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Son Cubano is one of the most popular musical styles in Cuba and Kiki Valera is one of its leading exponents

Over the last century, this style of traditional Cuban music has contributed to many other musical genres, including jazz, cha cha cha, mambo, salsa, songo and timba.

Cuban Son is one of the most popular musical styles in Cuba and Kiki Valera is one of its greatest exponents.

Cuban son is the music that made the Buena Vista Social Club worldwide stars in the late 1990s, but Kiki Valera comes from a family of musicians whose involvement with Cuban son predates BVSC by decades.

Kiki Valera is the eldest son of the famous septet La Familia Valera Miranda, a multi-generational traditional music group from Santiago de Cuba.

Since the 19th century, La Familia Valera Miranda has played an important role in Cuban culture by collecting and preserving the deep-rooted traditions of the legendary Sierra Maestra mountain region.

Their debut album, “Antología Integral Del Son”, released in 1982, helped initiate the explosion of interest in traditional Cuban music.

Kiki, like most of her family, is a virtuoso. A multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, sound engineer and producer, he is best known as one of the world’s best players of the Cuban cuatro, a medium-sized guitar with 8 strings grouped in sets of 2.

Kiki Valera is the eldest son of the famous septet La Familia Valera Miranda, a multigenerational group of traditional music from Santiago de Cuba.

Kiki learned the Cuban tres under the guidance of his father Felix as a child.

He later attended one of Cuba’s most prestigious music schools, the Esteban Salas Conservatory, in Santiago de Cuba and by the age of 15 was touring internationally.

Kiki continues to conduct, compose, arrange and perform internationally. She also performs and teaches in Seattle, Washington, where she contributes to the vibrant Pacific Northwest music scene.

His current project features several other internationally renowned artists, including Coco Freeman (former singer for Adalberto Alvarez y su Son and NG La Banda), vocalist Carlos Cascante (three-time Grammy Award winning vocalist for the Spanish Harlem Orchestra), trumpeter Alexis Baró (Cubanismo and Omara Portuondo) and bongocero Pedro Vargas (Barbarito Torres’ band). (Kiki Valera)

“Vacilón Santiaguero” is Kiki Valera’s second solo release in the United States after many distinguished years as the director of La Familia Valera Miranda in Santiago de Cuba.

He goes beyond his core group to present collaborations with some Grammy® award winning musicians and features his favorite trumpet players, some born in Cuba, some born in the U.S., but all with reputations jus????ficadas for playing Cuban music for love, if not DNA.

Son Cubano is one of the most popular musical styles in the world.

“Vacilón” is one of those words that doesn’t have a perfect English equivalent to Cuban Spanish, but something that’s a really good time (a little rum or aguardiente always helps).

So what sets this project apart from the vast mountain of excellent traditional albums already out there? Not only is there Kiki’s custom-made Cuban cuatro, which brings a unique texture to the sound, rather than a tres, but, in his jazz-influenced hands, you’ll occasionally hear twists and turns in his improvisations that you probably weren’t expecting when you first glanced at the song titles, which are mostly Cuban evergreens.

Thanks to Kiki’s creative arrangements, this is no mere recycling of covers of these classic songs.

Kiki is as exacting with the recording, mixing and mastering work as he is with the arrangements.

Much of the recording and mixing was done in Kiki’s custom home studio, and Grammy® winner Michael Lazarus mastered the project.

The result will be an audiophile’s delight, a reason, I might add, to want the physical product for your collection (Kiki Valera).

Kiki Valera – Vacilón Santiaguero (2024).

Tracks:

Este Vacilón (Felix Valera Miranda)
El Ají de Cocina (Felix Valera Miranda)
Sobre una Tumba una Rumba (Ignacio Piñeiro)
El Penquito e’ Coleto (Francisco Repilado “Compay Segundo”)
Funfuñando (Arsenio Rodriguez)
La Guajira (Olga de Blanck)
Mari-Juana (Juana María Casas)
Muñequita Feliz (DR)
El Empanadillero (Teodoro Benemelis)
Pájaro Lindo (Felipe Neri Cabrera)
Dos Gardenias (Isolina Carrillo)
El Cuarto de Tula (Sergio Gonzales Siaba)

Musicians:

Kiki Valera (Cuban cuatro, guitar, bass, harpsichord, maracas and backing vocals).

Pedro Vargas (congas, bongos and backing vocals)

Steve Guasch (Backing vocals)

Carlos Cascante (Lead vocals on tracks #1,#4,#5,#7,#9,#10,#12)

Francisco “Coco” Freeman (Lead vocals on tracks #2,#11)

Joshuah de Jesus (Lead vocal on tracks #3,#8)

Raquel Zozaya (Lead vocals on track #6).

Special guests:

Alexis Baró (Trumpet on tracks #1, #3, #4, #6, #9, #11).

Steve Mostovoy (Trumpet on tracks #1, #3, #3, #6, #11)

Michael Rodríguez & Jonathan Powell (Trumpet on track #8)

Pete Nater & Dennis Hernández (Trumpet on tracks #2, #5, #7, #12)

Brian Lynch & Thomas Marriott (Trumpet on tracks #1#0)

Leon Q Allen (Trumpet on track #4)

https://www.kikivalera.com/

Also Read: Yilian Cañizares, an excellent Cuban musician, studied in her hometown in the strictest tradition of the Russian school of violin

Veruska Verdú woman full of Barloventeña roots currently doing artistic work in Peru

On January 26, 1993 was born in the city of Caracas Venezuela, Cristina Veruska Verdú Mendoza, a woman full of Barloventeña roots.

Currently doing artistic work in Peru,

Veruska Verdú woman full of Barloventeñas

Premiering the songs “ME CANSE DE TI, LA NEGRITA, Y PASITO A PASITO” This is the first advance of “Caminando”, solo album that the Venezuelan artist plans to release this year and which will include songs of her authorship.

Third finalist of “LA VOZ PERU” season 2022, a program of great artistic relevance, where for the first time in the program a participant arrives as a foreign singer to the final.

Singer in Tonny Succar’s orchestra in Peru with Mimy Succar.

Special participation in the video clip, QUIMBARA of the producer Tonny Succar.

Participates hand in hand with the great musician and international producer Tito Manrique creator of the Salsa criolla, nominated to the Latin Grammy and winner of VIÑA DEL MAR. Participating in a solo track on his album Abriendo Caminos with the song and video of the song Taita Bilongo (Peruvian salsa/afro fusion).

From the production of Puerto Rican composer Eduardo Zayas and his project ¨EZ la Banda¨ sings with another legend of salsa singer Rafy Andino singer of the MULENZE Orchestra the song ¨Sabor y Sandunga¨, also recorded a song with Luchito Muños “Dos puntos de vista”.

Veruska fue invitada especial en dos temas de la producción llamada “Huerta de Soneros” con el tema ¨Yo soy la Rumba¨ y otro junto al legendario cantante Johnny Vega (cantante de Cortijo y su Combo) ¨Nació para cantar¨, igual del compositor Eduardo Zayas.

Veruska Verdú, a woman full of Barloventeño roots, is currently doing artistic work in Peru.

Also invited to the production of producer Gerson Zayas, performing the song “Cuando deje de amarte”.

Works with producer and pianist Kike Purizaga, Mario Cuba, singer Carlos Mosquera, with Juan Medrano “Cotito” known as the voice of the cajo of Peru and many more.

Along with producer Alberto Crespo and Daniel Espinoza, recording choirs for the film of Ricardo Rey and Bobby Cruz with Rodrigo Mendoza and Wilmer Lozano.

She is invited to work with international musician Alfredo Naranjo in his project “El Guageo” with singer Edgar Dolor Quijada.

Later they work together with the great Venezuelan musician Nene Quintero in the “Be Jazz Sessions” project also winner of the Pepsi Awards 2019 which sold out all their concerts during the framework of its activities which had international reach.

She sings as a special guest with the classic Sonero del Caribe.

She shares the stage as a duo with Rodrigo Mendoza, singer of Dimensión Latina and of great worldwide trajectory.

She is part of the project “Salsa Master” with the participation of Edgar dolor Quijada, Marcial Isturiz, Rodrigo Mendoza and percussionist Cheo Navarro.

Veruzska was also a special guest in the orchestra “RUMBEROS DEL CALLEJON” of Carlos Padron in which she participates in its production along with the staff of artists such as Wilmer Lozano, Rodrigo Mendoza, Gonzalo Diaz, Memo Arroyave, and international artists such as Tito Nieves, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Maelo Ruiz and Domingo Quiñonez.

He began his musical career when he was only eight years old in the Afro-Venezuelan genre (traditional Venezuelan Afro music). Where he participated in various festivals being in first place in each of them.

Later he joined the ranks of the prestigious “Orquesta Latino Caribeña” of the orchestra system which is directed at that time by the great maestro Alberto Vergara, orchestra with great projection and impact in the country (Venezuela), participating in major festivals in countries like the United States and Colombia captivating the public with his voice.

Pasito a Pasito · Veruska Verdú

All the power of her voice, the flavor and the feeling.

Songs from the album that she is recently finishing the recording of

La Negrita

Pasito a Pasito

Me Canse de ti

It is a great joy for me to share this event with you. My dear friend Veruska Verdu does not stop growing and now she is going all out with the help of Takina Records to make a Celia Cruz Tribute in style.
By: Alberto Valles Salazar.

Also Read: Virginia Ramirez is the artist of the XXI century, the Princess of Piano and Voice, the hope that will save the new generations of anti-music

Jimmy Bosch. The Creole Trombone of New York.

Norteamerica / USA / Nueva York

Jimmy Bosch was born on October 18, 1959 to a Puerto Rican family in the city of Hoboken in the state of New Jersey.

At the elementary school of his hometown, at the age of eleven Jimmy Bosch was offered a trombone which would give the starting point in his career. According to him, that metallic, valveless, long instrument (which was taller than him) was not necessarily what a child dreamed of; Perhaps, at that time, children dreamed of traveling to the moon, or with an electric guitar that would make them look like The Beatles or, failing that, the Rolling Stones. It didn’t take long for that 11-year-old boy to transform this instrument into an expression of his already visible creativity.

At the age of 13, the talented Jimmy was rehearsing with local bands and making his first foray onto the public stage a year or two later. His determination, the Latin blood that ran through his veins and the taste for the genre that had captivated him on so many occasions, led him to play with the most recognized band in the city: Manny Oquendo & Conjunto Libre. His dexterity and ingenuity in playing “moñas” (a section of trombone solos that enrich the melody) helped him to work with them since 1978, which is why it was alongside the Mythical Free Ensemble that Jimmy experienced the freedom to express himself musically with the trombone

On March 11, 1996, Jimmy Bosch debuted with his band at the internationally known S.O.B.’s nightclub. The result was immediate: Publications in the most prestigious newspapers in the Big Apple such as the “New York Times”, praising his excellence and a house full of loyal fans began to crown the dream of this tropical music worker. In this way he becomes a remarkably respected musician and an icon of Latin culture in New York.

His compositions reflect the creativity and depth of who Jimmy Bosch is. He takes his audience on a journey from Bronx-style “funk” to “hot” guajiras, melodious cha-cha-chás, and clearly poetic lyrics awash with feeling. Thus, Jimmy pays tribute to the other teachers who share their presentations generating remembrance and posterity in each one of them.

In 1998, under the Ryko Latino label, his first solo album, “Soneando trombone”, was released. Jimmy included a “Big Band” with renowned Latin virtuoso artists, such as trumpeter Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros, bassist Andy González, and singers like Jimmy Sabater and Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez. They played a mix of Latin styles, including “hard sauce,” of which Bosch is one of its greatest exponents. Bosch not only played a virtuoso trombone, but was also the musical director on that recording.

With his recording debut as a solo artist, Bosch scored a definite success on the international scene. In Europe critics welcomed his musical creations. And in the United States, newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times were full of praise for their brilliant performances.

At the beginning of 1999, the popular musician returns to the charts with a new production: “Salsa dura“. In this production, including musicians like Steve Turre and Chucho Valdés, it was as diverse, strong, and tough as his first production. The recording also included songs like I’m Still Changing. For the release of “Salsa dura” the Creole trombonist traveled to Europe and performed on countless stages of the Old Continent.

Persevering in his creativity, in 2004 Bosch received new applause in Puerto Rico, presenting his musical proposal at jazz festivals. His bows have accompanied such important figures in the salsa industry around the planet as the aforementioned Free Ensemble of Manny Oquendo and Andy González, Eddie Palmieri, Ray Barretto, Rubén Blades, India, the Lebron Brothers, La Combinación Perfecta, Cachao, Spanish Harlem Orchestra and Celia Cruz among others. He was the musical director of the outstanding Puerto Rican performer Marc Anthony.

The late creator of the Mambo, Israel “Cachao” López, composed for him the song “Lluvia, viento y caña”. The legendary trombone solo can be heard on the Grammy-winning recording, “Master Sessions Vol. 1” produced by Emilio Estefan and Andy García.

This talented musician stamps his signature with his particular way of playing the trombone, becoming his personal stamp in the music industry. Today, Jimmy Bosch is famous for his explosive solos, full of melody, vibration and funk.

Known by many as “El Trombón Criollo” for the strength of his improvisations, Jimmy radiates his energy to any musical challenge. Jimmy brings us El airplane de la salsa, his latest production, surrounded by high-voltage musicians and soneros.

José Antonio “Maceo” Rodríguez was a faithful cultivator of Son Cubano and participated in the Afro Cuban All Stars project

José Antonio “Maceo” Rodríguez was born on April 17, 1950 in Holguín, Cuba.

Famous sonero voice leader of the group Sierra Maestra, he began his career at the beginning of the eighties of the last century with the group Sierra Maestra, integrated by former students of the Polytechnic University José Antonio Echeverría, of Havana, with which he won a televised contest of new musicians.

José Antonio Maceo Rodríguez was a faithful cultivator of Son Cubano and participated in the Afro Cuban All Stars project.

He died at the age of 55 on November 6, 2005 in Copenhagen, Denmark, of a heart attack, after giving a concert with his group at the end of a tour of Europe.

He was born on April 17, 1950 in a modest country house in the vicinity of the Antonio Maceo Sugar Mill, in Cacocun, in the eastern province of Holguin.

Relatives and neighbors say that since he was a child he loved art, music, pirouettes and attracting attention.

October 20, 1976 in Havana, together with his classmates at the José Antonio Echevarría University Center, he founded the musical group Sierra Maestra, called at that time Grupo de Sones de la Facultad de Ingeniería Eléctrica.

Those young dreamers performed in the popular contest “Todo el Mundo Canta”, where they took off on a spiral of success in Cuba and the world.

They traveled to many countries promoting Cuban music. They participated in Festivals of international relevance in Australia, Bosnia, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, United Kingdom, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Macedonia, Mexico, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Slovenia, Turkey, Yugoslavia and the United States.

A faithful cultivator of Son, Rodríguez participated in the Afro Cuban All Stars project, nominated for a Grammy in 1998 and parallel to the Buena Vista Social Club.

His excellent voice, comparable according to critics to that of the great cultivators of the genre, was one of the emblematic of the current Cuban dance music scene.

She began recording in 1981 her first album, “Sierra Maestra Llegó con El Guanajo Relleno”, was a silver disc and received excellent reviews. He participated in the Afro Cuban All Stars project, and parallel to the Buena Vista Social Club.

The trumpet player José Alemañy, Cubanisimo, and Juan de Marcos González, founder of the Buena Vista Social Club, were his partners in the group for years, and together they undertook the task of recovering the tradition of famous sones and soneros, revitalizing the genre at a time when other musicians were opting for salsa and more commercial rhythms.

According to the Cuban composer, José Antonio Rodríguez not only possessed a very special voice, “he also had the courage and human qualities to remain faithful to that style, the son style, which is the mother of Cuban music”.

The repertoire of Rodriguez, known as Maceo among his friends and admirers, included, in addition to the great classics of traditional son, pieces that became very popular in his voice, such as Dame un traguito ahora or Esa mujer lo que quiere es que la miren.

Maceo, although small in stature, was an immense man, someone who could not conceive where to keep the torrent of voice he displayed without ostentation, so much musicality, intonation and love for Cuban music.

José Antonio was not only a great musician, he was a great person, very loved by his closest friends and in general by the people whose affection and admiration he won since the participation of Sierra Maestra in the Adolfo Guzmán contest and that thanks to his special way of interpreting the Cuban son, great musicians such as Ignacio Piñeiro’s Septeto were born again in the popular taste.

The singer died on November 6, 2005, just a few hours after finishing the European tour of Sierra Maestra with a concert at the Amager concert hall in Copenhagen.

With this presentation, the popular band put an end to the performance of all the Cuban artists who participated in the First International Latin Music Festival of that capital. The sonero’s remains were repatriated to Cuba, where he was buried.

Also Read: Bamboleo de Lázaro Valdés is another of those exquisite Cuban products, as well as sweet rum and mild cigars

Here we have Brazilian bandleader and composer Paula Maya

Today we have an exclusive that makes us very happy, since it is a talented artist from a country we had never talked about in this section: Brazil. We are talking about none other than the award-winning bandleader, composer, pianist, keyboardist and singer Paula Maya, with whom we had the privilege to talk by Zoom.

Paula has a very interesting background, since she was born in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro, the birthplace of the world famous bossa nova genre and the popular composer, pianist and singer Carlos Antonio ”Tom” Jobim. It is clar that this had much to do with artistic inclinations that the woman would show later in her life.

Under her belt, she has several nominations and awards she received thanks to her talent and effort of so many years as her nomination to the Focus Web News Brazilian International Press Awards in the category of Best Brazilian Musician living in the US, her nomination to the Austin Chronicle Music Awards in the category of Top Ten World Music Bands, Winner of the Seattle Weekly Awards in the category of Best Brazilian Composer, her nomination to the Seattle Hot Rocks TV Show Music Awards in the category of Best Female Singer, among others.

Here are the most important topics we touched with lovely Paula about her life and career.

Singer Paula Maya — Brazilian bandleader, composer, pianist, keyboardist and singer Paula Maya

Paula’s early interest in music

Paula first developed an interest in music when she was only four years old or even younger, as she had musical toys such as pianos or keyboards she used to play with all the time. To this it is added that her mother always listened to classical music, which she already found beautiful back then.

What is interest about his direct family is the fact that there were no musicians in it. In fact, her father was a lawyer and her mother was a dancer and yoga instructor, but a cousin of hers was a bandleader, composer and music teacher who traveled to the United States and developed quite a big reputation at the time, so he became an example for Paula, who would end up following in his footsteps in the future.

When she turned 10 years old, she began taking piano lessons, which was her first formal experience with music. Since then, she has continued to learn about a lot of instruments and areas related to this art, which she assures that it is so rich and diverse that you never stop learning new things.

Paula’s mentors in music

Paula has been very fortunate to be mentored by some of the most talented musical celebrities in Brazil and one of them was producer and percussionist Teo Lima, with whom she has continued to work on her latest album to the present. Paula met this Brazilian legend in Seattle, where she lived for 17 years, and music led them to form a great friendship that has lasted until today.

They had wanted to make an album together for many years and it has finally happened, which was a dream for Paula, as she grew up listening to his greatest hits and dreamed about one day meeting him. Not only did she meet him, but also she became his friend and worked with him.

Another name we can leave out is guitarist Baden Powell, whom Paula met in her early twenties and describes him as someone who supported her a great deal in her career and even came to her shows to watch her sing.

Another artist who was important in her training was Luizihno Eça, who was one of the greatest exponents of bossa nova at the time and a great reference for all musicians who wanted to follow in his footsteps.

Paula at ONE-2-ONE BAR — Paula Maya performing at ONE-2-ONE BAR in Austin, Texas

Music theory and the Brazilian Conservatory of Music

Paula comments that, before entering the Brazilian Conservatory of Music, she had an excellent teacher who was a concert pianist of name Luis Magalhães, who taught her the best piano techniques that she uses today in her performances, meaning that she was admitted to the hous of studies with a solid foundation of knowledge that helped her a lot.

In addition to that, music theory has been very useful for Paula at the time of teaching her classes, since she is a music teacher and thinks that all this knowledge is fundamental for an artist’s education, since music is very logical and occasionally you must look for quick answers to certain situations that certainly require studying and academic training.

She also told us that she usually uses music theory when composing because of the theoretical part, but not always.

Paula as a bandleader, pianist, keyboardist and singer

When we asked Paula how she has developed and performed in all these areas of music, she laughs and says that this is just the beginning, as she is also in charge of producing, composing, recording her albums, running the business part, making booking arrangements, among other things. ”That’s the life of a musician nowadays, especially when you don’t have a machinery behind you to back you up” Paula said on this topic.

This means that, apart from all the musical knowledge Paula has, she also takes care of all the details regarding her work, but they do not have to do with her profession directly. She does not have a large team of assistants to back her up, so she manages everything related to her career herself.

Since there are so many things she should do, she has a calendar in which she arranges the day and time to do every activity and always follows it to the letter. The artist says that the hardest thing about this is finding the time to be inspired and compose, since so many occupations, sometimes, do not let her clear her mind. However, she has learned to take full advantage of those few spaces.

Paula playing the keyboard — Paula Maya playing the keyboard at Barton Creek Farmers Market in Austin, Texas

Paula’s role as a Grammy Award voting member

For some time, Paula was a Grammy Awards voting member in its version in English and Spanish, so we could not very well not ask her about this important issue.

She told us that, although it is true that she is no longer part of the committee responsible for voting, social networks and these new forms of communication have made things much easier, since judges and committee members have groups on Facebook, WhatsApp and other platforms where they can conduct the necessary discussions.

In her particular case, what she considered when the time comes to vote for a nominee was talent and how much she liked a type of performance, but all member had their own particular approach to choosing a specific artist.

Something that Paula definitely did not like was that the majority of votes to an artist did not necessarily reward talent, but rather the popularity of the moment and promotion. She thinks this is not entirely fair, since talent, music skills and preparation do not always go hand in hand with popularity, but she is also aware that the ”game” is as well and she had to adapt to it.

Paula Maya & Bosa Nova Plus

Paula says laughing that everybody in Seattle expected her to play bossa nova because she was Brazilian, but she refused to do so. Eventually, she ended up doing exactly what the public expected and started playing bossa nova when she moved to Austin, Texas.

The fact that this Texan city has so many residents and musicians from Brazilian descent living in Austin has been an advantage for this genre to continue to become more popular and this niche to develop more and more. This led her to meet the musicians who have accompanied her in the band, who also came from playing bossa nova and other genres during their respective careers.