both guitar and classical piano lessons as a child, finding that her true love lay in the latter. Also interested in voice, she perfected her skills singing backup on albums for artists like Gloria Estefan, Julio Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez, Thalía, Jaci Velasquez, Chayanne, and Alejandro Sanz. Despite her familial connections, it was meeting with the latter, however, that set her career as a singer and performer into motion. Sanz was so impressed with the songs Lena sang for him that he introduced her to the people at Warner Music Latina, who soon signed the young Cuban. In 2005 her self-titled debut came out, followed by a tour that spanned much of Latin America as well as part of Europe. A couple of years later she starred in La Mala, a biopic of legendary Cuban singer La Lupe, for which she also recorded all the songs. A soundtrack album was released in 2008. In 2010 she teamed up with Spanish singer Alex Ubago and Colombian Jorge Villamizar, formerly of Bacilos, for the project Alex, Jorge y Lena.

Hailing from a rich musical heritage, Nic N Taya is a prominent Latin singer who has seamlessly blended their roots into a modern artistic identity. Born and raised in a culturally diverse environment, Nic N Taya\’s early exposure to a variety of musical genres sparked their passion for expression through music. From an early age, they showcased remarkable vocal talent and an innate ability to connect with audiences.

Nic N Taya\’s journey as a Latin singer began with formal training and an exploration of various musical styles, allowing them to hone their craft and develop a signature sound that fuses traditional Latin rhythms with contemporary elements. This innovative approach quickly gained attention and paved the way for collaborations with esteemed artists across the Latin music industry. With a growing discography and a dedicated fan base, continues to enchant audiences with their heartfelt performances, cementing their status as a dynamic and influential figure in the modern Latin music scene.

Born in Havana, Leonel O Zúñiga, saxophonist, flutist and composer, began his musical career with the guitar. The first group that he formed, at the age of 12, was “Onda Chá” with a charanga formation interpreting themes of Cuban music in vogue at that time. He began his academic training at the prestigious Amadeo Roldán school in Havana but moved to the Ignacio Cervantes school, where in addition to his guitar studies, he began to study the flute, under the tutelage of the prestigious Alfredo Portela.

Later he became interested in the cello, and later also in the saxophone. Simultaneous his studies with his collaborations in different orchestras, among which “Iresón”, “Roberto Faz” and “El Muso and his orchestra” stand out, with which he makes different tours, both in Cuba and abroad. A few years ago he moved to Spain, where he formed his own group “Havana Street Band”, with which he went on different tours, sharing the stage with some of the most prestigious Cuban groups, such as José Luis Cortés and “NG La Banda”. currently on the Ressons Jazz circuit, sponsored by the Generalitat de Catalunya.

His discography is made up of the following albums: “La Bola de Candela”, with the group Iresón, “Harta” with Roberto Faz; “Between the sword and the wall” with Muso and his orchestra; “The Art of Improvisation” with Kantaka and Yambambé, with Osnide. He is currently in the process of releasing his first album as leader of his formation, which he will title: “Con guapería”

The revelation group of the Latin scene. The rising star of its genre. Leonel O Zúñiga, saxophonist, flutist and composer, leads a group of excellent musicians from whom the best salsa of the moment springs, the most innovative. As a leader, composer and arranger, he manages to give another vision of traditional music and the Latin genre, exploring new ways to fuse these elements with jazz, Afro, funk and other languages. As a flutist, he has gone further, he has expanded the musical jurisdiction of the Cuban flute, taking it to unparalleled heights.

The individual quality of its members is enhanced as a group, to give their music the rhythm and flavor that make them unforgettable.

They have an interesting repertoire of their own songs of great strength, and in musical arrangements of great quality, of traditional Cuban songs as well as international songs. These have been performed by extraordinary Cuban arrangers, including pianist Lázaro Calvo and bassist Roberto Riverón.

The show is not only made up of its rhythmic music, but also of choreographies that inevitably encourage us to follow them. Seeing and listening to them is a pleasure. It is well known that in Cuba, musical education is one of the pillars of the educational system of this country and that the musical sensitivity of Cubans is enhanced for this very reason, which is why it is common for a Cuban musician to dominate several instruments. Such is the case of the director of this formation, Zúñiga as he is known in the musical world, who although he presents himself as a flutist and tenor saxophonist, he also dominates the baritone sax, the cello and the guitar and is capable of playing other instruments with dignity.

Although this fact is quite common in Cuba, it is no less true that Zúñiga is a highly respected musician for his interpretive quality and musical sensitivity, having been part of big-name groups in this country.

As usual in groups of this style, they also have a Latin jazz repertoire in which their brilliant wind section stands out, with a traditional structure: sax, trumpet, trombone, complemented by the flute. In this case, they also have their own songs and adaptations of songs by great musicians, such as “Claudia” by Chucho Valdés.