MAQUEQUE
In July 2015, when President Barack Obama officially re-established diplomatic relations with Cuba, it ended a 54-year political stalemate and commenced a new era of cultural exchange between the island nation and the U.S.
But more than three decades before Obama’s historic rapprochement, Canadian soprano saxophonist, flutist and composer Jane Bunnett had begun working tirelessly to promote Cuban jazz worldwide, and to provide its practitioners with performance opportunities far beyond their borders— including gigs in the States. Bunnett’s Toronto home has also served as a hub for several generations of Cuban players, many spending weeks or months in her guest rooms.
Bunnett’s devotion to Cuban music and musicians began unexpectedly in 1982, when she and her longtime partner, trumpeter Larry Cramer, spotted an ad for a cheap vacation in Santiago de Cuba. Arriving at their hotel, the couple encountered a band that featured trumpeter Inaudis Paisan Mallet. Lugging their instruments, they took front-row seats, eventually sat in, ignited a deep friendship with Mallet that continued until his death in 2014, and were forever hooked on the Afro-Cuban sounds they’d discovered.
Bunnett has recorded more than a dozen albums featuring Cuban artists, including 1992’s landmark Spirits of Havana—a two-disc, 25th-anniversary edition was released last summer—and, subsequently, various Spirits of Havana configurations. Her latest Cuban project is Maqueque, an all- female outfit whose eponymous debut album, released in 2014, features Bunnett alongside vocalist Daymé Arocena, tres guitarist and bassist Yusa, pianist Danae Olano, bassist Celia Jimenez, batá/conga player Magdelys Savigne and drummer Yissy García, with all members also contributing to vocal choruses. Last year’s follow-up, Oddara (Linus), showcases the same lineup—minus Yusa and plus violinist Elizabeth Rodriguez—with Arocena and fellow vocalist Melvis Santa as featured guests.
“Maqueque entranced listeners with a clave-induced set of
Afro-Cuban, booty-shaking world jazzthat would have made
Dizzy smile.” – DownBeat Four-time JUNO Award winner, two-time Grammy Award nominee, and Officer of the Order of Canada, saxophonist and flutist Jane Bunnett has long been inspired by the music of Cuba.
http://www.janebunnett.com/press/monterey-jazz-extends- the-welcome-mat-to-more-women-musicians
https://www.npr.org/2018/03/23/596004201/jane-bunnett- and-maqueque-the-new-queens-of-afro-cuban-jazz