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BIOGRAPHIES ET TERMOIGNAGES DISPONIBLE EN FRANCAIS DANS LES BLOGS
BIOGRAFIA Y ENTREVISTA DISPONIBLE EN ESPANOL
Welcome to Billy Cobham and Asere's official MySpace page!
When jazz drumming icon and musical legend Billy Cobham first teamed up with the
innovative and stylish young Cuban group Asere at WOMAD 2002, no-one could quite have
anticipated where their union would end up. Six years on, the result is a stunning
collaborative debut album ‘De Cuba y De Panama’, which marks a journey into the making
of musical history. The warmth of the relationship that has developed between these two
powerhouses radiates loud and clear through their music as they bring the full Cuban
experience to the stage, exploring soul, jazz and funk influences all mixed up with a
kicking Latin vibe. With gigs lined up for Glastonbury and Womad, and an 18 date UK tour
scheduled for Autumn 2008, you’ll not only have the chance to buy to the hottest summer
album of 2008, but there’s also never been a better time to see this remarkable
collaboration live.
Born in Panama, Billy Cobham moved to New York with his parents at the age of three, and
has become a musical legend with a large and faithful following world-wide. A hugely
influential musician, Billy has put the pulse into everything from funk to soul to jazz
and has played with a list of musicians that reads like a who’s who of modern music,
including Miles Davis, George Benson, Oscar Peterson, Jack Bruce, and Herbie Hancock.
Groundbreaking and contemporary, Asere recreate the passion and feeling of the music
they heard around them growing up in Havana. Their superb interpretation of Cuba’s
musical traditions has produced a creative, pioneering repertoire, deeply respectful of
their predecessors yet with an exciting contemporary edge, blessed with inventive song
writing and a soulful groove. Put Billy and Asere together, and you have something very
special indeed, a thrilling musical relationship fired by mutual respect, spontaneity
and enjoyment. It’s a hugely uplifting experience full of human warmth for both
musicians and audience alike - one to cherish for a lifetime!
Billy and Asere first met at the WOMAD Festival, Reading in 2002. Following a recording
session in Real World Studios and two further appearances at WOMAD Festivals in
Singapore and Sri Lanka, their story remarkably came to Cardigan when Theatr Mwldan and
Taliesin Arts Centre formed a partnership with Astar Music to co-produce Billy and
Asere’s first full collaboration and four date tour, which took place in Wales in March
2006. Two further tours have in October 2006 and May 2007 preceded the release of a DVD
and CD boxset in July '07.
Billy Cobham:
It has been 6 years now since I first met members of Asere at a WOMAD festival in
Cáceres, Spain. Over this time, we have worked together more and more and are now
collaborating on educational presentations and performances world wide. I believe that,
through my association with my Cuban colleagues, my mind has been exposed to the family
that I left behind, when I was just 3 years old, in Panamá. I have found the urge strong
enough for me to return to my roots with the idea that I might be able to put some
pieces of my family puzzle together in order to help me see my future better through
this clearer view of my past.
As of 2005, I began building my family ties in Panama, the country of my birth, living
with relatives there and re-introducing myself to life in their world. The experience
has been dramatic enough for me to be inspired to write and arrange material that best
reflects my experiences there of late. With the help of everyone in the Asere family, I
am learning more about my past as I contribute to the music that is now relevant to my
present and future performances. This is reflected in these most recent recordings as
well as in what we present live in concert.
Billy Cobham
Bern, Switzerland, May 2008
John Hollis, Producer
When I first started working with Billy I had little idea who he was. It was only after
several shows and recording sessions that it began to dawn on me what this man had
achieved in his life and that awareness led me to wondering what he was doing hanging
out with the likes of myself and Asere. After a while, things became clearer – as Billy
got his head round the Cuban rhythms, learnt to sing in Spanish, dabbled with the bongos
and even risked preparing a dance routine for performance, I realized that here was a
person not only up for a serious musical collaboration but someone who had decided the
time had come in his life to rediscover and explore a culture of prime importance to
himself and his family. This was an experience he was going to enjoy to the full.
The sensation this evoked, and the ease with which the music came together, had a
profound effect on all of us. As we worked together across three concert tours, the
musical journey became an increasingly fascinating one – one which went deeper with each
encounter and clearly moved many of those who came to see the shows. This album is the
result of those performances.
Rehearsal time was always limited so the songs came together little by little whenever
the opportunity arose and matured in concert. Indeed the structures for all the pieces
went down live in the studio. From the beginning we decided to go with grooves, and
these have taken us in more directions that we first imagined. Equally important was to
find a way that a massive drum kit and an arsenal of percussion could work together
whilst breathing naturally. As with any meaningful collaboration, to achieve this sense
of space, power and subtlety requires mutual respect, humility and the ability to
listen. Inspired by this process and the music it delivered, we are all motivated to
continue the work and discover what lies ahead.
John Hollis
Bath, England May 2008
Asere:
This project is dedicated to many: those who believed in us and those who always
doubted. It is dedicated to the people who gave everything in order that we might catch
a glimpse of success and to others who struggled to prevent this in an absurdly
obstinate way. But above acknowledgements and dedications, this album is a hommage to
the geographical-cultural mixture that makes up ‘Our America’, beyond dogmas, doctrines
or policies that try to fragment it. It is also the modest hommage of several men who
pay tribute to music, peace and spirituality. This album too is an offering of respect
to the peoples of our area and a good start to making our great dream come true: that
music might reach the hands of all those eager to start on a wonderful journey – from
New Orleans to the plains on the banks of the River Arauca, from New York to Habana,
from Andalusia to Santiago …. from Cuba to Panamá!!!!!!!
Asere
Habana, Cuba, April 2008
See Asere's myspace here
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Also available to buy!
A Latin Soul DVD and CD Package
PAL Format (UK & Europe) only. NTSC (For Asia and US) available soon.
**** SONGLINES
'humbling and inspirational' - Jazzwise
The bumper package contains three films – 'Billy Cobham & Asere Live', 'Alma Latina' in
which Billy Cobham talks about his Latin origins, and 'Cuba A Panama' in which Asere
talk about their relationship with Billy. Plus a bonus audio CD 'Billy’s Montuno' of
live recordings.
This is the story of Billy & Asere’s awesome collaboration, in which the legendary
drummer is reconnecting with this Latin roots, exploring and rediscovering his natural
musical and cultural heritage - as Billy says, 'struggling to regain it before I’m
dead.'
Almost three hours worth of fascinating material, to be enjoyed by both fans of Billy
Cobham and World and Latin music alike.
To find out more, and how you can buy one, click here:
www.mwldan.co.uk/shop-at-theatr-mwldan-shop.htm (copy and paste
into your address bar if the link is broken)
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