Adonis Puentes & the Voice of Cuba Orchestra is an innovative all Cuban seven-piece (guitars, tres, piano, bass, trumpets and percussion) ensemble — whose distinctive sonero sound will transport you to the dance halls of Havana.
The Churchill Arts Council presents Adonis Puentes & the Voice of Cuba Orchestra on Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. at the Oats Park Art Center’s Barkley Theatre, 151 E. Park St. The box office, Art Bar and galleries open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $17 for members and $20 for nonmembers. Tickets are available at Jeffs Copy Express, ITT@Naval Air Station Fallon or call the arts council at 775-423-1440. Earlier in the day, a free conversation with the artist will begin at 3 p.m.
Puentes’ rich, soulful voice is the perfect front for his orchestra, layering traditional Cuban rhythms with deep bass lines, jazzy horns, and his melodic guitar.
Their debut CD Morumba Cubana won a Juno (Canadian Grammy) and their most recent CD Sabor a Café received a Juno nomination for World Music Album of the Year. They’ve performed at the Chicago World Music Festival, the Richmond Folk Festival, The Greek Theatre, Pabst Theater, Lincoln Center, South by Southwest and many other venues.
Puentes was destined to be a music star. Sabor a Café, nominated as World Music Album of the Year at 2014 Canadian Juno Awards, his latest CD and first collection of all self-composed original songs, fulfills the Cuban-Canadian singer’s destiny.
Puentes and his fraternal twin Alexis, now better known as Alex Cuba, were born in 1974 in Artemisa, Cuba. Their father, Valentin Puentes, is a well-respected musician and teacher, and at 6 years old, the twins were playing in a children’s guitar ensemble. At 14, Adonis was singing and writing original songs, music that has ripened and mature
Adonis Puentes has been nominated for a Juno Award and garnered a Grammy Award nomination for his lead vocalist work with the nine-piece, L.A.-based Mongorama, directed by well-known radio host Jose Rizo. He has toured with Irakere veteran Maraca Orland Valle and sang at L.A.’s Greek Theater, Hollywood & Highland, and Lincoln Center, where he shared the stage with Latin music luminaries Larry Harlow and Ruben Blades before 24,000 New York fans. He has performed at festivals around the world from South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, to Java Jazz in Jakarta, Indonesia.
His heart, though, lies with Sabor a Café.
“I grew up listening to their music,” Puentes said. “I shared my song with them when they were in Victoria. They liked it, and we recorded it in Cuba. Another Salsa great, Oscar Hernandez, arranged three songs and played piano on Sabor a Café. Guys used to play Oscar Hernandez’s piano solos when we were in music school in Cuba. Now he’s playing piano on my new recording!”