Press Release

PRESS RELEASE

son radical by Juan-Carlos Formell

Available August 29, 2006 on Narada Records

Cuban power trio creates rock en clave to "break all the rules" featuring Juan-Carlos Formell on vocals and electric/acoustic guitar, Jimmy Branly on drums, Carlitos del Puerto on bass, and introducing Alondra B. on vocals.

June 23, 2006, Miami, FL – Channeling the African roots of the Caribbean experience, this power trio converts their individual achievements in jazz, salsa and classic Cuban son into intense alternative music that lives up to their CD’s name. “The son is the root of everything," says Juan-Carlos, "working from that base, we have the credentials to break the rules and the clichés of Cuban music.”

And their credentials are impressive. Juan-Carlos Formell, a brilliant guitarist and composer whose 1999 debut CD, SONGS FROM A LITTLE BLUE HOUSE, was nominated for a Grammy® and is an acknowledged leader in the vanguard of new Cuban music. Jimmy Branly achieved fame in his twenties as the drummer for the super timba group, NG la Banda – after a stint with jazz pianist Gonzalo Rubalcava. And Carlitos del Puerto, who began his career in Cuba as the bass player for jazz pianist Emiliano Salvador, has played with artists as diverse as Stevie Wonder and the Grammy-nominated CARAVANA CUBANA.

Growing up and jamming together in Havana, the three young virtuosos experimented with different ways to modernize Cuban music, but it wasn’t until they had all come to the United States and established themselves – Juan-Carlos in New York, Jimmy and Carlitos in Los Angeles – that they were able to realize their dream of developing a new Cuban sound. Beginning in 2003 they convened for a series of jam sessions at Branly’s house. The result was the spontaneous combustion of rock en clave that they call SON RADICAL, produced in December of 2005 by Branly at his home studio.

With songs steeped in Cuba's African roots (Congo é, Yambambó), socially-conscious statements about Latin culture and history (Control, Control; Por el Camino de la Mar; Testamento), hard-driving instrumentals featuring Formell’s dazzling electric guitar (Insurreción, Penetracion del Viento), as well as excursions into the mystical (Papa Karo, Llego la Luna, Divina Luz); SON RADICAL creates a new dimension of lyrical, politically-charged Latin music.

“We broke away from Cuba because we couldn't accept the restrictions and censorship of the government-run music industry, but we‘ve never lost contact with our roots.” says Juan-Carlos. “Our cubanidad is in our souls. We interpreted the verses of Jose Marti, the author of Cuban independence, as a rock song because his message ‘when I die, without a country, but with no master, on my grave I want a wreath of flowers and a flag,’ applies not just to us, but to all Latinos who dare to think, dare to question, dare to take risks."

For more information on SON RADICAL or Juan-Carlos Formell, please contact:

Maria Romeu - 305.442.0483 | 305.794.8749 – chicamamey@bellsouth.net

Narada Records: Mario R.Martin - 414.961.8350 Mario.Martin@Narada.com