Ruta de la Clave, the long-awaited debut album from JUNO-winning Cuban-Canadian percussionist, composer, and bandleader Joaquín Núñez, is a vibrant tapestry of rhythm and culture. Created over five years, the album is a collaboration with Dayramir González, the innovative New York-based Cuban pianist and producer. It presents a dynamic musical exploration of Cuban music’s evolution—anchored by its spiritual and rhythmic core: the clave.
The album’s title—Ruta de la Clave (“The Route of the Clave”)—maps the heartbeat of Afro-Cuban music from its 19th-century roots in the contradanza, through genres like danzón, changüí, son, and rumba, to their vibrant, genre-crossing forms today. While grounded in folkloric tradition, the album is also steeped in jazz modernism, blending deep-rooted percussion with sophisticated harmonies, improvisation, and contemporary textures.
Drawing on the influence of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and the golden era of bebop, Núñez creates cross-continental soundscapes. On “Una Guajira en New York,” listeners follow a Cuban country girl whose sound is transformed in the urban swirl of jazz instruments. “Suite Columbia” tells the moving story of an enslaved African brought to Cuba, who rediscovers joy and heritage in new sonic forms.
The recording—spanning 2022 to 2024 in Canada—features an outstanding lineup:
Joanna Majoko, Marta Elena, Bill McBirnie, Alexander Brown, Jeff King, Luis Deniz, and more, with Núñez at the rhythmic helm.
Ruta de la Clave is more than a debut—it’s a musical manifesto, a celebration of identity, and a powerful reimagining of Afro-Cuban jazz for a new era.
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