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Artist
Jose Conde Y Ola Fresca
12+ albums
loungeambientcuba
about
Born in Chicago and raised in Miami by his Cuban-immigrant parents, Conde has been living in New York since earning a BA from Berklee College of Music in 1997. After experimenting with jazz, rock, funk, blues and latin music in his first couple of years in New York, Conde realized his musical journey was leading him back to his Cuban roots. He formed Ola Fresca (Fresh Wave) in 2000 with a clear goal to write new, original music based on the foundation of traditional, Cuban rhythms and style, while incorporating non-traditional elements for spice. This goal blossomed in his cd Ay! Que Rico which Conde produced, and also arranged and wrote most of the songs. The album has been praised as “innovative, highly danceable, pleasantly cerebral” (Ed Morales, New York Newsday), the band described as “superb” (descarga.com), and the songs are “sung by Conde with the natural grace of the best soneros with a touch of contemporary elegance” (Miguel Sirgado, El Nuevo Herald). Conde has also composed and produced music for film and the theatre, most notably the PBS documentary by Juan Carlos Zaldivar’s 90 Miles, and the critically acclaimed off Broadway Intar production of Eduardo Machado’s The Cook José Conde’s music fits into the powerfully danceable rhythmic system of Afro-Cuban music. A Cuban would say it’s got sabor de clave. He writes his own lyrics, too, and they have party flavor and humor, but they also have substance. Conde does his own arrangements – something few singers do – s
