Evaristo

Friday, July 4, 2014
Hosting the largest licensed outdoor patio, the Bacardi Festival Libre will celebrate Cuban-inspired music, dance, cuisine and art. It takes place this weekend for 3 days starting today at Toronto’s Distillery District spanning Trinity Street, Tank House Lane, Case Goods Lane, Distillery Lane and Gristmill Lane.
Entertainment:
- Evaristo
- Henry Flow
- Roberto Linares and The Havana Norte Band
- RS Divas
- Samba Heat
- Starving Yet Full
- XPRIME - BestofToronto.net

Latinada Jazz and Tapas Bar, June 25, part of the 2013 Toronto Jazz Festival
Evaristo's recently released CD, 'Siempre Que Llueve...' (After the Rain)showcases Evaristo's roots in Cuban Trova, a style for singer-songwriters who accompany themselves on the guitar. This is a collection of poetic songs that focus on the lyrics, both personal and political, drawn from his experiences in Italy, Canada and of course, his native Cuba. Evaristo layers the Trova style with rock, urban, reggae and Afro-Cuban rhythms. - TD Toronto Jazz Fesitival official site

Summary:
Evaristo celebrated the release of his independently produced CD, 'Siempre Que Llueve...' (After the Rain) on March 16, 2012, at Lula Lounge. This CD showcases Evaristo's roots in Cuban Trova, a style for singer-songwriters and acoustic guitar. This is a collection of poetic songs that focus on the lyrics, both personal and political, drawn from his experiences in Italy, Canada and of course, his native Cuba, 'la isla rota'. Evaristo gathered an all-star band to present these songs, that layer the Trova style with rock, urban, reggae and Afro-Cuban rhythms. The CD is available online through our Web site or on iTunes.
Quote:
"To loud applause, [Evaristo] began singing his hit 'Siempre Que Llueve...' (After the Rain), nominated in six categories in the Lucas Awards 2009: best video of the year, best music fusion video, best director, best art direction, best director of photography. The new song, recorded with the participation of the renowned and beloved Cuban rapper Telmary Diaz, was performed with a band gathered from talented Canadian and Cuban musicians like Juan Pablo Dominguez on bass ; Amed Michel on percussion , Osvaldo Rodriguez on violin and percussion; Jay Danley, on the jazz guitar and the Cuban tres, Cheryl Okrant in cello and the beautiful voice of Raquel Olmos in chorus."
(Translated from the Spanish)
Other media:
http://www.torontohispano.com/entretenimiento/cuba/2012/everisto-lanzamiento/siempre-que-llueve.php
http://cubaintoronto.com/archives/3675 - Toronto Hispano

Summary:
Evaristo’s video for ‘Siempre que llueve…’ (After the Rain), featuring Telmary Diaz, has been nominated for six of Cuba’s famous ‘Lucas’ Awards, for both Best Video of the Year and Best Music Fusion Video, as well Best Director, Best Art Direction, Best Director of Photography, and best 'Making Of' categories.

Quote:
"By switching this year to better voting system for nominations and awards, the results show greater consistency and solidity. For example, given the high level of competition, seven videos like the best of the year were chosen, and they ended up elected in many other categories: 'Revolution' (Raul Paz), 'After the Rain' (Evaristo featuring Telmary), 'With the Same Crazy' (Charanga Habanera) and 'Swiss Dancing' (Harold Lopez Nussa) reached six nominations each."
(Translated from the Spanish).

Evaristo’s video for ‘Siempre que llueve…’ (Every time it rains), featuring Telmary Diaz, has been nominated by Cuba’s famous ‘Lucas’ Awards 2009 for both Best Video of the Year and Best Music Fusion Video, as well as being nominated in the Best Director, Best Art Direction, and Best Director of Photography categories. In addition, a clip about the making of Evaristo’s video was nominated in the Best ‘Making Of’ category.

Evaristo’s video can be seen on YouTube.com (search "Evaristo featuring Telmary"), or on our web site at www.evaristomusic.com. The video was filmed in Havana, Cuba and is directed by Tomas Miña. Evaristo competes for best video with such artists as Charanga Habanera.

As part of the Lucas Festival 2009, the nominated videos will be playing at locations throughout Havana in November, including the Parqueo de Coopelia, the Parque de Los Artesanos, and the Centro Fresa y Chocolate.

The nominees for the Lucas Awards of 2009 were announced Wednesday October 21 at the Tropicana nightclub in Havana. The Lucas Awards honor Cuban music videos in a variety of categories, and will be announced live on TV Cubana on the 29 of November from Havana’s Karl Marx Theatre.

Award nominations for Evaristo’s “Siempre Que Llueve…” (featuring Telmary):
- Best Video of the year
- Best Music Fusion Video
- Best Director
- Best Art Direction
- Best Director of Photography
- Best ‘Making Of’ Video

See "Nominados Premios Lucas 2009" (www.tvcubana.icrt.cu/noticias/nominados-premios-lucas-2009) for more information (site in Spanish), or contact us at evysaoco@hotmail.com - Juventud Rebelde (Cuba)

Evaristo appeared on the CBC Radio program ‘Big City, Small World’ with Garvia Bailey on Saturday, January 26, 2008. Garvia interviewed Evaristo about his music and career, and he performed a couple of songs from his new project live in the CBC studio. - CBC Radio

SALSA WITH A DASH OF REGGAE: Evaristo Machado is another musician who operates in the fuzzy areas between musical styles -- in his case salsa, funk, jazz, flamenco and even reggae. The Cuban-born, Toronto-based singer-guitarist, best known for filling the dance floor at the Lula Lounge's regular salsa nights, heads out on a slightly different tangent with his new project, Siempre Que Ilueve (Whenever It Rains).

The new band scales down the big-band sound of Evaristo's nine-piece salsa orchestra, relying on Evaristo's guitar and vocals along with Chendi Leon on percussion and flamenco box, Silvio Simone on both flamenco and electric guitar and Orlando Cardoso on piano, and mixing Afro-Cuban rhythms with traditional Latin styles, rock, reggae and funk. They'll test it out at the Lula Lounge tonight.

Mary Dickie, Wed, June 29, 2005 - The Toronto Sun

LIVE MUSIC

Two latino greats unite: A Canadian king and queen of latin jazz and world music will be uniting on stage tonight at Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St. W. Eliana Cuevas and Evaristo will be putting on quite a show of Latin jazz, Bossa Nova, boleros and Cuban Trova. Venezuela-born Cuevas is a multiple award-winning singer and songwriter who will be performing her unique style of Latin jazz and world music, with songs from her CD, Ventura. Evaristo is a Cuban-Canadian singer already well known in Toronto for leading an incredible salsa big band. The guitar player and songwriter will showcase music stretching from his early days as a Trovador in Havana, mixing Latin jazz, flamenco, Bossa Nova and Cuban Trova. Show starts at 9 p.m., cover is $10. See www.lula.ca or call 416-651-4054.

By Jennifer Bill
Thursday, December 22, 2005 - Toronto 24 Hours Magazine

Singer: Evaristo
Album: Luna del Barrio
Date: 01/10/2005

Based on the music samples available on the Web (http://www.evaristomusic.com/music.htm and http://cdbaby.com/cd/evaristo), I want to let you know about this excellent example of a Cuban Salsa CD with a fresh and international flavor. Anyone who listens to the title number “Luna del Barrio” in its entirety will notice that we are faced with an extremely danceable and intriguing track; one that, for its immediate attraction to the ear has all the signs of becoming a hit. Likewise, each of the remaining 8 tracks (available for listening on the links above) are of beautiful quality, making the whole album, with its especially jazzy harmonies, a distinctive and refined production! In particular I would emphasize the track “Salsa con Timba” which opens the album – a piece that is completely original in its arrangement and danceability; as well as “El Baile del Saoco” and “La Carretera”, whose choruses remind me of the best of Willie Chirino. Evaristo Machado – vocalist and musician born in Havana – is the composer of all the tracks, and gives us an excellent production with an outstanding backup band, where the brass makes up the finest element. This is a production with all the signs that it will soon get a regular distribution in Italy.

Translated from the Italian for www.evaristomusic.com

Original article:
http://www.salsa.it/recensioni.aspx?lnrid=813 - www.salsa.it

by Joaquin Borges-Triana, October 7, 2004

I believe that I never will forget the good old days that I spent at ‘la Casa del Joven Creador ‘ (the House of the Young Creator) in the Avenida del Puerto [Havana, Cuba]. It was the preferred venue for many of my generation, at a beautiful stage of our lives. Regulars of that space keep alive vivid memories of the concerts and improvised performances put on by people who, today, are prominent figures in the contemporary panorama of Cuban songwriting. One of the artists from that time, who, with his guitar and voice, helped us to weave a complex fabric of utopian visions, and to feel that there was much more to life than mere existence, was Evaristo Machado, an artist frequently found playing chords and melodies on the patio of that big old house at the corner of San Pedro and Sol.

A native of the City of Havana, Evaristo graduated from the Conservatorio Ignacio Cervantes, where he studied singing, classical guitar, piano, acting and the theoretical subjects that prepared him to be a composer. His public appearances as a musician began in the first part of the1980s, when he started to act and sing as a member of different groups in the Havana club scene. At the same time, his career developed as a singer/songwriter, in which he tried to bring together diverse musical themes, genres and styles, from rock to Salsa, and from pop to Nueva Trova. Despite being a formidable vocalist, it was not through his own voice that his first pieces became popular, but through cover versions, such as by Grupo Mezcla.

Evaristo’s first professional appearance (a special date in 1987) was when he took to the stage as a guitarist with the group backing up the outstanding multi-instrumentalist Jesus Morales (‘Moralitos’). Another experience that had a profound effect on his career – a period which marked his formation as an artist – was when, in 1988, he became a member of the National Radio and Television Chorus, where he worked as a singer for the space of a year.

Now ready for bigger challenges, in November of 1989 he auditioned as a vocalist for [Havana’s] Tropicana nightclub show. His daily work with the famous nightclub act gave him a training that remarkably widened his creative vision, giving him the ability to construct songs of a thoughtful nature, and that make us ponder and turn over in our minds the things that surround us. At the same time, he developed the secret art of composing music designed to get people dancing and burning energy.

He stayed with the Tropicana show for six years, and appeared in such countries as Spain, France, Switzerland, Belgium and Holland. In 1997, he was asked by the Canadian Jane Bunnett to take part in a project integrating jazz with Afro-Cuban rhythms, in the company of other instrumentalists such as the pianist Hilario Durán and trumpeter Larry Kramer. That collaboration opened many doors for Evaristo by introducing him to the Canadian music market. This way, he was able to perform at the [then] Du Maurier Theatre with Memo Acevedo in 1998 and at the TLN Festival. A short time later found him singing in front of Pablo Terry’s band, Sol de Cuba, and other groups such as Klave y Kongo and Son Aché.

All these experiences nourished him, and allowed him to form his own band, which, starting in 2000, performed in diverse events, such as the College Street Festival and other shows dedicated to jazz and Latin music. He also shared the stage with numerous figures performing in the city of Toronto, such as when he took part in a show with the Afro-Cuban All Stars, the famous big band headed by expert ‘Tres’ player Juan de Marcos.

In the summer of 2004, Evaristo Machado released his first recording, entitled ‘Luna del Barrio’. In accordance with the things he has done over the years, this is an album that is framed within what the specialized critic defines as modern salsa, with a set of compositions in whose arrangements there is a strong presence of orchestrated elements coming from Latin and Afro-Cuban jazz. As a whole, the CD allows us to verify Evaristo’s potential as a singer, who stands out as much by his refinement as by the his ability to improvise in the Cuban ‘montunos’ style. Although his objective is clearly to make us dance, once again I confirm that he also has the power to give us refined and subtle lyrics, that do not present any type of pretense but rather, when all is said and done, simply dignity and elegance.

To give a taste of the tracks on the CD, I call special attention to the cuts ‘Salsa con Timba’, ‘Luna del Barrio’, ‘El Baile del Saoco’ and ‘Por la Carretera’, as well as ‘Desamparado’ (Abandoned), a very good song with certain ‘funky’ style. As a representative Salsa recording that also tries to explain things, I see this as a prelude to more diverse works that I believe are sure to come.

Translated from the Spanish for www.evaristomusic.com

Original article available on the Web:
http://www. - Juventud Rebelde (Cuba)

(English translation by request)
Por MYRNA KAHAN.- El polifacético cantautor cubano y rey de la Trova cubana, Evaristo Machado celebró con un lleno total de fanáticos sus éxitos con el trabajo discográfico “Siempre que llueve” en el conocido centro nocturno de Toronto Lula Lounge. El CD combina ritmos afro cubanos, al estilo trova con el pop latino, rock y música urbana. Su música es una vitrina de sus raíces en la trova cubana, inspiradas en las experiencias en su diario vivir, en países como Italia, Canadá y por supuesto, en su país natal, Cuba.
El artista viajata a Nueva York el 28 de noviembre a presentarse en un concierto en el Theatre of the Arts, 17 Frost Street Brooklyn, bajo la dirección de Roverto Poveda. Luego regresa a Canadá a presentarse en concierto en varias provincias.
Con recibimiento del sus fans, Machado, cantó las canciones de su reciente producción “Siempre que llueve…”, nominado en seis categorías en los premios Lucas del 2009: mejor video del año, música fusión, mejor dirección artística, fotografía así como permio “Making Of“. Evaristo se dirigió al público, diciendo muy emocionado.

Machado, dijo “recuerdo cuando cantaba la música de Trova en Cuba, acompañado de mi guitarra, una colección de cantos poéticos, inspirados en el diario vivir”.
.
‘‘Después, comencé a cantar profesionalmente en el centro nocturno Tropicana, donde tuve la oportunidad de realizar viajes internacionales a Francia, Bélgica, Holanda, España”. Su extensa experiencia con el prestigioso cabaret, reconocido mundialmente y catalogado como la mejor revista musical latina del mundo, impulsó su carrera.

“Compartí el escenario con grandes cantantes de mi país fue una experiencia inolvidable. Vine a Canadá en 1997 y comencé a presentarme en varios centros nocturnos con diferentes bandas de jazz, y orquestas latinas” recuerda Evaristo emocionado.

Entre los artistas más destacados con los que trabajó podemos mencionar a Jane Bunnett, ganadora del premio Grammy y el reconocido pianista y compositor cubano Hilario Duran, ganador del premio Juno.

Sobre sus nuevos proyectos, el artista viajará próximamente a Cuba, a grabar su nueva producción “Tumbao Con Fe”, se grabará el video en varias localidades de la ciudad de La Habana, utilizando tanto la parte colonial, como la moderna.

La dirección estará a cargo de Robín Pedraja; la producción de Reymel Delgado; en la dirección de fotografía, con mucho orgullo puedo anunciar que contamos con el mejor camarógrafo de Cuba, Alejandro Pérez. Disfrutamos de un espectáculo para recordar que ofreció un excelente repertorio musical, con talentosos músicos.

Evaristo interpretó la conocida canción de salsa, “Se Enamora De Mi”, del reconocido compositor cubano Polo Montañés. Tanto el público Hispano como Canadiense disfrutó de una gran noche de música de Trova. - Somos Toronto

(English translation by request)
El rey de la trova Cubana en Toronto, Evaristo Machado en concierto en Nueva York en el Theatre of the Arts de Brooklyn, bajo la dirección de Roberto Poveda.

El gran polifacético cantautor cubano y rey de la Trova cubana, Evaristo Machado celebró con un lleno total de fanáticos sus éxitos con el trabajo discográfico “Siempre que llueve” en el conocido centro nocturno de Toronto Lula Lounge. El CD combina ritmos afro cubanos, al estilo trova con el pop latino, rock y música urbana. Su música es una vitrina de sus raíces en la trova cubana, inspiradas en las experiencias en su diario vivir, en países como Italia, Canadá y por supuesto, en su país natal, Cuba.

El gran artista viajata a Nueva York el 28 de noviembre a presentarse en concierto en el Theatre of the arts 17 frost street Brooklyn, bajo la dirección de Roberto Poveda. Luego regresa al Canada a presentarse en concierto en varias provincias. En entrevista con Myrna Kahan, relató la historia del carismático y querido artista, con los aplausos de un público, que lo recibió con mucha alegría al subir al escenario.

Con fuertes aplausos cantó el éxito de “Siempre que llueve…”, nominado en seis categorías en los premios Lucas del 2009: mejor video del año, música fusión, mejor dirección artística, fotografía así como permio “Making Of ”Evaristo se dirigió al público, diciendo muy emocionado “recuerdo cuando cantaba la música de Trova en Cuba, acompañado de mi guitarra, una colección de cantos poéticos, inspirados en el diario vivir”.

‘‘Dos años más tarde comencé a cantar profesionalmente en el centro nocturno Tropicana, donde tuve la oportunidad de realizar viajes internacionales a Francia, Bélgica, Holanda, España”. Su extensa experiencia con el prestigioso cabaret, reconocido mundialmente y catalogado como la mejor revista musical latina del mundo, impulsó su carrera.

“Compartir el escenario con grandes cantantes de mi país fue una experiencia inolvidable. Vine a Canadá en 1997 y comencé a presentarme en varios centros nocturnos con diferentes bandas de jazz, y orquestas latinas” recuerda Evaristo emocionado. Entre los artistas más destacados con los que trabajó podemos mencionar a Jane Bunnett, ganadora del premio Grammy y el reconocido pianista y compositor cubano Hilario Duran, ganador del premio Juno.

Sobre sus nuevos proyectos, el artista viajará próximamente a Cuba, a grabar su nueva producción “Tumbao Con Fe”, se grabará el video en varias localidades de la ciudad de La Habana, utilizando tanto la parte colonial, como la moderna. La dirección estará a cargo de Robín Pedraja; la producción de Reymel Delgado; en la dirección de fotografía, con mucho orgullo puedo anunciar que contamos con el mejor camarógrafo de Cuba, Alejandro Pérez. Disfrutamos de un espectáculo para recordar que ofreció un excelente repertorio musical, con talentosos músicos.

Evaristo interpretó la conocida canción de salsa, “Se Enamora De Mi”, del reconocido compositor cubano Polo Montañés. Tanto el público Hispano como Canadiense disfrutó de una gran noche de música de Trova.

Por Myrna kahan - Magazine Latino

Evaristo's music brings the experience of an intimate Havana club to Brooklyn, New York. His show features his own original songs, modern and classic Trova, mixed with jazz, pop and urban to create a brand new sound. Evaristo is a multi-talented singer, songwriter and guitarist. His CD, "Siempre Que Llueve… (After the Rain)" is available on iTunes, and features some of the best Canadian and Cuban musicians. Born in Havana, Evaristo now makes Toronto home, where he performs with his trio, as well as in solo shows on his guitar, mixing his own material with more traditional sounds such as Cuban Son and songs from the Cuban ‘Trovador’ tradition. According to Wikipedia, the Trovador in Cuba is a singer/songwriter who plays their own songs and accompanies themselves on the guitar. The songs use poetry to take on topics that might normally be taboo. Trova musicians have played an important part in the evolution of Cuban popular music, and have helped to spread Cuban music throughout the world. - Village Voice