Trumpeter and composer Yuliesky González Guerra was born in 1984 in Céspedes, Camagüey province, Cuba. He grew up in a family of professional trumpet players that includes his grandfather Ireneo Julio González, his uncle Jorge Angel González, and his father Julio Jesús González.
Yuliesky’s musical career began at age 10 at the “Nola Sahig Sainz” Art School in the province of Ciego de Avila, beginning his apprenticeship with maestro Raúl Díaz. At the age of 12, he officially joined the Danzones Orchestra of the province, under the direction of maestro Cesar Alberti, and this is where his professional career started.
Later, Yuliesky moved to the “Luis Casas Romero” Vocational School of Art in the province of Camagüey, where he studied classical music under the guidance of Lázaro Daniel Cardoso Chávez and Antonio Baldoquín.
At the age of 15, he entered the “José White” Professional School of Music in Camagüey, where he received 4 more years of classical instruction with maestro Gustavo Barreras. During that period, he also received lessons from Nene Zaldívar.
He collaborated with the Camagüey Symphony Orchestra and performed with various traditional and modern bands, including Grupo Tiempos Nuevos, Conjunto Artístico Maraguán, Septeto Tiempos de Son and La PP Band.
During that phase of his musical career, Yuliesky became interested in improvisation in traditional Cuban music and also in various styles of jazz.
In 2003 he finished his musical studies and moved to Havana to join the MININT Music Band as part of his compulsory military service, for a period of 2 years. There, he became interested in composing music in various formats, especially for brass quintets.
Yuliesky spent time in Havana from 2005 to 2010 and took part in numerous projects. During those years he hosted various programs on Cuban radio and television, and played with some of the top Cuban bands such as Felix Valoy, De Adentro y Afuera, Changuito and Tierra Firme, La Nueva Ritmo Oriental, Manolito Simonet, Son del Nene, Pupi y los que Son Son, and Habana d’Primera.
In April 2010 he moved to Berlin (Germany) where he began his career as an independent artist, composer, arranger and music producer. In Germany, Yuliesky became member of the Berlin Big Band. He’s also part of the Danish TV2 Band. He also formed the salsa band Cubanaché (former Tierra Caliente) in 2010 and his Afro Cuban Jazz Band, Kind of Cuban in 2011.
Yuliesky González released his debut album ‘Cubanero‘ in 2020.
Discography:
Cubanero (One World Records, 2020)
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.