Eliane Correa & En El Aire project started as an experimental studio project in London in 2011, bringing together musicians from London’s Cuban and jazz/funk scenes through Correa’s compositions. Receiving great feedback both in London and Havana, the project eventually became an album, in which a pick of cream-of-the-crop musicians on both sides of the Atlantic were recorded over the course of three years of travelling back and forth. The 31 musicians who took part in the album include trumpet player Graeme Flowers (Kylie Minogue, Moloko, Imelda May), drummers Ernesto Simpson (Richard Bona, Herbie Hancock, Gonzalo Rubalcaba) and Michel Castellanos, saxophonist Roberto Manzin (Laura Mvula, Alejandro Sanz) top Afro-Cuban folklore ensemble Osaín del Monte, rising star of the Cuban Alternative scene Yanaysa Prieto, London-born afrorock vocalist and bassist Binisa Bonner (Rosie Lowe), and some of Cuba’s top young batá players. Tipped by Gilles Peterson as one of the freshest new sounds to come out of Havana, the result is a genre-defying melting pot of sounds. The strong presence of Afro-Cuban roots and folk music through batá drumming and rumba rhythms is complemented by the newest grooves of contemporary soul and funk. The varied ingredients of each composition come together to bring a fresh take on what is “Latin” and what is “jazz”. The 10-piece live format, which includes percussionists Gerardo de Armas (Yoruba Andabo, Gerardo & su Rumbaché) & Will Fry (Jamiroquai, Roy Ayers), sold out its launch concert in advance at the London Latin Jazz Festival in 2014, and has since received raving reviews in Jazzwise and Le Monde’s Mundo Latino blog. from www.elianecorrea.com
