WOMAD 2009 Feature Artist Ska Cubano

WOMAD 2009 Feature Artist Ska Cubano (Cuba/UK)

Born from the imagination of music-loving investment banker Peter Scott and South London ska singer Natty Bo – the flamboyant face of raucous UK ska band Top Cats – Ska Cubano is the product of forging a fanciful union of Jamaican ska with Cuban mambo music.

After travelling to Cuba in 2003 searching for musicians keen to cut the first experimental Ska Cubano album, Natty forged an important union with famous mambo singer Beny Billy and achieved the irresistible musical fusion he hoped for, brimming with melody, wit and a joyous marriage of rhythms.

Bringing this music to fruition on stage, Ska Cubano was created in London as a cross-generational and cross-cultural ska superband – the 12-piece line-up featuring such luminaries as 76-year-old Jamaican trumpet legend Eddie “Tan Tan” Thornton (having played with everyone from Bob Marley to The Rolling Stones to Jimi Hendrix) to hot Japanese alto and baritone saxophonist Megumi Mesaku (Natty Bo’s former wife and key collaborator in Top Cats), Cuban-born Rey Crespo on double bass, Jesus Cutino on tres and congalero Oreste Noda, and veteran West Indian rock and reggae drummer Dr Sleepy. Their combined meld of influences has made the 2005 Ska Cubano album !Ay Caramba! a modern dance classic.

Also visit the Ska Cubano Website

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