Palenke Arts is proud to present Mulatos, a new musical project featuring three of the most exciting Cuban-born artists residing in the Bay Area: Jesus Díaz (percussion and vocals, Havana), Edgar Pantoja Alemán (piano, Santiago de Cuba) and Yadier Noa (bass, Camagüey)
The term "mulato" (mulatto) refers to the fusion of African and European cultures, which gave rise to a uniquely rich musical history in Cuba. Mulato's repertoire is a journey through rhythms like habanera, contradanza, danzón, changüí, cha cha chá and rumba that were popularized by the great Cuban composers like Saumell, Cervantes and Lecuona.
Cuban pianist/composer/arranger Edgar Pantoja is nothing less than a force of nature on the contemporary jazz and Latin music scenes. Born in Santiago de Cuba, Edgar has spent over 20 years performing modern and traditional Cuban music on the world’s most important stages. He has toured and collaborated with influential musicians including Rubén Blades, John Benítez, David Murray, and Angelique Kidjo. More recently he was a member of the Pedrito Martínez Group that performed throughout the world at venues such as the Montreaux Jazz Festival, the Monterey Jazz Festival and Carnegie Hall.
Cuban-born percussionist Jesús Díaz has quietly and assuredly taken the Bay Area music scene by storm, and established a place in the world of Latin and Cuban-style dance music. This musical tradition is rooted in the firm belief in the importance of creating new and unique “signature” styles and sounds. The drive of the music is a direct function of remaining actively engaged with the dancers. Most recently, Jesús Díaz Y Su QBA have shared the stage along with renowned Cuban artists such as Isaac Delgado and Manolin “El Medico de La Salsa”, demonstrating that original “Timba” is indeed alive and well here in the United States.
Jesus Diaz has performed, toured and recorded with such artists as, Carlos Santana, Andy Narrell, Dizzy Gillespie, Bobbie Womack, Steve Coleman, Caribbean Jazz Project, Planet Drum, Talking Drums, Pete Escovedo and Sheila E.
Camagüey native Yadier Noa is a graduate in contrabass and electric bass from the Escuela Nacional de Arte (ENA) in Havana, where he also worked as electric bass faculty. Upon his arrival to the US, Noa has quickly made his mark in the Bay Area Cuban music scene collaborating with artists like Fito Reinoso, Edgar Pantoja and Jesús Díaz. His vast musical career, which has taken predominantly in Cuba ranges from traditional Cuban son and salsa projects such as Tania Pantoja or Paulo FG y su Élite to avant-garde Latin Jazz projects, such as the Yasek Manzano Jazz Project.
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Earlier Event: September 14
Cascada de Flores in concert - Flores sin Fronteras
Later Event: November 3
Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Hass