Daymé Arocena (born January 1992) is an Afro-Cuban jazz singer from Havana,[1][2][3] who has been described as Cuba's "finest young female singer."[4] She won the 2015 Juno Award for the best jazz album, as a member of the jazz band Maqueque performing with Canadian musician Jane Bunnett.[5]
Arocena is on National Public Radio's (NPR) list of 50 favourite albums of 2015, with the album Nueva Era.[6] Describing Arocena's voice, NPR host Felix Contreras called her "a cross between Celia Cruz and Aretha Franklin," saying that Arocena's name "deserve[d] to be alongside those two legendary voices."[6]
Arocena began performing semi-professionally when she was eight years old; at the age of 14, she became the lead singer of the band Los Primos. She is considered a musical prodigy, and is a trained composer, arranger, choir director, and band leader, in addition to being a singer.[3]
Arocena is a strong believer in Santeria, an Afro-Caribbean religion based on Yoruba principles; to mark her faith, she frequently performs wearing a turban and dressed in white.[3]
References
- ↑ Pareles, Jon (23 March 2016). "Review: Daymé Arocena Mixes a Cosmopolitan Vibe With an Earthy Tone". New York Times nytimes.com. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
- ↑ Brown, August (29 March 2016). "Review Daymé Arocena brings exultant Afro-Cuban rumba to Eagle Rock". LA Times latimes.com. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
- 1 2 3 "Dayme Arocena Is The World's Next Jazz Phenomenon". Vibe. 2016-09-29. Retrieved 2017-04-28.
- ↑ Denselow, Robin (2017-03-16). "Daymé Arocena: Cubafonia review – Cuba's finest young female singer". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-04-28.
- ↑ "Jane Bunnett & Maqueque Win 2015 Juno". latinjazznet.com. Retrieved 2017-04-28.
- 1 2 "NPR Music's 50 Favorite Albums Of 2015". NPR.org. Retrieved 2017-04-28.