Second part of a special for bohemian spirits. Roberto Fonseca distills love, alcohol, lament and night surrounded by unforgettable songs, those that force you to toast. An episode where everything evolves, as in a long night of bar and drinks. “Dame un tranguito ahora cantinerito”, sang Sierra Maestra; “vierto en las copas todas mis penas”, lamented Panchito Riset; “no tengo amistades que me den consejo”, suffered Bienvenido Granda con la Sonora Matancera; “no me hace falta nada de ti”, clamored Domingo Lugo; “aprendí todo lo bueno, aprendió todo lo malo, sé del beso que se compra, sé del beso que se da”, reflected Rolando LaSerie. After all, “life begins at midnight”, as Benny Moré used to say. Enjoy it here!
Roberto Fonseca has established himself as one of the leading figures in Cuban jazz over the last fifteen years. He returns in 2023 with a new project full of surprises. A special show to be unveiled at the Olympia in Paris on 5 December 2023 on the occasion of his new tour.
Grammy-nominated Cuban legend Roberto Fonseca today releases his new single ‘Mani Mambo’ via Wagram Music. The virtuoso pianist and former member of the Buena Vista Social Club®, whose music is steeped in jazz and AfroCuban tradition, explores his passion for Latin music on the new track. A vibrant celebration of dance and romance, ‘Mani Mambo’ fuses old world tradition with thrilling modernity. “Together we will laugh, cry and enjoy the mystery and magic of rhythms and melodies that rise from my roots” declares Fonseca.
Roberto Fonseca continues to show that Afro-Cuban look that is so full of rhythm! The new episode of Fonseca’s podcast La Isla Sonora collects a list of Afro songs that begin with Mercedita Valdés with the batá drums of Jesús Pérez and his Canto a Eleguá; the beautiful voices of Los Zafiros interpreting La Caminadora; the indomitable Freddy, eternal diva of feeling, bringing out her powerful voice; the “guapachoso” Rolando Laserie with El Pescador; the great Elena Burke with Llanto de Luna; Los Papines and their gypsy guaguancó La Tani; Celeste Mendoza and that beautiful Canción de mi Habana. He closes the programme with a piano performance, and that’s all you could ask for! Listen now here.
Roberto Fonseca proposes a new episode of Isla Sonora at Radio Gladys Palmera with a list of Afro songs with some of his best Cuban and African performers: Xiomara Alfaro and Salif Keita, Lázaro Ross and Nahawa Doumbia, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas and Angelique Kidjo, Bola de Nieve and Fatoumata Diawara. There are few programmes with as much black roots music as this one. Enjoy it!
With the shamanic charisma, good humor and contagious joy that characterize her, Fatoumata Diawara surrounds herself with exceptional artists and initiates unexpected encounters during this exclusive show specially created for France Télévisions. Yemi Alade, Arthur H, Roberto Fonseca, Amadou & Mariam and Barbara Pravi share the Hermitage stage with this great voice of Africa that crosses borders. Watch now Fatoumata’s performance of Sowa with her good friend Roberto Fonseca.
The song Madre Oshun, composed by the musician and artistic director of the Jazz Plaza Festival Roberto Fonseca, sets the rhythm for the great event that captures the spirit of musical convergence by summoning performers of the stature of Brenda Navarrete, Zule Guerra with the luxury insertions of maestros César López and instrumentalists Dayron Ortiz on electric guitar, bassist Yandy Martínez, Ruly Herrera and Adel González. The making of video is now available on Youtube.
With its free sets nestled in the heights of Chamonix, the Cosmo Jazz Festival is on the way to becoming one of the most beautiful in France. Organized by André Manoukian and Charles Vetter, this family-friendly summer program is complemented by a varied line-up of quality. After a memorable performance by bassist Kyle Eastwood in 2021, the event returns in 2022 with the brilliant Roberto Fonseca. Originally from Cuba, the pianist has compiled an interesting discography (we remember a beautiful session with Fatoumata Diawara in Marciac) where Afro-American, Latin, but also classical influences are merged.
This fascinating repertoire reveals the richness of the musical heritage of the great Caribbean island. Surrounded by Yandi Martinez on (double)bass and Ruly Herrera on drums, the native of Havana delivers his share of skillful pieces like “Lluvia” and “Aggua,” and shares his science of rhythm as induced by the heady “Mambo Pa La Niña” and its solar bursts of music. Captured on the Planpraz site, a belvedere facing Mont Blanc, this film is punctuated by breathtaking views. An obvious phenomenon when listening to “No Soy De Esos,” a celestial theme to say the least, and peak of this very singular concert… Wacth now!
He is a legend in Colombian salsa. A magical childhood, a grey adolescence and an adulthood of difficult and exciting moments have made Yuri Buenaventura a well-known artist in Paris and around the world, who has been making music with Manu Chao’s Mano Negra, rappers Orishas, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico and Cheo Feliciano. “Historia de un amor” is his next step in a career full of successes and anecdotes of an artist out of the ordinary, with Roberto Fonseca as musical producer, together with Sebastien Vidal. Listen here.
The 38th edition of the International Jazz Plaza Festival will take place in January 2023. Havana and Santiago de Cuba will be the sites of a great musical celebration that will bring together prestigious Cuban and foreign artists in the Greater Antilles in the free spirit of jazz. The event will take place from January 22 to 29, 2023, according to its organizers, on the occasion of the presentation of the poster representing the event.
As if it were the soundtrack to Gladys Palmera’s book, CHA-CHA-CHA, Roberto Fonseca delves into the origins and impact of this unique rhythm that marked the life of Cuba, “the sound island”. To do this, it turns to some of its greatest exponents such as its very creator, Enrique Jorrín, and the flagship group of cha-cha-chá of all time, the Orquesta Aragón. But a program of Cuban classics cannot leave out musical geniuses like Abelardo Barroso, Carlos Argentino with Sonora Matancera, Alberto Socarrás and the Lecuona Cuban Boys. An unforgettable episode.
You & The Night & The Music 2022 is back! Here is the complete list of all the artists who will participate on December 12, Salle Pleyel, in our big annual evening with ADAMI, and the support of SACEM and Banque Postale. This new edition will have as guest of honor the harmonicist Jean-Jacques Milteau, and as ceremonial orchestra The Amazing Keystone Big-Band. Yuri Buenaventura & pianist Roberto Fonseca join the adventure. As well as, on the voice side, China Moses, Anthony Strong and Judith Owen. The saxophonists Eli Degibri and Laurent Bardainne, the trumpeter Ludovic Louis and the English from Kansas Smitty’s led by Giacomo Smith, will also be by our side.
Learn more here.
Roberto Fonseca drives us through roads of Havana and enjoy the wind while great trumpeters play on the radio. These sonorous winds start and culminate with the fabulous dances enlivened by the orchestra led by Félix Chapottin and Miguelito Cuní, Cuban legends capable of lighting the stove at any time. Chapottin was a genius on the trumpet as have been Guajiro Mirabal, Chocolate Armenteros and Arturo Sandoval, each in his own style. Julio Padrón, Roberto García and Alexander Abreu complete this trip through La Isla Sonora.
Award-winning pianist-songwriter Roberto Fonseca has joined an already-impressive line-up for the ten-year anniversary Rye International Jazz and Blues Festival. The festival will run from August 25 to 29 encompassing the August bank holiday weekend. Also on the line-up are Curtis Stigers, Stanley Jordan, Roachford, Mud Morganfield and Imelda M. Learn more here.
Pianist from Havana, former member of the Buena Vista Social Club, Roberto Fonseca is hailed around the world as the new darling of the Cuban keyboard. A free and always daring artist, he knows how to take risks, break new ground and move his music forward. In his new album Yesun, he fuses everything together: traditional rhythms, electronic sounds and the unavoidable piano, which he plays on stage in an exalted way, full of energy and passion. Broadcast tonight at France 3 Grand Est.
Jazz is much more than music, much more than a musical genre. Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca will be giving a series of workshops on jazz entitled “A sea of jazz” between 11 and 13 July at the Esporles centre. You can book your ticket here.
Faithful to Jazz à la Villette, the pianist Roberto Fonseca proposes this year an exceptional project, a reinvention of the Cabane Cubaine, the mythical Montmartre cabaret of the 1930s. An invitation to dance to the sound of the intoxicating classics of Cuba’s Roaring Twenties. More information on La Gran Diversión here.
GRAMMY®-nominated Cuban pianist, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, composer and bandleader Roberto Fonseca will tour this coming summer in support of the album YESUN, with upcoming shows set for Niort, Vauvert, Paris, Pollença. Check all tour dates here.
With the shamanic charisma, good humour and contagious joy that characterise her, Fatoumata Diawara surrounds herself with exceptional artists and initiates unexpected encounters during this exclusive show specially created for France Télévisions. Yemi Alade, Arthur H, Roberto Fonseca, Amadou & Mariam and Barbara Pravi share the stage at the Hermitage with this great voice of Africa that crosses borders. Show airs tonight at 9:10 pm on Francetv culturebox.
Thanks to the hr-Bigband – Frankfurt Radio Big Band and the arrangements/direction of RAINER TEMPEL for the wonderful concert. You can watch the whole concert again on YouTube.
Roberto Fonseca is coming to the US for his second YESUN tour. The legendary pianists-songwriter will perform on May 12 and 13 in New York, May 14 in Washington, D.C., May 19 in La Jolla, May 10 in Phoenix and May 21 in Denver. More info here.
Roberto Fonseca has announced a new run of UK dates, which will take place in May this year – find tickets here. The pianist will begin his tour in Leeds on April 19. The Leeds show is followed by dates in Kendal, Manchester, Gateshead, Bristol and London.
“No matter how high the sky is in the world, no matter how deep the deep sea is, there won’t be a barrier in the world that my deep love won’t break for you”. This is not only a bolero, it is a declaration of love, it is the total surrender to the loved one. Roberto Fonseca expresses the poetry of those songs that have made generations fall in love, of those phrases that like this one are part of the collective memory, those that we have always said or wanted to say as verses, and that we have hummed as songs.
The list of performers that Roberto brings to this edition of La Isla Sonora is not just any old classic: Benny Moré alongside Pedro Vargas, a legendary encounter of which anecdotes are still told; José Antonio Méndez, brilliant poet of the Cuban filin; Guillermo Portabales, the creator of the guajira de salón; Barbarito Diez, the voice of danzón and elegance made song; Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo, another duo that Roberto himself was able to accompany; Abelardo Barroso, godfather of son and cha cha chá; María Teresa Vera, the first diva and first lady of Cuban song; or Nat King Cole and his magnificent vision of the Latin romantic song.
Roberto Fonseca’s new episode has dressed up with his love songs. Available here.
The TSF Jazz programmers present their selection of the most beautiful titles for a Piano Jazz atmosphere. For the occasion, the double vinyls 100% Crooners, 100% Divas, 100% Swing and 100% Jazz Manouche, 100% Jazz Cool, are again available.
The exceptional 100% TSF Jazz collection has been embellished with its latest volume Piano Jazz. Let yourself be carried away by the mix of this selection with Keith Jarrett, Dave Brubeck Quartet, Michel Petrucciani, Oscar Peterson, Roberto Fonseca, Emet Cohen… More info here.
Radio Gladys Palmera launches new programming this year. Two Latin jazz programs revitalize this online radio station, conducted by two of the most important musicians of the genre: Bobby Sanabria and Roberto Fonseca. Isla Sonora is Roberto Fonseca’s Brand new radio show. Focusing more on Cuba and on the large number of talents that La Isla has given to the world, Fonseca takes a journey through the past and present of Caribbean jazz and the work of great pianists and composers who have mixed jazz with mambo, descargas, cha-cha-cha and rumba. Roberto Fonseca is a Havana-born pianist, multi-instrumentalist, composer and conductor. He recorded his first solo album in 1999 and joined the Buena Vista Social Club to later accompany the great legends of Cuban music. In jazz, his collaborations with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter stand out, and in the production the famous project Havana Cultura. Nominated for a Grammy, his music is inseparable from his mystical experience. THURSDAY.
Roberto Fonseca will be performing two exclusive dates in the Netherlands this fall. First stop will be on October 21st at Bimhuis in Amsterdam, on October 22nd at Muziekgebouw in Eindhoven and the next day Cuban pianist will be performing at LantarenVenster in Rotterdam. Grab your ticket now here.
Roberto Fonseca will return to the road after an amazing summer tour with the Fall YESUN Tour. The 17-date tour is set to kick off on September 25th at Fiestas de la Mercè in Barcelona. The trio—comprised of keyboard Roberto Fonseca, bassist Yandy Martinez, and drummer Ruly Herrera—will travel to festivals and venues across Europe from September through November. See below for a full list of upcoming tour dates for Roberto Fonseca. For ticketing details and more information, head here.
Headliners in Detroit from September 3–6 will include Dee Dee Bridgewater (the festival’s 2021 artist in residence), Herbie Hancock, Kenny Barron, Abdullah Ibrahim, Anat Cohen, Roberto Fonseca, Sean Jones, Kenny Garrett, and Gregory Porter, among others.
The world’s largest free jazz festival takes place each Labor Day weekend in downtown Detroit. Roberto Fonseca will be performing on September 5th along with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kenny Garrett, Gregory Porter among many others.
The full lineup is below. Visit the Detroit Jazz Festival’s website for more information.
Every Saturday and Sunday, “L’Obs” offers exclusive sessions to its readers, to support the music industry in crisis. You will find big names and the editorial staff’s favourites.
On his piano, Roberto Fonseca has fun pushing the creative limits of his track “Por Ti“. This version shows just how much the Cuban jazz pianist is inspired by classical culture in his everyday life. With Yandy Martinez on bass and Ruly on drums, from his studio, he revisits the eponymous track of his album released in 2019, with the genius that we know him for. While waiting for his visit to France for his concert at the Nice Jazz Festival 2021, on 15 July next on the Place Masséna alongside Angélique Kidjo and the Brad Mehldau Trio.
All YESUN tour dates have been confirmed and many more are still to be confirmed. Pianist Roberto Fonseca‘s tour will begin on 24 April and will last until 23 November. An extensive tour that aims to recover the energy and concerts postponed due to the world situation caused by the pandemic. The tour includes stops at the legendary Jazz à Vienne, Fiest’à Sete, Jazz in Marciac and many other festivals. Of course, there will be surprises on this tour! Click on this link to see the date closest to your city.
Omara Portuondo returns to the European stage. For her farewell, “la novia del filin” has wanted to surround herself with friends and will be accompanied on stage by pianist Roberto Fonseca, who will be the musical director of her concerts, and musicians Yandy Martinez, Ruly Herrea and Andrés Coayo. With concerts confirmed in Barcelona, Mallorca and Menorca, the diva will bring the best Cuban son this summer and it is not ruled out that she will make special appearances at Fonseca’s concerts scheduled in France.
This afternoon in #DeliExpress at TSF Radio we talked with Roberto Fonseca about his European summer and the festivals in which we will have the pleasure to see him play. But while waiting for the big stages, he settled down on our smaller stage and for our greatest pleasure he played “La Llamada”! Podcast here: bit.ly/3dqy9pi
The Havana Jazz Plaza Festival and the UNESCO Transcultura Programme: Integrating Cuba, the Caribbean and the European Union through Culture and Creativity celebrate International Jazz Day 2021 with an online concert and creative exchange from the Caribbean, directed by Cuban musician Roberto Fonseca who presents the Jazz Plaza Band, and with the participation, for the first time, of artists from nine of the 17 Caribbean beneficiary countries of the Transcultura Programme, who will join this jazz festival virtually. This sub-regional concert will feature Caribbean musicians Andre Woodvine from Barbados, Barbara Cadet from Saint Lucia, Oshane Love from Jamaica, Michele Henderson from Dominica, Reginal Policard from Haiti, James Sanker from Belize, Casandra Núñez from the Dominican Republic, and Cuba’s Roberto Fonseca and Bobby Carcassés. The Concert will be a means to promote and integrate the work of Caribbean artists, as well as a didactic material available for use in the teaching-learning process in the region.
Contradanza del espíritu Metropole Orkest Roberto Fonseca & Metropole Orkest conducted by Jules Buckley
Latin jazz at its most epic! Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca and the renowned Metropole Orkest conducted by Jules Buckley joined forces back in January 2020 to celebrate cuban music. This composition is an epic orchestral piece, recorded live, that takes the listener on a journey of music styles. Jules Buckley: “Roberto is a masterful pianist and he, much like the Metropole Orkest, creates new and exciting music with a profound understanding and love for tradition and his own musical heritage.” Listen now on Spotify
From Wagner to Taichkosvky, Grieg and Albinoni, Roberto Fonseca proposes a new playlist with some of his favorites classical music. Sit, relax, play and enjoy!
Roberto Fonseca proposes a new playlist to travel with his favorite music. Titled “Día entero” (All day long)… you will be able to travel with the songs that had him hooked all day long. A varied and diverse music selection; from Porter to Kuti, through Silvio Rodríguez. Learn more here.
Roberto Fonseca enters the world of playlists and offers us a list created exclusively for Radio Gladys Palmera, with the best of Modern Jazz. Classics of modern jazz with aromas of Harlem basements, black novel riffs, whisky and soda, rain on the asphalt and that dark object of desire! An impeccable and impactful session curated by the pianist that you can listen now here!
Roma Jazz Festival will be arriving on #LIVENow with 8 concerts kicking off from the 10th and running through to the 20th of November. Incredible line up includes Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca trio, singer Salvador Sobral and Cuban singer Ylian Cañizares, among many others. Is time for Jazz, is time for a change. Grab your tickets here: bit.ly/RJF_LiveNow
Inspirations #1 is part of a series of playlists that Roberto Fonseca will be sharing on Spotify that invites the audience to discover his musical universe. An extensive journey that starts with D’Angelo, Bob Marley, Tego Calderon to Amy Winehouse, Erikah Badu among many others. Discover now Fonseca’s musical inspirations! Click here and enjoy!
Do you want to discover where the fascination for music in Roberto Fonseca comes from? Then listen now to his new playlist “Mis Favoritas” on Spotify! A great selection of creators that have marked and defined his own musical world. “Mis favoritas” is part of a series of playlists that the artist is sharing on his Spotify profile, with the aim of allowing the public to enjoy a good selection of songs wherever they are.
Royal Albert Home brings exclusive sessions from artists’ homes to yours whilst the Hall is shut. Roberto Fonseca will be performing an exclusive set recorded in his hometown Havana specially for the Royal Albert Hall audience. Don’t miss the broadcast next August 16th at 19:30 royalalberthall.com. These shows are all available for free but, if you can, please donate to the Hall.
Ibrahim Ferrer left us 15 year ago and Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca along with French Jazz Festival Jazz in Marciac pay tribute to one of the most important figures of Cuban music, with a very special concert celebrated in 2015. De retour a Marciac will be broadcasted on Youtube and Facebook next August 6th at 9pm. Learn more here.
Roberto Fonseca could not miss his performance at one of his favorites Festivals in the world! Due to the global pandemic, Jazz in Marciac invited him to play an exclusive repertoire specially selected to his audience at Marciac. Don’t miss the chance to see Fonseca’s pure energy at JIM 2020. Learn more here.
Dianeh Sanchez reviews Fonseca’s musical career, influences and creativity in a deep and extense profile wrote at Tunturuntu.org. Learn more here.
BBC Radio 6 Music DJ Huey Morgan dives into the unique sounds of Cuba with special guest Roberto Fonseca – on a quest to understand Latin music’s enduring appeal. New episode this July 10th at BBC FOUR.
ROOTSTOCK will go online for 48 hours of non-stop music on July 11 & 12. Watch and listen Roberto Fonseca perform alongside each other in this first ever global broadcast. His show is scheduled on July 11th at 12am. Don’t miss this great event, follow all exclusive content here.
Roberto Fonseca releases a new videoclip from his latest album Yesun. Travel through Havana’s streets with the song “oo”. Watch it now here.
The first totally online music festival made from Cuba is appropriately called “Tunturuntu pa ‘tu casa”. A Festival that has brought together the finest of the current Cuban scene: Eme Alfonso, David Blanco, Cimafunk, Daymé Arocena, Alain Pérez, X Alfonso, among many others. For its second edition they will be joined by pianist Roberto Fonseca, this Saturday, March 28 at 18:30 – 19:00 (UTC-4 -EST) local time in Havana.
Grammy-nominated Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca presents an infusion of rap, funk, reggaeton and electronic music, performing songs from his latest record in studio at New Sounds New York. Click here and enjoy this live session.
In the spirit of community, however, Fonseca will perform a set behind closed doors at Joe’s Pub tomorrow night to be live-streamed for free at 7pm ET. Fans can watch the performance via the Joe’s Pub YouTube Channel at http://youtube.com/JoesPubNY/videos.
This playlist will get your International Women’s Day off to a confident start. Roberto Fonseca shares his favorite songs created by strong women. Hit play and enjoy!
Cuban pianist and composer Roberto Fonseca has been a force to reckon with since he was a teenager, and it has been 20 years since he released his first album. His latest, Yesun, is a supremely assured statement that takes the Afro-Cuban stamp on modern jazz as a matter of settled fact. Watch now La llamada.
Daily Discovery: Roberto Fonseca – Kachucha (ft. Ibrahim Maalouf). Click here and enjoy it!
GRAMMY®-nominated Cuban pianist, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, composer and bandleader Roberto Fonseca will tour the U.S. this coming spring in support of the album, with upcoming shows set for New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Washington, DC, Seattle and Portland. Check all tour dates here.
Roberto Fonseca will start soon his worldwide tour. Check all tour dates here.
Out Now! Yesun delves even deeper into the music of Fonseca’s homeland, weaving in beats, spoken word, analogue keyboards, Fonseca’s sonorous vocals and more.
Roberto Fonseca reveals the first extract from his new album YESUN