Signo de Fuego

Eliane Correa is a fast-rising star. Probably the only woman to lead a large-format mixed gender Cuban timba-style band (there are many, invariably led by men), the 30-something pianist and composer has a way with a groove that embraces the nuanced, driving salsa of modern Havana, her emotional home, while nodding to the sounds of London, her base for much of the year. Recorded in seven countries with 23 crazy-talented musicians including Barcelona-based singer Yadira Ferrer (whose sparkling vocals lift the ballad ‘Cai’ up toward Mount Orisha) and Cuban music heavyweight Mandi Miranda, this sensational debut is testament to the blossoming of a major talent.

Arrangements are sophisticated yet accessible, compelling and complex. Flourishes are deft, sometimes surprising, never overdone. Dance tracks are built for wigging out. The American funk/R&B elements of timba are celebrated with bursts of wah-wah guitar and Herbie Hancock-esque synths on tunes such as ‘Parará’, an ode to a legendary series of London-Cuban warehouse parties, and ‘Flores de Cristal’ featuring female rap outfit La Reyna y La Real, in which women’s strength is celebrated with lyrics that subvert and defy misogyny – as they do throughout. All this plus Correa’s piano skills, fierce on a montuno vamp; sensitive and delicate on the aforementioned ‘Cai’. A grand vision nailed.