Cuban pianist, Roberto Fonseca, will be opening 2012’s Gateshead International Jazz Festival in Hall One.
Cuban music is currently thriving; musicians from all over the island are performing on the world’s most famous stages, and pianists like Roberto Fonseca are undoubtedly the stars of the multi-faceted Cuban musical scene.
His forthcoming album, YO, to be released in the spring of 2012 pays homage to Cuba and its African roots whilst bringing it up to date exploring new sounds and dimensions – blending traditional acoustic instruments with elements of electronica.
The fully-fledged Buena Vista Social Club prodigy leads a new generation of Cuban artists on a journey that weaves in and out of the island’s traditional music, picking up jazz, classical, and Afro-Cuban influences along the way to create an astonishingly original musical landscape.
Born in 1975 (Havana) into a musical family, Roberto started studying piano at the age of 8, though his initial passion was percussion. This interest from such an early age clearly influenced his trademark “percussive” piano-playing style, with a performance at Havana’s International Jazz Festival aged just 15.
“At school we used to regard American jazz as a point of reference; I felt that my music would be a fusion of both genres … I liked lots of jazz musicians, such as Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett, but also old American funk and soul classics”.
Roberto was last at The Sage Gateshead as part of a co-produced Havana Cultura project tour with DJ Gilles Peterson with whom he continues to work with.
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