This concert was originally scheduled for November 6, 2020.
Daymé Arocena’s work encompasses the rich, diverse musical make-up of the Cuba she grew up in. Rooting her compositions in Cuba’s classic rhythms, she looks outward to the world she has spent the past years travelling. The award-winning Afro-Cuban jazz singer from Havana (now residing in Toronto), “Arocena is one of the world’s fastest rising jazz vocalists” (
The New Yorker) whose “voice is the perfect combination of Aretha Franklin and Celia Cruz” (
NPR).
Nella is the new voice from the Venezuelan island of Margarita. She skyrocketed from a Berklee College of Music graduate to winner of the 2019 Latin Grammy Award for Best New Artist (with an album produced by the legendary Javier Limón). That same year, her full-length debut,
Voy (I Go), received acclaim from
NPR and the hit “Me Llaman Nella” (They Call Me Nella) surpassed 1.4 million
Spotify streams and 1.4 million views on
YouTube. In addition, the title track was named the 14
th best song of 2019, in any genre, by
The New York Times. Merging the folklore roots of Venezuela, modern production, and Andalusian inspirations, her sound resounds in every corner of the globe.