As if it arose from the bay of Matanzas itself, music floods the city that starts from a rehearsal room. There the group Jazz Band Casino Bellamar is heard, which is reborn in tribute to the masters Sergio Pichardo and Bruno Villalonga.
There are established artists and new talents, all with the desire to cultivate Cuban jazz, recreate pieces of great international repercussion and, in truth, it has been pleasant to note the continuity of this group in a genre that has numerous followers in the Athens of Cuba. Cárdenas and Varadero, among other territories.
To learn about his projections, we interviewed the current conductor and trumpeter Duliesky Diez Pérez, who also leads the baton in the provincial Concert Band and belongs to the Atenas Brass Ensemble quintet: “We resumed the rehearsals as a result of the Matanzas Jazz Festival being called, via online.
So we were entrusted to open this event, a great commitment. The band was founded eleven years ago and the imprint of Pichardo and Bruno remains latent.
«I was appointed to direct 18 musicians: four trombones, five saxophones, four trumpets, three percussions, piano and bass. We have invited singers from the province to our performances and thus expand their popular impact. “
With reference to the repertoire, Diez noted:
“For many years, Maestro Pichardo cultivated Cuban music. We consider it a duty to defend this genre in its national creation, but in current times we also value incorporating other bars such as ballads and rock.
“The Matanzas Jazz Festival is dedicated this year to Arsenio Rodríguez. It will be held from April 30th, when Jazz Day is celebrated and it is good to recognize this style of music.
“The pioneering group here is the Mestizaje trio, led by Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Zulueta (Miguelón), who is also the organizer of this event. We will also have the Atenas Brass Ensemble, solo musicians and we will promote the spaces in the UNEAC and the White room.
“Stellar musicians have emerged in Matanzas such as maestro Rafael Somavilla, a pillar in Antillean songs, and the essential Dámaso Pérez Prado, who used his harmonization for the mambo from the sound of jazz.”
According to his digital site Facebook: At the beginning of the creation of the Jazz Band Casino Bellamar, the maestro Sergio Pichardo had a staff of luxury trumpeters. Alejandro Luis Regalado Muiño (Tochy), Rolando Domínguez (Domingo), his son Daniel Armando Pichardo (Dani) and the collaboration of Carlos Frank Iraola.
During this creation process, the excellent trumpeters Rodolfo Horta, Evelio Santana, Rudys Cardoso and the young talents from Matanzas Manuel Alejandro and Julio Enrique also collaborated.
“Later the trumpet section would be integrated by José Daniel Figueredo, Luis Enrique Espinosa and Duliesky Diez, who together with the lead trumpet« Tochy »would make up the section until the physical disappearance of maestro Sergio Pichardo. The names of Sigfredo Grasso are added, his son Gabriel Grasso, Carlos Febles, Ariel Mestre, Ereisy Socarrás, Luis Guerra (father and son), Julio Iglesias, Victor Beltrán, Manuel Vega and Osnel Carbonell. ”
Good omens for the Jazz Band Casino Bellamar that strengthens the tradition of the genre in Matanzas together with relevant cultivators such as maestro Miguelón and his trio Mestizaje, as well as maestro Rodolfo Horta with the popular Atenas Brass Ensemble quintet.
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