The idea for Maqueque came out of a jam session at the Cohiba Hotel in Havana (across from the Malecon). After meeting and hearing a couple of these very young Cuban women, Toronto jazz musician Jane Bunnett was inspired to take a detour from her regular band (Spirits of Havana) and create a project with some of the finest women musicians and composers that had recently graduated from the conservatories.
There was so much creative energy in Cuba...but not many outlets. And we realized that many of the girls at the conservatories were not really encouraged to "take the stage" in a male dominated scene. We witnessed this first hand while taking music technicians, Jazz materials and instruments to Cuba for the conservatories through our longtime musical incentive Spirit of Music (an organization that assists Cuba’s conservatories), that the best way to solve this issue was to create a performance opportunity, which became an all-female ensemble.
Maqueque is a co-operative featuring not only women players from Cuba, and now includes brilliant vocalist Joanna Majoko (from Zimbabwe) and has had musicians from the Dominican Republic, Latin America, Spain and Lebanon. The band has won a Juno Award, a Grammy nomination and regularly tours Europe, Latin America, and North America. They have played all the major clubs and festivals including Newport and Monterey, and play a yearly weekly stint at the legendary Birdland in New York City. Downbeat Magazine picked this group as one of the Top Ten Touring Groups in the USA. NPR has created a feature titled “The New Queens Of Afro Cuban Jazz for their award-winning series Jazz Night In America with Christian Mcbride. The group appeared on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts.
The group's global repertoire features originals and reworkings of Jazz classics like “Tempus Fugit” by pianist Bud Powell and “Jump Monk” by Charles Mingus. Vaocal improvisation and Jane's standout work on SOprano Saxophone are complimented brilliantly by an electrifying rhythm section including (founding members pianist Danae Olano and drummer Yissy Garcia) along with bassist Tailin Marrero and percussionist Mary Paz who collectively shatter the glass ceiling of Afro Cuban Jazz.
There was so much creative energy in Cuba...but not many outlets. And we realized that many of the girls at the conservatories were not really encouraged to "take the stage" in a male dominated scene. We witnessed this first hand while taking music technicians, Jazz materials and instruments to Cuba for the conservatories through our longtime musical incentive Spirit of Music (an organization that assists Cuba’s conservatories), that the best way to solve this issue was to create a performance opportunity, which became an all-female ensemble.
Maqueque is a co-operative featuring not only women players from Cuba, and now includes brilliant vocalist Joanna Majoko (from Zimbabwe) and has had musicians from the Dominican Republic, Latin America, Spain and Lebanon. The band has won a Juno Award, a Grammy nomination and regularly tours Europe, Latin America, and North America. They have played all the major clubs and festivals including Newport and Monterey, and play a yearly weekly stint at the legendary Birdland in New York City. Downbeat Magazine picked this group as one of the Top Ten Touring Groups in the USA. NPR has created a feature titled “The New Queens Of Afro Cuban Jazz for their award-winning series Jazz Night In America with Christian Mcbride. The group appeared on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts.
The group's global repertoire features originals and reworkings of Jazz classics like “Tempus Fugit” by pianist Bud Powell and “Jump Monk” by Charles Mingus. Vaocal improvisation and Jane's standout work on SOprano Saxophone are complimented brilliantly by an electrifying rhythm section including (founding members pianist Danae Olano and drummer Yissy Garcia) along with bassist Tailin Marrero and percussionist Mary Paz who collectively shatter the glass ceiling of Afro Cuban Jazz.