December 14, 2006 - From Cuba With Love

From Cuba With Love -- Time away gives Marquez music to share
By Vanessa Salvia

Almost a year ago I wrote about Jessie Marquez's plans to travel to Latin America to study music. The local singer is back, having spent eight months with her family in Cuba, and she's once again performing with guitarist Mike Denny.

On her trip, Marquez performed at Boleros de Oro, a national festival, for the second year in a row. As part of this island-wide festival, Marquez traveled throughout the many provinces, performing with other artists. She also produced a CD by Marilys Gonzalez, whom she met during last year's festival. Marquez had enough time and money to produce one CD and chose Gonzalez over recording her own music. "I think she is the greatest, or one of the greatest, living singers in Cuba today," says Marquez. "She's virtually unknown because she doesn't live in Havana. When I met her it was like meeting an unknown Ella Fitzgerald. She's a master." Gonzalez's CD is "in the demo phase."

While in Cuba, Marquez studied at ISA, the national school of arts, and performed at many venues as an invited guest. "It was great," says Marquez, but not being able to legally work meant she couldn't develop her own material. "As a foreigner I was never given a work visa, and things are highly controlled there, even for Cuban artists," she says. "If you don't graduate from music school you're unable to join an artist's union, so you're not officially allowed to work."

Marquez's time on the island has pumped up her repertoire with new inspiration found in bossa nova, but not the Brazilian kind. "Bossa nova is played a lot in Cuba, too. I discovered this rich treasure trove of composers that nobody knows about!" says Marquez. "I brought back beautiful music, and we're also doing my own music."