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Omar Puente the great Cuban jazz violinist launches his new album From There to Here.
Omar Puente was born in Santiago de Cuba in 1962 from the ages of 12 to 18 he studied classical music under Russian and Cuban masters at the Escuela Nacional de Arte in Havana. His nights were spent learning Latin jazz at the feet of Chucho Valdez and Arturo Sandoval, and Cuban music from Ruben Gonzalez and Guillermo Rubalcaba in the city's famous music halls. On graduating from the at Instituto Superior de Arte,, Omar toured with the Jose Maria Vitier band and subsequently joined the Nacional Symphony Orquestra de Cuba (NSOC) where he progressed to first violin. During this time, he also worked/recorded with, amongst others, Guillermo Rubalcaba, Orquestra Reve, Charanga Habanera, Pablo Milanes, and Silvio Rodriguez.
Omar left the NSOC to become a full time member of the Cuban Boys, spending the next few years travelling the world playing modern Cuban music. He moved to the UK in 1997 and formed Raices Cubanas, a collective of immigrant Cuban musicians occasionally guest led by the late Kirsty MacColl. In recent years Omar has toured with Denys Baptiste's Let Freedom Ring project; he's also a member of Courtney Pine's touring band, and is involved with the Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra. Earlier this year he collaborated with Venezuela's Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra in a sold out show at the Royal Festival Hall as part of La Linea festival.
For more info and booking tickets call
0844 847 2514
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