REY CABRERA : 23.01.1043 SANTIAGO DE CUBA
REY IS A SELF-EDUCATED MUSICIAN, HE PLAYS THE CUBAN “TRES” A GUITAR WITH 3X2 CORDES. ON THE AGE OF 14 YEARS HE LEFT HIS COUNTRYSIDE TO PLAY IN THE STREETS OF SANTIAGO DE CUBA WITH ANOTHER YOUNG ARTIST ELIADES OCHOA. QUICKLY THEIR TALENT WAS DISCOVERED. THEY ENTER TO LIVE RADIO PROGRAMS IN THE “TRINCHERA AGRARIA” BAND. THE WAY TO SUCCESS IN THE CASA DE LA TROVA WAS A REALITY. AS DIRECTOR OF THE GROUP “CORAZON DE SON” WITH MARIA OCHOA BRINGS HIM INTO A INTERNATIONAL CAREER, HE PLAYS @ NORTH SEA JAZZ FESTIVAL SOUTH AFRICA, IN FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, GERMANY… FINALLY HE LEFT HIS BEAUTIFUL ISLAND FOR EUROP. IN BELGIUM HE STARTED HIS SOLO PROJECT “REY CABRERA Y SUS AMIGOS”, RECORDED SELF WRITTEN SONGS ON "CUBEL SON" “CONTROVERSIA” AND “BEST OF REY CABRERA”
A REAL INVITATION TO THE DAILY CUBAN LIFE AND THE MUSIC STYLES SON, GUAJIRAS, DANZON, BOLEROS, CHANGUIS.
LOS AMIGOS :
*Nelson Garzón.
Born on 2-10-78.Natural of Santiago de Cuba Cuba. I started my musical career as one of the founders vocalist of the group Son de Amores. In the year 1999 until the year 2003. At that moment, he joined the Group of María Ochoa with whom he made national and international tours in countries such as Great Britan (London) and Spain. At the present I am part of the group of “Rey Cabrera y sus Amigos”
* David Ramos, 23.05.1988, Cali, Columbia
Arrived in Belgium in 1998, David Ramos Colombian pianist began in music in the Gospel as a musician self-taught. In 2012, he began taking classes at jazz school "Jazz Studio" with Olivier Collette and Ron van Rossum as teachers. Later, he meets Cuban musicians, he falls in love with their musical culture, mainly its polyrhythmic dimension, joyful and mixed. He also accompanied international artists of the salsa and passed by several groups on the Belgian stages and of course working with Rey Cabrera when Rey introduced piano in his group.
*Leonid Muñoz, 24.12.1974, Habana, Cuba
from Centro Habana, where he was playing with Pupy y los que son son, he started his international career in the group “Traje neuvo” and becames one of the most famous percusionist in Europe.
All the Cubans bands such as Grupo Nabori, Tomi y su Timbalight, Choco y sus complices, living in Europe like to contract Leonid, but also when Cubans group are travelling in Europe they invite Leonid for example Oscar de Leon, Haila. Leonid have a great knownledge of all Cuban music styles the son, changui, of course Leonid can not be missed in the group “Rey Cabrera y sus Amigos”.
* Humberto Gonzalez, 04.02.1972, Cienfuegos, Cuba
Started on the age of 8 years in the band of children “Ismaelillo”. Humberto has degrees from ENIA & ENA of Habana, guitarra clasica, instrumentista y profesor de guitarra. He’s living in Europe since 1994, and since 2003 he’s playing with Rey Cabrera, first in duo with tres and acoustic guitar. When Rey Cabrera introduce piano in his group Humberto started to play the babybass. In 2018 he gets a master didactics in classical guitar Conservatoire Royal de Liège, by professors Hughes Kolp and Adrien Brogna.
*Ruben Hernandez, 16.05.1984, Cienfuegos, Cuba
Ruben Hernandez began his musical training in Cuba at the age of 10 in 1994 at the Manuel Saumell School of Music, now called Benny Moré. A few years later, he continued his studies at the Provincial Conservatory where he finished high school. His life as a musician in the professional world begins at the same time. At the age of 16, he starts playing in different groups. A year later, he signed his first contract with a septet of Cuban traditional music called "Union", training that will bring him much in his musical development on different styles of Cuban music. In 2007, he moved to Belgium and integred "Rey Cabrera y sus Amigos". In 2011, he joined the Royal Conservatory of Brussels Jazz section in trumpet, where he obtained his Bachelor's degree in 2014 and his Master's degree in 2017.
Ruben has also his band “RHG Project” a latin jazz fusion group that mixes some of the native rhythms of cuban music with the current trends of modern jazz. Its repertoire features compositions by Rubén Hernandez and standards (arranged) of some of the most important composers in the history of jazz, like Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington and Richie Beirach.
*Nico Sanchez, 1986, Montevideo, Uruguay
Nicolas Sanchez is a Uruguayan musician born in 1986. He began his musical studies at the age of nine, he did his technical training at the Municipal Conservatory of Montevideo. Although he followed a classical training, very quickly "El Nico" was interested in popular music, especially Candombe (traditional Afro-Uruguayan rhythm) and jazz. In Uruguay he played in important groups of Candombe, such as Jorge Schellemberg's band, La Calenda Beat and the legendary band Lady Jones. In 2011, he arrived in Brussels at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, where he studied jazz. He participates in many projects in Jazz and Latin music. Since arriving in Brussels, he has formed his own Candombe group with his brother, "Candombrothers", and at the end of 2014 he founded his Latin Jazz group I.L.G "International Latin Group".
* Amel Serra Garcìa, Habana, percusion
In Belgium Amel works with the welknown Bart Peeters, before with El Tattoo del Tigre, but he also played with dEUS, with Zita Swoon.
* Gilberto Quevedo, 1976, Habana, percusion.
Gilberto have a large curriculum in differents salsabands like Cubason, Ache Habana, ...
* Rubén Valle, 1983, Camagüey, saxo-clarinet but also piano.
* Renato Mora, Holguin/Habana, singer, artwork of 2 albums of Rey Cabrera Controversia and The best of Rey Cabrera.
* Juan Carlos Rosquete, Habana, saxo, producer of the cd's of Rey Cabrera - Delbis Records Antwerp