Roberto Fonseca

Tickets: http://tktwb.tw/1pNWu8A

When Roberto Fonseca plays, the music seeps from every pore in his body, at times on stage he stands and hammers the piano as if it were a percussion instrument or he grabs a drum and transforms his group into a comparsa – the Cuban carnival groups that parade the streets once a year – and gets the audiences dancing euphorically…..

YO, Fonseca’s new album, continues this party like never before. Recognized as a major influence on modern Cuban jazz, and jazz in general, he proves that his horizons are not limited by the subtleties of jazz, nor to just the Caribbean.

That he has chosen to title it simply ‘yo’, ‘I’ , or ‘me’ in Spanish, and to pose shirtless on his album cover, his hands open facing up the sky, is not unimportant. The naked torso, without a hat, nor jewellery, evokes rebirth.

“This album unveils the beginning of a new phase more than the closure of an old one,” explains Fonseca. “On YO, I want to delve deep into my roots in light of my experiences and show the diversity of my musical universe, all these ideas which I had put aside, unable to use until now.”

If the new compositions revisit themes such as love and spirituality that have already nourished his work, this time Fonseca draws from a rich musical palette full of contrasts. In place of his usual jazz quintet, on YO he develops a concept of a union between electro, analogue and African, Hammond organs, n’goni, congas, kora and the talking drum, combined together in a synthesis of Afro Cuban groove and Griot tradition.

Since he was a teenager listening to Herbie Hancock & The Headhunter’s jazz funk, Roberto has had an interest in old school keyboards like the Hammond and Moog, as well as the Rhodes. “At festivals, I’ve been lucky enough to be able to observe and learn from many musicians who play the Hammond. I have played it live a number of times but this is the first time I’ve used it on a recording.”

Fonseca’s relationship with Africa and the Yoruban culture in particular, play an integral part in his family heritage. He was raised in the San Miguel del Padrón neighbourhood in Havana, and it was his grandmother who passed on the Santería faith. On this album Roberto has deepened this connection to the mother continent by working with African musicians. “It has always been a dream of mine to explore what my compositions could offer if interpreted by African musicians of my generation. It is an honour to have Baba Sissoko, Sekou Kouyate and Fatoumata Diawara on board, they are all such talented musicians who are so generous with their music.”

To those people who are still wondering who is Roberto Fonseca and to all those who thought they knew him, the Cuban musician replies: YO. An epic at the crossroads of jazz, traditional music and soul; a crossing of both sides of the shores of the Atlantic; an album which presents a new artist, not because he has changed but because his art still contains many surprises.