On the night of January 14th, 1997, ten young and very talented musicians gathered at El Teatro Mella in La Habana, Cuba, to start the first rehearsal of what soon became a new band called Habana Ensemble.
The band was formed by five former musicians from Irakere and another five musicians from national bands Afrocuba, Rumbavana, Bamboleo and Son 14, with César López as General Manager and Alfredo Thompson as Musical Director.
Habana Ensemble performed Latin Jazz, Cuban folk, and popular Cuban dancing music.
On the album Todo Incluido (Everything Included), Habana Ensemble define presented a musical project with less brass, and like the title indicates, an exquisite mixture of different rhythms including Cha-Cha-Cha and Timba together with the traditional influences of Latin Jazz and Rock.
Discography:
Mambo Mania: A Tribute Perez Prado (Líderes, 2001)
Todo Incluido (Universal Music Latino, 2005)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
