My Album The Grand Concourse is Digitally Released on March 2nd, 2018
It features Pedrito Martínez, Raul Pineda, Yosvany Terry, Nadia Washington, Oriente López and String Bembe
Dayramir Gonzalez's latest album The Grand Concourse is defined by the voyage of a young artist from Havana, whose creation of musical works shines a light on the gems of traditional Cuban sentiments, contemporary Afro-Cuban jazz and the vanguard sounds of New York City. In his through-composed song "Situaciones en 12/8", the compulsive bass motif is the engine that drives the layering melodies, while "Sencillez" is a modern commentary on Cuban musical history of the late 19th century. A Tribute to Buena Vista Social Club, Mozart, and John Coltrane mixed with Dayramir's spices.
“This is an ambitious project that presents me not only as a pianist or improviser, but also as a composer, arranger, orchestrator, and bandleader. For me, making an album is always about creating a full and complete piece of art, where I have a palette of different colors to choose from and can paint all those sounds that float in my head."
The Grand Concourse is the main thoroughfare that runs through the Bronx. When I first moved to New York, I made the South Bronx my home, and it's where I created most of the songs included in this album. It was where I struggled to rise above the challenges that came with starting a new life in a city that could swallow me up in no time. But "The Grand Concourse" also has a meaning that inspires. It is the broad road that leads to new journeys. It is at the concourse where people connect in an open space and encounter the expected and unexpected. And my album is the meeting place for the world to enter that space of diverse musical experiences.
"The Grand Concourse is an album for dreaming, for falling in love and for sharing with your close ones. Cheers."
Dayramir Gonzalez
1 Smiling
2 Moving Forward
3 Sencillez
4 Iyesa Con Miel (feat. Pedrito Martinez & Yosvany Terry)
5 Blood Brothers (feat. String Bembe)
6 Camello Tropical (feat. Nadia Washington)
7 Lovely Time with My Dear
8 Linear Patterns in Havana (feat. Raul Pineda)
9 Two Makes the Difference
10 West Coast Exchange
11 Hand in Hand, You and I
12 Situaciones En 12/8
Dayramir González: Steinway Grand Piano, Fender Rhodes and synthesizers (2, 8, 9) and coro (2, 3, 10, 12); Antoine Katz: electric bass (1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12); Alberto Miranda: electric bass (2); Carlos Mena: contrabass (3); Zwelakhe Duma-Bell Le Pere: contrabass (5, 7, 9); Zack Mullings: drums (1, 4, 6, 10); Keisel Jimenez Leyva: drums (2); Jay Sawyer: drums (5); Willy Rodriguez: drums (5); Raul Pineda: drums (8); David Rivera: drums (12); Paulo Stagnaro: congas (1,, 3, 6, 10), batá drums: (6), surdo, cajón, güiro, pandeiro and miscellaneous percussion (1, 5, 7, 8, 9) ; Marcos Lopez: congas (2); Mauricio Herrera: congas (12), batá drums (2); Pedrito Martinez: batá drums (4) and lead vocals (4); Gregorio Vento: miscellaneous percussion and lead vocals (12); Yosvany Terry: alto saxophone (1, 4, 8, 10), shekere (10); Marcos Lopez: timbal (10); Harvis Cuni: trumpet (1); Oriente Lopez: flute (1, 3, 4, 8, 10); Kalani Trinidad: flute (12); Rio Konishi: alto saxophone (12); Dean Tsur: alto saxophone (7), tenor saxophone (1, 4, 8, 10); Edmar Colon: tenor saxophone (12); Ameya Kalamdani: electric and acoustic guitars (1, 6); Tatiana Ferrer: coro (2, 3, 10, 12) and viola (1, 3, 5, 7); Jaclyn Sanchez: coro (2, 3, 10); Nadia Washington: lead vocals (6) and coro (3, 10); Ilmar Lopez Gavilan: violin (1, 3, 5, 7); Audrey Defreytas Hayes: violin (1, 3, 5, 7); Jennifer Vincent: violoncello (1, 3, 5, 7); Caris Vesintin Liebman: oboe (5); Amparo Edo Biol: French horn (5)
