By Francisco Peyret
This Sunday, March 26, at 3pm, don’t miss the first Cuban music concert at Coyote Flaco restaurant. Enjoy the music of Gabriel Hernandez and Luis Gasca, along with other renowned artists that will create an unforgettable afternoon.
Gabriel Hernández is the promoter of this concert. He was born in Cuba on July 16, 1964. He has shared the stage with figures of the stature of Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Ray Charles and has participated as a pianist for artists such as Gene Pearl, Tito Puente, Bob Sheppar, Roy Hargrove, Arturo Sandoval, Paquito D’Rivera, and Greg Fishman, among other great jazz personalities.
Currently, in addition to his career as a solo jazz pianist and his ensemble Mi Quinteto, he is a member of the famous Afrocuban All Stars, directed by Maestro Juan de Marcos Gonzáles, performing at various international festivals. With his Jazz Quintet, formed in Mexico City, he maintains an intense activity in concerts and festivals in Mexico and abroad. Hernández is also pianist of the Cubanismo group, an orchestra directed by Maestro Jesús Alemañi, with whom he has performed several concerts in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
Luis Gasca is the son of Mexican immigrants, born in 1940 in Houston, Texas. He studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston and played with bands of Stan Kenton and Mongo Santamaria, among others. By 1968, his growing reputation led him to make his first recording as soloist and leader of The Little Giant.
As a session musician, he began playing in San Francisco, California, with Carlos Santana, participated in Janis Joplin’s debut album, and performed with the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. The trumpet on Van Morrison’s «Tupelo Honey» album is also his work. In addition, he was a founding member of the Latin rock group Jorge Santana and appeared on their eponymous debut album.
Alfred Thompson, saxophonist, was born in 1963. He is a graduate of the Conservatory of Camagüey, central province of Cuba, where he also worked as a teacher. He has been part of important Cuban groups such as Fervet Opus, Issac Delgado’s orchestra, Irakere, and Habana Ensemble. He is musical director, arranger, composer, and record producer and was a musician of the well-known Buena Vista Social Club, with which he received a Grammy Award in 1998 and a Latin Grammy Award in 2004. He has performed on numerous stages and jazz festivals around the world, including the famous Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London. He is also recognized for his work in orchestras such as Irakere and the Cubanismo project.
