Good day dear readers!

Today I wish to present you a wonderful and very productive initiative which is largely unknown by most Timba and salsa lovers.
The artist I present today is La Habana Ensemble, formed by distinguished saxophone player and former member of Irakere, Cesar Lopez (often nicknamed “the Cuban Charlie Parker”) in 1997.
The amazing Irakere, led by Chucho Valdez, served as the inspiration and model for the creation of La Habana Ensemble, as it plays both jazz and Cuban music.

As mentioned before, the ensemble has been very productive, and has by now produced 8 albums with another one coming out soon.
The ensemble toured all of Cuba and also many other countries such as Venezuela, Japan, Peru, The USA, Barbados, Spain, Mexico and others.
The ensemble also won several awards in including best Cubadisco jazz album of 2006, special prize for distinguished achievement of Cubadisco in 2008, and also the best international music album of the same year.
Cesar also won a Grammy playing with Irakere before forming La Habana Ensemble.
The ensemble has also shared the stage with both jazz and Latin music starts such as Chucho Valdez, Pablo Milanes, Compay Segundo and Sting.

The song I present today is a finely made Timba from their 1st, 1997, album, “Mambomania”, inspired by and dedicated to the art of, Perez Prado.

Disfruten!