Special Guest: Fatoumata Diawara
Barbican Hall, London | Monday 26th March
This Buena Vista Social Club prodigy and Havana Cultura star has grabbed Cuban music by the horns and drawn it, hot, stylish and sultry, into the 21st century. Roberto Fonseca’s new album, YO, is out now and looks back to his Caribbean roots while striking forwards with red-hot grooves, electronic beats and sensuous lyricism that effortlessly updates Cuba's musical lineage.
Fonseca hits the road as the album is released with a seven-date UK tour starting on Fri 23 Mar. The London concert is at The Barbican Hall, London on Monday 26th March.
The tour line-up features Fonseca on piano and keyboards, Baba Sissoko on African percussion, Joel Hierrezuelo on Cuban percussion, Ramsés Rodríguez on drums, Yandy Martínez on bass, Jorge Chicoy on guitar, Javier Zalba on sax, flute and clarinet and Sekou Kouyate on kora. This group is the sound of things to come in Afro-Cuban music, and with Roberto Fonseca at the helm, it is sure to be one of the live shows to catch in 2012.
The tour line-up features Fonseca on piano and keyboards, Baba Sissoko on African percussion, Joel Hierrezuelo on Cuban percussion, Ramsés Rodríguez on drums, Yandy Martínez on bass, Jorge Chicoy on guitar, Javier Zalba on sax, flute and clarinet and Sekou Kouyate on kora. This group is the sound of things to come in Afro-Cuban music, and with Roberto Fonseca at the helm, it is sure to be one of the live shows to catch in 2012.
Opening for Roberto on this Black Routes tour is Ayanna, the first non-American to win the legendary Amateur Night Live at the Harlem Apollo, whose beguiling vocals skip and swing over intimate, honey-sweet cello. Her music was recently celebrated in an evening devoted to her work at the Kings Place Festival in London, and last year she was commissioned to write a new piece for the Bath Festival, following residencies at Wigmore Hall and Aldeburgh. She’s just finished a UK tour with Natty and recording in New York with Kronos Quartet, which neatly captures her full range.
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Website: http://www.robertofonseca.com
PRESS QUOTES
ROBERTO FONSECA
"A fabulously gifted pianist, composer and band leader ... one of a new breed who can transcend musical boundaries through sheer quality." Guardian
"A genre-busting tour de force ... the lyricism of his playing recalls Herbie Hancock but he can animate the courtly dramas of Cuban tradition." Observer
"Absolutely, wonderfully gripping." Arts Desk "His piano playing is muscular and quicksilver, percussively rhythmic and floating melodic." Evening
Standard "It‟s a heartbeat for contemporary Afro-Cuban life." Times "Thrilling energy." Uncut "An elegant line and an unhurried feel for time and space. Fonseca is a star." Independent "Sensuous, fresh, modern - Roberto Fonseca brings the piano dazzlingly to life." Daily Telegraph AYANNA "Cellist and singer Ayanna Witter-Johnson has to be heard to be believed." Time Out
