« Zaldivar & the CEM » takes a fresh look on afro-cuban rhythms, broadening the frontiers of contemporary jazz. A hybrid ensemble with unique propositions of musical meshing, delivered with mastery and contrast, for a promising jazz future.
- Rafael Zaldivar
- Piano
- Composition
- Sola Nkani
- Voice
- Caroline Tremblay
- Voice
- Guillaume Tremblay
- Alto saxophone
- Pascal Beaulieu
- Bass
- Robert Pelletier
- Percussion
- David Simard
- Drums
Of Cuban origin, Rafael Zaldivar moved to Québec in 2005 and has continued to shine with his talent and commitment as a pianist, composer, artistic director and teacher. Musician whose professional career began at the age of 15, he quickly established himself on the Québec scene and was notably chosen as Révélation musicale Radio-Canada in 2010-11, while completing doctoral studies at McGill University in 2014. Fully invested in the influence of his musical research, he is now a professor at the Faculty of Music of Laval University and transmits to new generations of pianists his original and authentic point of view, his vision of a rich and culturally diverse form of musical expression. His compositions are distinguished by their inherent virtuosity, the exploration and integration of Afro-Cuban rhythms into a classical pianistic technique within a personal musical language, all with a great concern for musical narrativity, that is to say a music's ability to tell a story.
Hybridations
The band deliberately gathers different musical and cultural influences within a coherent. The Cuban-born pianist, composer and musical director Rafael Zaldivar is surrounded by vocalists Sola Nkani and Caroline Tremblay, former Cirque du Soleil drummer David Simard, renowned Saguenay percussionist Robert Pelletier, all-rounder saxophone nerd Guillaume Tremblay and multi-instrumentist Pascal Beaulieu.
