Mezcla is a music group from
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
.
Mezcla
Mezcla has been a part of the
Cuban music
The music of Cuba, including its instruments, performance, and dance, comprises a large set of unique traditions influenced mostly by west African and European (especially Spanish) music. Due to the syncretic nature of most of its genres, Cuban ...
scene for the past twenty-five years.
Mezcla was featured in the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
's documentary on
Latin Jazz
Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave (rhythm), clave, and Afro-Brazil ...
''La Combinacion Perfecta''.
The band has participated in festivals throughout Europe, Latin America, and the U.S. At the jazz club La Zorra y el Cuervo, they have performed with musicians who are visiting for the Havana Jazz Festival. These musicians include
George Benson
George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist.
A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...
, Felipe Cabrera,
Steve Coleman,
Roy Hargrove,
Giovanni Hidalgo,
Wynton Marsalis,
Dafnis Prieto, Orlando Sanchez, Yosvany Terry, and
Chucho Valdés.
A review at ''
All About Jazz
''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...
'' said that the band's album ''I'll See You in Cuba'' combines jazz, blues, soul into a celebration of Cuban song and dance.
Pablo "Mezcla" Menéndez
Born in Oakland, California, guitarist Pablo "Mezcla" Menéndez is the son of blues and jazz singer
Barbara Dane. As a resident of Cuba since 1966, he has worked with the Nueva Trova movement (
Silvio Rodríguez
Silvio Rodríguez Domínguez (born 29 November 1946) is a Cuban musician, and leader of the Nueva Trova movement.
He is widely considered as Cuba's best folk singer and arguably one of Latin America's greatest singer-songwriters. Known for his ...
and
Pablo Milanés), the jazz world (
Gonzalo Rubalcaba), and Afro-rock group Síntesis (with Carlos and Ele Alfonso). He founded Mezcla in 1989.
When Mezcla's visas were denied in 1993, U.S. public opinion and some members of Congress protested. Among the protesters was guitarist
Carlos Santana
Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the Rock music, rock band Santana (band), Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he r ...
, who stated in an interview with the ''San Francisco Examiner'' that Mezcla was his favorite band from Cuba.
In 1999 he wrote two songs with
Bonnie Raitt as part of the Bridge to Havana songwriting workshop. At the end of the week a concert was performed in which Menéndez performed the song "Cuba's Way Too Cool" with Raitt, actor
Woody Harrelson, and guitarist Rey Guerra.
In 2005 Menéndez released a solo album, ''Havana Blues Mambo''. He has led a Cuban All Star band at venues in the U.S. In January 2009 he was invited to perform with
Larry Coryell and
John Stowell at the Jazz Guitar Summit in Olympia, Washington.
Discography
* ''Somos Hijos De La Mezcla'' (Egrem)
* ''Fronteras De Sueños'' (Intuition)
* ''Cantos: Lázaro Ros Con Mezcla'' (Intuition)
* ''Rocason!'' (1997)
* ''Las Puertas Estan Abiertas'' (1999)
* ''Akimba!'' (Khaeon, 2002)
* ''Havana Blues Mambo'' (Zoho, 2005)
* ''I'll See You in CUBA'' (Zoho, 2010)
* ''Pure Mezcla'' (Tilford Productions, 2014)
References
External links
*
"Pablo Menendez: Our Cat in Havana" by Mike Zwerin, ''The International Herald Tribune'', 2002
*
ttp://www.havanatimes.org/?p=13439 "Pablo Menendez and Mezcla Jams" by Irina Echarry, ''Havana Times'', 2009
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Cuban musical groups