Jesús Alemañy

The original rhythms of Cuba’s horn-driven bands from the ’50s is raised to date by trumpet player Jesús Alemañy and his 15-piece band ¡Cubanismo!. The group’s 1996 self-titled debut record reached the very best Ten lists of Billboard, Latin Defeat and Afropop Worldwide and produced ¡Cubanismo! among the most popular bands to emerge from Havana in almost fifty years. Using their following albums, Malembe in 1997 and Reencarnacion in 1998, Alemañy and ¡Cubanismo! continuing to create their dance-inspiring combination of montuno, mambo, pilon and kid to the worldwide stage. Alemañcon began monitoring trumpet and music theory on the Conservatoire Guillermo Tomas in Guanabacoa at age thirteen. 2 yrs later, he became a member of Sierra Maestra, among Cuba’s top rings focusing on the roots design of salsa referred to as kid. He remained with this group for ten years. Alemañcon, who’s resided in London since 1994 and it is wedded to Lucy Duran, co-producer of albums by Songhai and Toumani Diabaté, collaborated frequently in the first ’90s with Cuban delivered and Paris-based pianist Alfredo Rodriguez. Whenever a descarga (Cuban for “jam program”) offering Alemañcon, Rodriguez and program musicians happened in Paris, it sold-out four nights working, inspiring record manufacturer Joe Boyd to record the group in Havana. Hence, ¡Cubanismo! was created. The group included a few of Cuba’s most important music artists including Carlos del Puerto, a founding person in Irakere, on bass, percussion great Tata Güines and Orlando “Maraca” Valle, the first choice of Otra-Vision, on flute. Although preliminary plans needed one record, the recording demonstrated so effective that Alemañcon and the music artists agreed to still interact as ¡Cubanismo!. Their second record, Malembe premiered in 1996 and highlighted vocalist Jorge Luis Rojas, previously with Adalberto Alvarez y Su Kid and Rojitas. For the band’s third record, 1998’s Reencarnacion, Rojitas was changed by Rolo Martinez, a performing superstar with Chappottin con Sus Estrellas in the ’50s and with Ernesto Duarte in the past due ’50s and early ’60s. Greetings from Havana premiered in 2007.