Cuban Pianist, Composer Rafael Zaldivar to Release New Album: ‘Rumba’

Cuban pianist, composer, artistic director, and educator Dr. Rafael Zaldivar has made an exceptional contribution to jazz music, receiving great acclaim from Berklee College of Music, JazzTimes and Downbeat magazine along the way. With his  new album RUMBA, Rafael Zaldivar continues to build upon his previous work, combining the holistic vibe and rhythmic circularity of Afro-Cuban music with a jazz sound. Zaldivar’s spirituality illuminates RUMBA, opening new doors to an endlessly expressive musical universe. The orchestral lyricism, intricate Afro-Cuban rhythms, and twentieth-century musical textures reveal Zaldivar’s reflective approach as the center of his compositional discourse. 

The term RUMBA refers to the social gatherings of the black community in Havana, Cuba. At the beginning of the twentieth century, these groups met to celebrate and praise the deceased in ceremonies full of song and dance. RUMBA promotes social interaction, cultural exchange, and the transmission of Africanism, all of which feeds into the sound of this album. Zaldivar performs his RUMBA with a world-class ensemble comprised of many of jazz and Afro-Cuban music’s leading lights, including Grammy winning and nominated artists Terri Lyne Carrington, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Miguel Zenón, Ingrid Jensen, and Amado Dedeu Garcias, alongside  many other Cuban, Canadian, and American greats.

Release Date: Friday, September 16th 2022 on Effendi Records

Acoustic Piano: Rafael Zaldivar
Vocals: Rafael Zaldivar (12), Amado Dedeu Garcias Jr. (1, 12), Amada Dedeu Garcias Sr. (12), Sara Rossy (2), Dayron Luis San Juan (12), Jorge Varona (12)
Synthesizer: Rafael Zaldivar (1, 2, 8, 9, 11), Amhed Mitchel (9)
Guitar: Kurt Rosenwinkel (8)
Trumpet: Ingrid Jensen (11), Alexis Baro (10), Jocelyn Couture (4), Rémi Cormier (4), Alexander Brown (10), Ron Di Lauro (4)
Alto Sax: Miguel Zenón (2), Luis Deniz (10),
Jean-Pierre Zanella (4)
Tenor Sax: André Leroux (4), Kirk MacDonald (10),
Pat LaBarbera (10)
Bass: Roberto Occhipinti (10), Rémi-Jean LeBlanc (3-5, 7-9)
Drums: Louis-Vincent Hamel (3, 7-9),
Terri-Lynn Carrington (4, 5), Amhed Mitchel (2, 10)
Percussion: Rafael Zaldivar (2-4), Amado Dedeu Garcias (1, 4, 5, 12), Dayron Luis San Juan Maguercia (12), Carlos Henrique Feitosa (8), Jorge Luis Papiosco (10)

Content Source: Orange Grove Publicity