Roberto Fonseca : piano, keyboads
Joel Hierrezuelo : percussion
Javier Zalba : clarinet, saxophones, flute
Ramsés Rodríguez : drums
Omar González : bass
recorded live at Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, July 3, 2009
1. Lento y despacio
2. Bulgarian
3. Lo que me hace vivir
4. El ritmo de tus hombros
5. Siete potencias
6. Consumatum est
7. Drume Negrita
8. Llegó Cachaito
9. Eighties
Roberto Fonseca is a Cuban jazz pianist, born in Havana in 1975. After an early interest in drums, Fonseca switched to piano at the age of 8, and by 14 was experimenting with fusing American jazz and traditional Cuban rhythms; he appeared at Havana’s Jazz Plaza Festival in 1991 when he was just 15.
Fonseca studied at the Cuba’s prestigious Instituto Superior de Arte, where he obtained a Master’s degree in composition, even though he often says that he was a really bad student. After earning his degree, he left Cuba to find his sound.
His first album, En El Comienzo, which he recorded with Javier Zalba and the group Temperamento, was awarded “Cuba’s Best Jazz Album” in 1999. This success encouraged him to work on two solo records: Tiene Que Ver and Elengo, combining latin jazz, drum and bass, hip-hop, urban music and Afro-Cuban rhythms.
In 2001, Fonseca went to Japan to record No Limit: Afro Cuban Jazz. He also toured with the Buena Vista Social Club the same year and has worked with Rubén González, Ibrahim Ferrer, Cachaito, Guajiro Mirabal and Manuel Galbán.
In the words of one reviewer, his first album on the enja label, Zamazu, is “a deftly varied and well-sequenced set that leaves a strong impression of who Fonseca is and promises plenty for the future". The latest offering by this great pianist is called "
Akokan", released on enja
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