I'm on the phone to Toronto speaking with a Spanish record rep, who patches us through to Paris to talk to a Cuban rap group that's about to play a jazz festival in Edmonton. What a world!
Another first for Jazz City: Orishas is the first rap group to appear at the festival. Don't expect Straight Outta Havana gangsta rap. As you can hear on its debut album, A Lo Cubano, Orishas mixes Latin rhythms, singing and rapping with lyrics in both Spanish and French. Named for the spirits of Santeria - the Catholic-West African religious mix embraced in Cuba - the group performs tonight in Red's. Roldan, singer and guitarist, is on the line from his home in Paris, with EMI Canada marketing manager Andres Mendoza translating:
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