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OMARA PORTUONDO

Avishai Cohen

There is no better way to describe Avishai Cohen than stating that he is truly a veteran despite the fact that he has yet to reach forty years of age, paradoxical as that may seem. Born in Israel in 1970, Cohen’s career really began to take off when he moved to New York after completing his piano and bass studies in Israel and Saint Louis. A colleague of future stars such as Brad Mehldau and a student of Andy González, the bass player soon began trying his hand at jazz and Latin American music. He was an occasional member of the New York-Barcelona Flamenco Reunion group led by Marc Miralta and of the Danilo Pérez trio, with whom he recorded Panamonk (Impulse). Cohen rose to fame thanks to Chick Corea, who enlisted him for his sextet Origin. Corea also afforded him the opportunity to make his record debut with his own album: Adama (Stretch/Concord). Chosen by the Bass Player magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential Bass Players of the 20th Century, Avishai Cohen has also worked with Bobby McFerrin, Roy Hargrove, Herbie Hancock and Paquito D’Rivera, and his studio recordings include working with Alicia Keys. Avishai Cohen has recently been working with his trio on the release of his eighth album: Gently Disturbed (Razdaz).

Trilok Gurtu

Trilok Gurtu was destined to become a musician. The grandson of a renowned sitar performer and son of famous singer Shobha Gurtu, Trilok (Bombay, 1950) began playing at the tender age of six. Gurtu rose to

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fame as a result of the two years he spent working with the trumpeter Don Cherry, who was one of the founders of world music. Gurtu’s fame was also due to his tours with Oregon and his involvement with the quartet led by L. Shankar with Jan Garbarek and Zakir Hussain. However, one professional relationship that marked his career was his allegiance with the guitarist John McLaughlin who he met in 1988. He was a member of his trio for four years. Trilok Gurtu is one of the most sought-after Eastern percussionists by musicians of all styles and one of the performers who has delved most deeply into the sphere of world music and its interplay with such diverse genres as jazz, rock, pop or electronic music.

Chico Buarque

A poet, musician, composer, playwright and novelist, Chico Buarque was born to a family of intellectuals in Rio de Janeiro in 1944. He gave his debut performances in 1964. However, following his arrest owing to his political allegiance, he was compelled to leave the country like so many of his compatriots after a number of years owing to the dictatorship, and so he moved to Italy in 1969. A year later he returned in order to raise again his voice against the dictatorial regime through the medium of music. During this period one of his singles – “A pesar de você” – sold in excess of 100,000 copies before being banned owing to censorship. Heavily influenced by the lyricism of Jobim’s arrangements, Buarque has always stood out on account of his ability as a composer to address in his songs, as with his poetry or novels, social and intimate issues. Indeed, a number of Brazilian musicians have stated that they owe their works to him, including Maria Bethânia and Rosa Passos.

Richard Bona

Richard Bona was lucky enough to cross paths with one of the foremost talent-spotters of the 20th century, the late keyboardist Joe Zawinul. Born in Cameroon in 1967, Richard Bona’s first encounter with music was at the age of five when he began singing in public in the church choir alongside his mother and sisters. Blessed with inborn talent, at 11 he was already playing the guitar in the bars in Douala. By chance he moved on to the bass thanks to a Frenchman, and indeed it was in France that he began to achieve international renown. He went to Paris at the age of 22 and shortly thereafter he was playing alongside some of the foremost

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musicians in the country such as Marc Ducret or Didier Lockwood. In Paris he polished up his theoretical knowledge before being encouraged by guitarist Mike Stern to take the leap to the United States where he met Zawinul who took him into his group Zawinul Syndicate for their world tour for the album My People. He would later become the musical director for Harry Belafonte’s band. Thenceforth, a great number of musicians have called upon his talent as a bass virtuoso, including Pat Metheny, Branford Marsalis and Chaka Khan. Moreover, Bona has established his solo career on account of his ability to blend the essence of jazz with the styles of his country and the art of the griots.

Jorge Drexler

Born in Montevideo in 1964, Jorge Drexler earned acclaim for being the first Uruguayan ever to win an Academy Award, a distinction he won for the song “Al otro lado del día” which was included in the film The Motorcycle Diaries. Having graduated with a degree in medicine, Drexler embarked on his career from the grassroots level supporting artists like Caetano Veloso and Joaquín Sabina on a tour of his native Uruguay. His meeting with Sabina led him to travel to Spain to support him at three concerts. As a result of this visit Drexler settled in Madrid. Not only has Drexler achieved renown as a singer – his discography has more than ten titles – he is also a prominent songwriter and his compositions figure in the repertoire of singer-songwriters such as Pablo Milanés, Retama, Neneh Cherry, David Broza, Adriana Varela or the Uruguayan Jaime Roos. Film is another area in which Drexler’s productions stand out, as illustrated by his contribution on the soundtrack to The Motorcycle Diaries. Indeed, he even became film material on the DVD directed by Manuel Huerga, which comes with his compilation album Cara B (Dro). Text by Ferran Esteve Translated by Robert Taylor