Cuban-born pianist Miguel de Armas proudly releases What's To
Come, a debut album sure to expand his ever-widening audience. Long known as a
stalwart in Havana, de Armas has synthesized the musics of his homeland with
those from North America and Canada (where he now resides). It is an effortless
weave of influences, fulfilling the promise of his working quartet and
illuminating Miguel's mastery as an instrumentalist and group leader.
In 1988,
Miguel was a graduate of the famed Instituto Superior de Arte, proving himself
a rhythm master devoted to the multitude of sounds and influences surrounding
Havana - rumbas, chants, the cadence of street life. They served as the basis
for his own musical ideas.
He became
a founding member of N.G. La Banda, the group that originated the Cuban salsa
offshoot called timba. It proved successful, touring Lincoln Center, Montreux,
Northsea and other festivals around the world due, in large part, to Miguel's
innovations. He had defined an approach that utilized both acoustic and
synthesized keyboards, a sound subsequently adopted in the development of Cuban
music. That became his launching pad. Since then he has collaborated with a
Who's Who of legends and appeared on more than 60 albums.
Miguel´s
style draws heavily from the rich contributions of influential predecessors -
among them, pianists Chucho Valdés, Emiliano Salvador and Gonzalo Rubalcaba.
They have enabled him to create a sound distinctively his own.
Moreover,
Miguel has become a musical activist from his new home in Ottawa, Canada,
producing shows, inviting collaborations, encouraging stylistic partnerships
that further his ideas and those of the greats who walked before him.
What's To
Come provides the evidence. It's reach is varied and broad, encompassing
elements of elegant danzón ("La Dama y el Perro"); bossas (the title
track);and '80s symphonic rock ("A Song For My Little Son"). Special
guests from Canada's musical community of Cuban specialists include recent
Grammy nominee Jane Bunnett, guitarist Elmer Ferrer, trumpeter Alexis Baró, and
bassist Roberto Riverón.
On this
record, Miguel de Armas solidifies his place among Cuba's most distinguished
musicians. The region that birthed the likes of Cachao, Omar Sosa, the
multi-generational families of Valdés and O'Farrill, and countless others, now
applauds another forward-thinker, a native son. Introducing Miguel de Armas.
TRACKS
1.
Yasmina, 5:57
2. A Song
For My Little Son, 4:45
3. La
Dama y el Perro, 4:05
4. His
Bass and Him, 3:23
5. Pam
Pim Pam Pum, 2:56
6.
Illusion, 3:26
7. What's
To Come, 4:48
8. Rumba
on Kent St., 5:54
9. Tango
Asunción, 5:38
10.
Freddies's Drink, 4:46
All songs
composed by Miguel de Armas, except "Freddie's Drink" (co-written
with Marc Decho).
Produced
by Michel Medrano and Miguel de Armas.
Mix and
Mastering by Jim Zolis.
Recorded
at Rose Room Studio, Toronto, April 2017.
Graphic
design: Mallory Giles.
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