3 de la Habana

3 de la Habana's compositional talent as musical storytellers is reflected in titles such as "Cuento de un Pez Volador," a song about finding true love on the white sands and transparent waters of Varadero, Cuba's most beautiful beach.

3 de La Habana make a special effort to revitalize various neglected Cuban standards and tastefully revives the spirit of the ancestral trova through their version of "Retorna," a gorgeous song written by Sindo Garay (1867-1968), one of Cuba's greatest traditional trova composers. And with the same objective, the trio injects modern harmonies into a couple of standards authored by Ignacio Pineiro (1888-1969).

The self-titled debut of 3 de La Habana offers something for everyone, from original songs and international pieces to forgotten classics and new standards of Cuban music.

Unlike most of the island's trios, 3 de La Habana has the capacity of interpreting non-Cuban pieces from the most unlikely sources, as demonstrated in their vocal adaptation of "Capricho," originally designed for violin and piano by Chelard, a French composer of the 19th century.

3 de la Habana's repertoire includes a couple of nostalgic songs popularized by exiled singer-songwriter Willy Chirino, thus attesting to the historic musical link between Havana and Miami. And last but not least, the trio's vocal interpretations are reinforced by an instrumental cast enriched by the presence of violinist Lazaro Dagoberto Gonzalez and tresero Efrain Rios (of Orguesta Aragon and Cubanismo fame, respectively), the latter efficiently co-arranging the album with German vocal director/guitarist David Pinelli. —Courtesy Calabash Music