Glenda López Exposito (born September 3, 1988), better known by her stage name Glenda, is a Cuban-born singer, songwriter and

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

player. She was born in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist and singer. Glenda's mother shares her interest in music and Glenda cites her mother as a powerful influence who encouraged her musical expansion. She started attend musical lessons (piano, singing) at the age of 5. Later, she studied at music school of Alejandro García Caturla and from 2003 on Conservatory Amadeo Roldán, both in Havana. She also performed with Orquesta de Flauta, led by influential flute player José Luis Cortéz and in Sinfónica de la Habana as a first flute player.

Musical beginnings and personal life

As teenager, Glenda performed not only in her native country, but also abroad, for example on jazz festival Jazz de Puerto Plata in

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

or Jazz on the Green Festival in Trinidad a Tobago in 2008 She became a permanent member of band Bellity y Jazztumbata after she graduated on Conservatory Amadeo Roldán in 2007. In June 2011, she got married with Slovak producer Jozef Poláček and started to live also in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. In November 2011, her son Joshua was born. From 2012 to 2013 she was performing in original musical Just Dance in

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

and appeared on few local festivals, including Cherchez La Femme, Uprising reggae festival or BA City Beats, where

Katy B Kathleen Anne Brien (born 8 May 1989), known professionally as Katy B, is an English singer. She released her debut studio album, '' On a Mission'', in 2011, which spawned two top five hits, " Katy on a Mission" and " Lights On". In 2014 she re ...

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean ( ; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, singer, and record producer. Born in Haiti, Jean emigrated to the Northeastern United States, United States as a child. He gained fame as a founding member of the Fugees, a Ne ...

Aloe Blacc Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally as Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer and rapper. He is known for his guest performance on Avicii's 2013 single "Wake Me Up (Avicii song), Wake Me Up", which peaked on ...

Rudimental Rudimental are a British drum and bass band, signed to Asylum Records, Atlantic Records and Black Butter Records. The band consists of Piers Aggett, Kesi Dryden and Leon "Locksmith" Rolle. They were nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2013, and ...

, Hadouken!,

Danko Jones Danko Jones is a Canadian hard rock trio from Toronto. The band consists of Danko Jones (vocals/guitar), John "JC" Calabrese (bass), and Rich Knox (drums).Peter Lipa Peter Lipa (born May 30, 1943) is a Slovak singer, composer, and promoter of jazz. He has been called the Father of Slovak Jazz. Lipa is regarded as the most significant figure in the Slovak jazz scene. He developed a unique vocal style that ...

several times. She also cooperated with many others local jazz musicians, for example

Martin Valihora Martin Valihora (born 4 May 1976) is a Slovak drummer and percussionist. Valihora studied piano between 1986 and 1987, but then switched to drums, having received private lessons from a Slovak drummer Oldo Petráš. He then studied drums and pe ...

, Michal Bugala, Juraj Griglák or Eugen Vizváry. She also contributed on Bellita's album "Lagrimas Negras", which was released in 2013 as promo only record. Glenda's musical inspirations include

Esperanza Spalding Esperanza Emily Spalding (born October 18, 1984), sometimes professionally known with the stylized name of esperanza spalding, is an American bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Aw ...

Jamie Cullum Jamie Paul Joseph Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, pianist, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He h ...

, and

Laura Mvula Laura Mvula ( Douglas; born 23 April 1986) is a British singer. A native of Birmingham, England, Mvula gained experience as a member or leader of a cappella, jazz/ neo-soul and gospel groups and choirs. She was classically trained. In 2012, sh ...

Performing with Jamie Cullum and The Dead Daisies

One of her most memorable moments came in June 2014, when she appeared as guest on

's solo show in AEGON arena NTC in Bratislava. A few months later she performed on Bratislava jazz days, the oldest jazz festival in Slovakia, with her mother Bellita. According to report from daily newspaper,

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, 'Truth') is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most in ...

, their performance was one of the best at the 40th edition of festival. Another memorable moment for her came in February 2015, when she appeared on stage with former members of

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

and

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1978. The group were originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their ow ...

, which has formed supergroup

The Dead Daisies The Dead Daisies are an Australian-American Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 2012. Since their formation they have assembled a rotating lineup of musicians who have otherwise played with groups including Whitesnake, Guns N' Roses, Bla ...

. Guitarist

Richard Fortus Richard Fortus (born November 17, 1966) is an American guitarist. He is a member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he has recorded one studio album, since 2002. Fortus has also collaborated extensively with The Psychedelic Furs fron ...

, bassist

Marco Mendoza Marco Mendoza (born 3 May 1963) is an American bass guitarist who has worked in diverse genres. He became a professional rock musician in 1989 and debuted on Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward's solo album ''Ward One: Alo ...

, keyboardist

Dizzy Reed Darren Arthur "Dizzy" Reed (born June 18, 1963) is an American musician. He is best known as the keyboardist for the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he has played, toured, and recorded since 1990. Aside from lead singer Axl Rose, Reed is ...

, guitarist

David Lowy David Hillel Lowy (born 1954) is an Australian businessman, aviator and musician. He is the eldest son of Westfield Corporation co-founder Frank Lowy and a principal of Lowy Family Group (LFG), the Family Office and private investment group ...

, and drummer

Brian Tichy Brian Tichy ( ; born August 18, 1968) is an American musician, best known as having been the drummer for Whitesnake, Billy Idol, Foreigner, Sass Jordan, and Ozzy Osbourne. He was the drummer of Whitesnake from 2010 to 2013. His surname means ...

performed on February 28 together with

Darryl Jones Darryl Jones (born December 11, 1961) is an American bassist. He has been recording and touring with the Rolling Stones since 1993. He has also played in bands with Miles Davis and Sting, among others. Career Darryl Jones was born on Decemb ...

John Corabi John Corabi (born April 26, 1959) is an American hard rock singer and guitarist. He was the frontman of The Scream during 1989 and the frontman of Mötley Crüe between 1992 and 1996 during original frontman Vince Neil's hiatus from the band. ...

and

Bernard Fowler Bernard Fowler (born January 2, 1960) is an American musician. He is known for a long association with The Rolling Stones, providing backing vocals since 1989 and on their studio recordings and live tours. Fowler has been a featured guest vocali ...

at the Salon Rosado de la Tropical in Havana. Glenda was their special guest and performed two songs with them including The Rolling Stone's "Sympathy for the Devil."

Cooperation with Danton Supple and Alan Roy Scott

Glenda is now being produced by

Danton Supple Danton Supple is a British record producer and mixer, best known for his work with Coldplay. Early career (1985–1994) Danton Supple was introduced to the world of recording studios in the 1980s, at his girlfriend's uncle Paddy Kingsland's BBC ...

and co-writing/collaborating with former Motown Music veteran Alan Roy Scott. They prepared Glenda's debut LP in Havana at Abdala Studios, where

Buena Vista Social Club Buena Vista Social Club was a musical ensemble primarily made up of Cuban musicians, formed in 1996. The project was organized by World Circuit (record label), World Circuit executive Nick Gold, produced by American guitarist Ry Cooder and dire ...

recorded their albums. Glenda's first single from the resulting album, "In Search Of," was released in November 2014.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glenda Living people 1988 births