BATTERIA POP-ROCK – DCSL67

Advanced Afro-Cuban Drumming with Horacio Hernandez

Master class by Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez, drummer and internationally renowned percussionist.

Horacio Hernandez Master class formativ1 credits: ½ CFA

Saint Louis students: € 25 - Outside: € 35

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Horacio Hernandez Bio

Horacio was born in Havana, on April 24, 1963, into a family deeply rooted in the tradition of Cuban music and attentive to the influences of American jazz.

His talent was evident from a young age: at the age of 12 he entered the prestigious Escuela Nacional de Arte where he studied with the best Cuban teachers including Fausto Garcia Rivera, Enrique Pla and Santiago Rieter.

He began his career early as a professional, working with the greatest interpreters of the Havana music scene of the 1980s: Nicolas Reynoso, Paquito D’Rivera, Lucia Hurgo, Arturo Sandoval and German Velazco.

In 1980 he met the Cuban pianist and composer Gonzalo Rubalcaba becoming a permanent member of the Proyecto group, with whom he remained for 10 years. Although in these years "El Negro" continues the collaboration with numerous Cuban and international artists of the caliber of Dizzy Gillespie (United Nations Orchestra), it is with Rubalcaba that he develops his particular percussive technique by mixing Afro-Cuban elements with jazz.

He moved to Rome in 1990, where he quickly became the reference point of the Latin jazz scene in the capital. In recent years he has worked with Pino Daniele, Steve Turre, Gary Barts, Gary Smulyan and Mike Stern and founded the Tercer Mundo group.

Hernandez approda a New York nel 1993 dove immediatamente viene accolto nei circoli del jazz d’oltre oceano, lavorando con Paquito D’Rivera, Dave Valentin, Jerry Gonzalez & the Fort Apache Band, the Ed Simon Trio, Anthony Jackson, Kip Hanrahan, David Sanchez, Papo Vasquez, Steve Turre and the Sanctified Shells, the Cepada Family’s Afro-Rican Jazz, Giovanni Hidalgo, Arturo Sandoval, Regina Carter e Chico O’Farrill.

During these years he began his collaboration with Michel Camilo by participating, among other things, in the recording of the soundtrack of the film Two Much. He appears among the protagonists of the memorable concert by Chucho Valdes entitled Irakere West in San Francisco with guest Carlos Santana. He joins the Tropi-Jazz All Stars thus becoming the youngest member of the group directed by Tito Puente.

In 1997 Horacio was in Orvieto for the winter edition of the Umbria Jazz Festival, where he performed with Roy Hargrove's Crisol group together with David Sanchez, Frank Lacy, Gary Bartz, Changuito, Jon Benitez, Anga Diaz, Russel Malone and Chucho Valdes. In 1997 their first album entitled Habana won a Grammy Award and was awarded as the best record in the Latin jazz category. In the same period he records Thru My Eyes with Michel Camilo, John Patitucci and Anthony Jackson; he appears with McCoy Tyner in San Francisco and participates in the world tour of Carlos Santana with which he will record two songs on the Supernatural album, also awarded the 1999 Grammy Award.

At the beginning of 1998 the readers of the prestigious Modern Drum magazine elected him as Drummer of the Year 1997.

In the same year he is on tour, in the most important European jazz festivals, with the Latin Crossings group with Steve Winwood, Arturo Sandoval and Tito Puente; he participates in the tour of the John Patitucci Quartet; he produces with Kip Hanrahan the cd entitled Deep Rumba.

Negli ultimi anni “El Negro” ha continuato a collezionare collaborazioni di altissimo livello tra le quali ne ricordiamo solo alcune: Jack Bruce, Alejandro Sanz, Joachim Kuhn, Los Hombres Calientes, Los Cubanos Postizos di Marc Ribot, Ramon Valle, Zap Mama, Tokyo Zawinul Back, Bill Frisell, Chie Ayado, Kazumi Watanabe, Chick Corea, Poncho Sanchez e Gary Burton. Attualmente sono a suo nome i seguenti progetti: El Negro and Robby Band, Italuba e Horacio Hernandez & Giovanni Hidalgo Duo. E’ membro stabile del Michel Camilo Trio. Citiamo alcune delle sue recenti apparizioni in video: Calle 54 di Fernando Trueba; Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez Live at Modern Drummer Festival 2000 con Michael Brecker, Marc Quinones, John Patitucci e Hilario Duran; Traveling Through Time con Giovanni Hidalgo. Infine, ricordiamo la sua attività come insegnante, in clinic e workshop in tutto il mondo, dalla quale scaturisce il metodo edito dalla Warner Bros. dal titolo Conversations in Clave.