Jose Latour

Jose Latour has a globe-trotting history behind him, and this is precisely what gives him the experiences behind his enchanting storytelling. A native of Cuba whose family fled Castro's Cuba when he was four, Latour sings touchingly in both English and Spanish. His professional career is remarkable: after being appointed as U.S. Diplomat by President Ronald Reagan, Latour worked in Mexico and Africa, where he was first exposed to African Music. Leaving the U.S. government three years later, Latour built a highly successful law practice, establishing offices in the Far East. He recorded his first two projects while running a full-time law practice with over 15 employees and in 2002 sold the firm to pursue his music "with a full heart".

An intense student of lyrical composition (what he calls "the art of making one song paint a thousand pictures"), he writes with a concise, flowing style with enough quirk and color to amuse his listeners, but centered around pop/country/Latin roots which makes you smile and move from the first moment the you hear a song.

Citing his primary muslcal influence as Jimmy Buffett ("I was 14 the first time I heard "Come Monday" and I have since been riveted by the man's music and stories"), he was initially taken aback when a South Florida journalist described him as a "Cuban Jimmy Buffett". "Freedom Flight", his opening track on the Orfeon/Sony CD (later re-released by Latour's label, Paradise Records) is certainly reminiscent of early Buffett, but that's about it. But when you sing about the islands and fishing and sailing and boats and third world sleazes...well, you can see why the analogy has stuck (and that's without even getting into the fact that he is also a pilot and a seaplane nut...Latour BUILT one several years ago!! While he considers the Buffett comparison "the ultimate compliment", Latour is quick to point out that his writing sensibilities have been shaped by a very diverse group:

"I think that since music needs to be labeled to be sold, the Buffett analogy is inevitable when critics and product marketers have to hang my hat somewhere. It was precisely the fact that my music was part pop, part Latin, part country, part folk that drove Sony's marketing people crazy and I was told to remove the English language tracks in the original release of "OceanO". But I get concerned that a new listener who finds my music via online referral might expect some kind of mirror of JB's music, and my stuff is ALL over the place. Lyrically, Steely Dan, James Taylor and Billy Joel have been even greater influences...stylistically, my travels and tastes have made me very experimental, and people like Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon have been infinitely more influential. When Paul's "Graceland" was released, it literally transformed my way of hearing music..."

All and all, like Buffett, Latour is capable of wrenching your heart, cracking you up, and educating you all in the span of one song. Perhaps what he has in common most with Buffett is his ability to connect intimately with his audience, the primary requirement of a globe-trotting troubadour. Considering what Latour has accomplished musically while dabbling in it part time, expect great things from his new-found dedication to his artistic career.