Roberto Fonseca is one of the most charismatic Cuban musicians of his generation, a man whose concerts have taken audiences' breath away for decades all around the world. As the masterful pianist of the Buena Vista Social Club and a star of Havana Cultura, he brings with him the authentic atmosphere of Cuban music to the 21st century. The word “YO” simply means “I” and is also Fonseca's boldest album to date, in which he mixes new sounds and new dimensions into traditional acoustic music, honouring his Afro-Cuban roots while simultaneously breathing new life into Cuban music. In place of his usual jazz quintet, on YO he develops a concept of a union between electro, analogue and African, Hammond organs, congas, kora and the talking drum, combined together in a synthesis of Afro Cuban groove and griot tradition. When pianist Roberto Fonseca plays, the music seeps from every pore in his body, at times on stage he stands and hammers the piano as if it were a percussion instrument or grabs a drum and transforms his group into a comparsa – the Cuban carnival groups that parade the streets once a year – invariably prompting a euphoric response from the audience. To those people who are still wondering who is Roberto Fonseca and to all those who thought they knew him, the Cuban musician replies: YO. An epic at the crossroads of jazz, traditional music and soul; a crossing of both sides of the shores of the Atlantic; an album which presents a new artist, not because he has changed but because his art still contains many surprises. Presented by: Vally Events, Palace of Arts

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