8.30 - 11.00pm
£7 on the door
Leytonstone Festival present Omar Puente special guest virtuoso Cuban violinist with the East Side Latin All Stars
Tonight
we get in the Cuban groove with our good friend Omar Puente and I defy
anyone to sit still for long. The infectious cross rhythms from this
authentic combo are guaranteed to get the club cooking. Omar began
serious music studies at the age of 8. At 12 he left his family to take
up a place at the prestigious Escuela Nacional de Arte in Havana. His
education was furthered by playing with fellow students and visiting
tutors such as Paquito d’Rivera and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1998 he formed
the group Raices Cubanas (Cuban Roots). Since arriving in England, Omar
has maintained an international profile, playing all over Europe, USA
and Africa with such musicians as Tito Puente, Kirsty MacColl, Jools
Holland, Courtney Pine and recently Nigel Kennedy 's new,
three-electric-violin "Chilling-est Violinists". Omar teaches jazz
violin at Leeds College of Music and conducts workshops in schools on
the cultural and musical development of Cuba.
