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BIO
ALEXCUBA is a Cuban-born multi-instrumentalist who now makes his home in Canada. He is kept busy pushing sophisticated Cuban sounds into the mainstream. From his earliest years in Artemisa, a town about 60 km from Havana, he was immersed in music. Alex’s first stage appearance on national TV was at the tender age of four, playing claves (a percussion instrument) in a group directed by his music instructor father. Alex went on to study guitar, tres, percussion and bass, practicing eight hours a day during his teens.
Although AlexCuba won a National Song Writing Competition in Cuba
when he was only 18, he did not recognize his singer/songwriter path
until he moved to Canada, after years playing bass in traditional
Cuban groups as well as jazz and pop alongside Roberto Fonseca and
Javier Zalba (Buena Vista Social Club), recording three albums and
touring Europe.
Upon moving to Canada, he teamed up with his twin brother Adonis to record Morumba Cubana, as The Puentes Brothers, including seven original compositions of Alex and two co-written with Adonis. In 2001, the album received a nomination for a Juno award - as well as winning a West Coast Music Award and a Canadian Independent Music Award.
But for Alex something didn’t quite fit, and departing from Cuban music norms to follow his own path appears to be paying off - with his debut CD with the Alex Cuba Band, Humo De Tabaco, earning him a Juno award for World Music Album in 2006, and the single Lo Mismo Que Yo, featuring Ron Sexsmith being playlisted on BBC Radio 2.
AlexCuba has performed for festivals in the US and Canada, sharing the stage with Seu George and Jose Gonzalez at Central Park Summer Stage in New York to Feist at the Regina Folk Festival. He has opened for The Blind Boys of Alabama, Cesaria Evora and Ron Sexsmith.
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Web Site
Alex*Cuba's web site.