Global Union
Sunday, September 14, 2008, 4:00 p.m.
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The Cuban flutist, composer and director of the group Orlando Valle Maraca is definitely a spectacle to see live, as he directs his highly talented 12-member group. Maraca, musician and director, was named a “visionary” by “Chicago Tribune en Espanol” 2003, and is considered one of the most popular names in Latin and Afro-Cuban Music, from salsa to Latin jazz. His music is a cocktail of fusion and energy that stems from the jazziest improvisations to the most danceable elements of Caribbean and popular Cuban music.
Maraca has traveled extensively and with tremendous success with his groups, “Maraca y Otra Vision” as well as “Maraca & Afro-Cuban Jazz Masters” to more than 35 countries all over the world, which include almost the entire European continent and the United States, where he tours extensively throughout the year and has been doing so, since 1996. He has also toured to Canada, Africa, Cuba, Santa Lucia, Martinique, Colombia, Costa Rica and Brazil.
Since the creation of his group in 1995 (and after 6 years spent working with Chucho Valdes & Irakere as a keyboardist, flutist and arranger), Maraca has recorded 6 records as a solo artist and has participated in more than 40 productions as a guest flutist. His 3 music videos have been nominated and award winners of the “Premios Lucas” (Video Music awards in Cuba) for “Best Fusion Music video” (1999, 2001) and “Best New Artist”. When Maraca is not touring or involved in other projects as a guest artist, he composes, arranges records or produces in Cuba for himself and others such as Cubanismo (Cuba), Afro-Cuban-All-Stars (Cuba), Nora (Japan), Orlando Poleo (Venezuela), and Cesaria Evora (Cabo-Verde).