Havana D'Primera
Havana D'Primera is the timba band of trumpeter and singer Alexander Abreu. Since 2007 it has been one of the leading bands of today's timba, and it comes up often as an example on this site.
About the band
Havana D'Primera played its first concert on 4 October 2007 at the Cabaret Turquino of the Hotel Habana Libre in Havana. The band has sixteen musicians from the top of the Cuban scene. Its music is timba and salsa, with influences from Afro-Cuban music, jazz and funk.
Albums
- Haciendo historia (2009): Cubadisco award for best debut album (2010).
- Pasaporte (2013): Cubadisco award for best popular dance music album. With the music video Al final de la vida.
- La vuelta al mundo (2015): Cubadisco's grand prize.
- Haciendo historia LIVE (2016): live album with DVD.
- Cantor del pueblo (2018): nominated for a Latin Grammy (best salsa album).
- Será que se acabó (2021): Cubadisco's grand prize again.
- Pueblo Griffo (2023): named after the neighbourhood in Cienfuegos where Abreu was born.
📝 Sources
Timba is the music this site is dedicated to exploring. It emerged as a distinct genre in the late 1980s and crystallized in the early 1990s — born in a moment of social crisis, built on the full accumulated history of Cuban music, and still evolving today.
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