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“Rapsodia Cubana” – when classical music meets latin jazz
Debut album of this unique collaboration between piano and percussion
Released by Naxos World Music on January 22, 2021
Recorded at Kammermusiksaal at Steingraeber Haus, Bayreuth, Germany
Produced and directed by Yamilé Cruz Montero and Christos Asonitis
Mixed and Engineered by Manfred Hübel – Audiotransit
Mastered by Diz Heller Liner notes and product design by Sarah Wanstall
Photography by Thomas Lackner and Christos Asonitis
The Cuban classical pianist Yamilé Cruz Montero and the Greek jazz drummer Christos Asonitis are a couple in life and also in music.
Although they come from two different musical worlds, they have found a common language as it appears on their first album “Rapsodia Cubana” released by Naxos World Music. It combines multiple references that draw associations between past and present, tradition and contemporaneity, classical universes and the worlds of popular music, all of which define the artistic vision that Yamilé Cruz Montero and Christos Asonitis created.
“Rapsodia Cubana” features pieces of composers such as José María Vitier (1954), Ernán López-Nussa (1958), Andrés Alén (1950) and Aldo López-Gavilán (1979).
All represent the broad spectrum of contemporary Cuban piano, and showcase the technical expertise of classical pianism, integrated with popular Cuban, Latin and North American genres.
The Cuban classical piano skills of Yamilé are masterfully juxtaposed with the drum set, conga, cajón, pandeiro and other hand percussion instruments of Christos.
Together they create an innovative and captivating result!
”Magical, authentic, touching – Yamilé Cruz Montero and Christos Asonitis play Cuban music.“
(The New Listener, May 2016)
Album Reviews and Comments
“The whole album vibrates with pulsating joie de vivre, bright colours and lively rhythms. Great!”
(Florestane Chroche, pianist-magazin.de, April 2022)
“…we are dealing with gorgeous music that cannot be dealt with the term “cross over.””
(Frank Piontek, Bayreuther Kulturbrief, April 2021)
“Every piece on this amazing album leaps out at you from your speakers like a juggernaut, and each one is fascinating… Is there such a thing as a perfect album? This one surely comes close. Everything about it is charming, engaging and attractive, and there is clearly enough musical variety among these pieces to make it a must-have disc for those who like both Latin classical and pop-jazz music. Maravillosa!”
(Lynn René Bayley, The Art Music Lounge, January 2021)
“I bring you an invitation to be transported to a place and times, where falling in love, brings all of us closer to an art form! … These 5 Cuban Pianists and Composers embrace expansive, openhearted vulnerability, as they had never seen before. These 12 oeuvres are played from the heart by Yamilé and Christos, reason why you can’t help, but connect with them !“
(Toni Basanta, The Cuban Bridge – A journey through music, January 2021)
Few words about the compositions by Sarah Wanstall and Carmen Souto Anido
The title Rapsodia Cubana comes from the Greek word rhapsody, which means a fragment of a poem, that could be presented independently of the entire work. Alongside this, a ‘rhapsody’ in musical terms refers to its improvisational nature and irregular form. With this in mind, the track sequence of songs is based on the dramaturgy that is created between them – not by a fixed order of composers.
Rapsodia Cubana features the composers: José María Vitier (1954), Ernán López-Nussa (1958), Andrés Alén (1950), Aldo López Gavilán (1979). All represent the broad spectrum of contemporary Cuban piano, and showcase the technical expertise of classical pianism, integrated with popular Cuban, Latin and North American genres. Composer Andres Alén, also features with his versions of Tico-Tico no Fubá and Romanza María la O, originally composed by Zehquinha de Abreu (Brazil, 1880-1935) and Ernesto Lecuona (Cuba, 1895-1963).
As a result, we are invited to dance by sounds of the son and the danzón. Even though they are shaped by the piano
and percussion, the new arrangements still reflect Cuba’s original celebrated genres. Thus creating an atmosphere that turns classical music, and all its technical resources, into a unique Cuban party.
The album can be divided into three parts, which balances the dramaturgy of the track sequence. Each piece leads onto the next, freely alternating between emotional lyrical works and more dynamic energetic pieces, achieving an overall balance, whilst still containing a rhapsodic feel.
The first part is shown in tracks Pan con timba, Reencuentro and Contradanza festiva. These pieces work as an introduction, in which the spirit of the album and its aesthetics are summarized. In them, the prominence of the piano is clear, yet this is pleasantly balanced with the arrival of percussion, especially by the particular instruments selected for each piece.
The second part is revealed in tracks Danza de los inocentes, Danzón legrand, Zontime 1 Puesto y convidado and El pájaro carpintero. Together they capture the sense of contemporary composers return- ing to their hometown traditions. They are all listening to the past from the gaze of the present. They also reference the Brazilian Baião and the American ragtime, complementing their general theme, while still connecting them to the colourful spectrum of the American continent.
This kaleidoscope of sounds concludes with another nod to the music of Latin America. This is seen in Tico-Tico no Fubá (Zequinha de Abreu) and Tarde en la Habana. Epílogo masterfully closes the selection of works by searching for creative freedom via interpretation, ultimately reflecting the original purpose of Rapsodia Cubana.
Danza de fin de siglo and Romanza María la O share the stark sound of the piano, and both have timbral subtleties from the lyrical vision of the composers. There’s also a harmonic handling and a dramaturgical dialogue, which in turn connects the three parts mentioned above.
Each of the songs featured on the album are related to popular dances, except Romanza María la O, which is the main theme of a Cuban zarzuela (a small-scale light operetta) of the same name.
Altogether, Rapsodia Cubana combines multiple references that draw associations between past and present, tradition and contemporaneity, classical universes and the worlds of popular music. All of which define the artistic vision that Yamilé Cruz Montero and Christos Asonitis created…
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