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Mozart y Mambo: A Cuban Journey with Sarah Willis
Join Berlin Philharmonic horn player Sarah Willis in Havana for a unique musical collaboration combining classical music with Cuban rhythms!
“Mozart should have really been born in Cuba!” This sentiment is at the core of a project combining Mozart and Cuban music. Sarah Willis had the idea years ago, and in 2020, she was able to make her dream a reality.
Sarah Willis is a horn player with the world-renowned Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. She originally travelled to Havana in 2017 to teach a master class. Once on the island, she encountered music everywhere, from salsa, to mambo, to son cubano. There’s hardly a house or street in Cuba that isn’t filled with music. But in the middle of Havana’s old town, there’s a monument commemorating a musician you wouldn’t normally associate with Cuba: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His compositions are known for their playful ease, joie de vivre, and exceptional musicality – and indeed, there are important commonalities between Mozart and Cuban musicians.
Saxophonist Yuniet Lombida Prieto is one of those musicians. He plays chamber music, jazz and salsa on the most important international stages. Then there is the Havana Lyceum Orchestra under the direction of José Antonio Méndez Padrón. Sarah Willis describes him as having a musical soul, and that he could be a sought-after world-famous conductor. But Padrón chose to stay in Cuba. He has directed his orchestra for decades, and tries to offer talented young musicians new prospects in their home country. Indeed, many young people opt to leave Cuba. Living conditions are difficult due to shortages of goods and problems with infrastructure. Good instruments are hard to come by, and even more difficult to keep in good condition because of high humidity. Performances are rare or difficult to schedule. Those are all challenging conditions for a career as a professional musician.
Sarah Willis has visited Cuba four times to teach master classes. She was deeply impressed by the great skill of the musicians, the joy they exude while playing, and their mastery of the art of improvisation—despite or perhaps as a result of their current circumstances.
And so the project “Mozart y Mambo” was born: a one-time musical experience that combines Mozart’s horn concertos with traditional Cuban music—and includes a mambo version of “A Little Night Music.” An album was recorded in January 2020 and released a few months later. With “Mozart y Mambo,” Sarah Willis wants to increase awareness of the skill and talent of her Cuban musical colleagues. A portion of the proceeds from sales of the recording will also go where they’re desperately needed: acquiring new instruments for the Havana Lyceum Orchestra. The orchestra had planned to travel to Germany in the summer of 2020 to present the project live at large-scale German classical music festivals. But the concerts had to be rescheduled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are now set to take place in 2021, when the orchestra will show the world why Mozart should have been Cuban.
* Source: DW Classical Music
* Thumbnail: production photo (c)Monika Rittershaus
Relive the magnificent concert of Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés during the 2024 edition of Jazz à Vienne, in the ancient Roman theater [Théatre Antique] of Vienne
When it comes to ivory and ebony keys, competition is fierce in Cuba, but if there is one pianist who stands above the rest, it is the legendary Chucho Valdés, 82 years old, the “Cuban Mozart”, who from the age of 4 let his fingers run over the family piano and reproduced by ear the melodies he heard on the radio. From his youth on his native island, he has always retained an incredible sense of adaptation to all music, as comfortable when it comes to launching into wild jazz improvisations as when making crowds dance.
On July 10, 2024 at the Jazz à Vienne festival Chucho Valdés celebrated the 50th anniversary of Irakere, the group he founded that marked a before and after in Latin jazz. It was an extraordinary evening dedicated to Afro-Cuban music and jazz. Maestro Valdés was accompanied by a group embodying in all its diversity the essence of the popular and classical music of Cuba.
Chucho Valdés: piano, director
Ramón Álvarez: vocals
Luis Beltrán: alto saxophone
Carlos Averhoff Jr.: tenor saxophone
Eddy De Armas Jr.: trumpet
Osvaldo Fleites: trumpet
José Armando Gola: bass
Roberto Jr. Vizcaíno Torre: percussion
Horacio “El Negro” Hernández: drums
Vienne, Théatre Antique, Festival Jazz à Vienne, France – 10 July 2024
Jonathan Powell’s Mambo Jazz Party showcases his 20-year career as a trumpeter in NYC’s salsa and Latin jazz scene. As a former member of Eddie Palmieri’s groups and collaborator with Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Miguel Zenon, Tito Puente Jr., and many others, Powell’s love for the genre is evident. Mambo Jazz Party features top talents, including trombonist Jimmy Bosch, Grammy-nominated pianist Manuel Valera, and flutist Itai Kriss. With members like trombonist Ryan Keberle, drummer Camilo Molina, and bassist Alex Apolo Ayala, the ensemble promises dynamic performances. Their debut self-titled album is set for release on Circle 9 Records on August 9, 2024.
Featuring
Jonathan Powell – Trumpet, bandleader
Itai Kriss – Flute
Jeremy Powell – Tenor sax
Remy Le Boeuf – Alto and baritone sax
Jimmy Bosch – Trombone
Ryan Keberle – Trombone
Manuel Valera – Piano and keyboards
Alex Apolo Ayala – Bass
Camilo Molina – Drums and percussion
Marcos Torres – Congas
Songs
00:40 – Juancito
13:23 – Connection
20:47 – Love Song
31:04 – Outnumbered
38:26 – United
46:30 – Our Life
58:16 – When I’m With You
01:09:32 – Shade of Jade
This performance and new work by Jonathan Powell and Mambo Jazz Party has been made possible with support from Chamber Music America’s New Jazz Works program funded through the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Production
Lead Audio Engineer: Klaus Larson
Video Engineering: Mark Montour-Larson & Alec Kenefick
Hosted by: Geoff Anderson
KUVO Program Director: Shane German
Booking: Domi Edson
Recorded in the Bonfils-Stanton Performance Studio in Denver, CO
“Tatomania” celebrates the brilliance of Roberto Jr. Vizcaíno from the Royal Quartet, the son of master percussionist Roberto Vizcaíno — who represents a new generation of Cuban percussion greats. Known to Valdés as “Tato” since he was a kid — Valdés performed with his father over the decades — Roberto Jr. shines with a fiery symphony of congas alongside Valdés’ melodic comping and air-tight pocket of the band on. Valdés comments, “Every party in Cuba ends with the conga. Once the congas ignite, we all dance together.”
Acclaimed living legend of Afro-Cuban music, seven-time GRAMMY Award winner and six-time Latin GRAMMY Award winner Chucho Valdés celebrates his lauded 60-year recording career with an instant-classic, Cuba & Beyond, set for release on Friday, September 20, 2024. Valdés is the preeminent composer/pianist of modern Afro-Cuban jazz with international acclaim to his name for deftly fusing the music of his homeland with jazz, classical music, dance music, and rock. His renowned career includes seven albums on Blue Note Records (1991-2003), a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, and being an inductee into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame. On Cuba & Beyond, Valdés composes yet another masterpiece featuring his electrifying Royal Quartet as he carries his legacy forward with a world-class catalog of recordings.
With nearly 30 albums, Valdés remains ever-young at heart while composing an array of his greatest works yet. On Cuba & Beyond, Valdés performs with his electrifying Royal Quartet featuring Horacio El Negro Hernández (drums), José Armando Gola (bass), and Roberto Jr. Vizcaíno (percussion).
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Nancy Smith
Feb 1, 2021 at 11:13 pm
how can I buy this 26 minute video ?
Danilo Navas
Feb 18, 2021 at 9:31 pm
It’s actually available for free viewing on YouTube. It’s not for sale.