Yosvany Terry

Yosvany Terry’s group has helped redefine Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz as a complex new idiom. “New York Times”

Cuban saxist Yosvany Terry has a voice on several axes, but alto is his specialty. He’s capable of making Afro-Cuban Jazz seems folksy and modernistic all at once. “Time Out New York”

A major force on the American jazz scene who's been touring internationally with Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Avishai Cohen, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Steve Coleman, Eddie Palmieri and Dave Douglas, Terry devoted his second release, Ye-dé-gbé: Afro-Caribbean Legacy, to an electrifying synthesis of state-of-the-art post-bop improvisation and Arará musical forms. “Metro Active”

Mr. Terry performances always appeal to audiences, uniquely blending Afro-Cuban music with Jazz structures and harmonies, and creating and organic, natural flow that swings and is proven to be intellectually challenging. “Latin Jazz Percussion Magazine”

Afro-Cuban saxophonist Yosvany Terry Cabrera is one of the hottest alto players in the game, partly because of congenital talent (his father Eladio "Don Pancho" Cabrera is a violinist and consummate Chekeré player in Cuba; his brother Yunior plays bass and composes), and partly due to the breadth of his knowledge. He combines modern influences with folkloric source material, to wonderful effect. “San Francisco Bay Guardian”

This exceptional, multilayered record (Metamorphosis) manages to be simultaneously accessible and profound, signaling the arrival of a young composer and bandleader with a distinctive personal vision. “ All about Jazz”

Terry’s alto saxophone playing roved comfortably from sweet-sounding lyricism to wild-eyed avant-garde. “Los Angeles times”

With "Ye-dé-gbé and the Afro-Caribbean Legacy," Yosvany Terry puts his audience on a swivel, looking forward while also looking back. “San Francisco Bay guardian”

Yosvany Terry knows African folkloric music and the American Songbook; he can quote a Charlie Parker in the middle Latin tune, or set modal, downtown-sounding changes against a bustling son clave rhythm. “East Bay Express”

Like his father Yosvany Terry is one of the best Chekeré players in the world today. He effortlessly manipulates the instrument creating rich sounds and rhythms both as backgrounds and solos. “Latin Beat Percussion Magazine”

Like many Cuban jazz musicians, saxophonist Yosvany Terry grew up absorbing chants, rhythms and rituals that can be traced directly to the Yoruba people of West Africa. “East Bay Express”
- New York Times, LA Times, San Francisco Guardian