By DIANE ORSON
As politicians continue to navigate the historic diplomatic thaw in relations between the U.S. and Cuba, musicians from both countries say they’re looking forward to more artistic exchange.
A bass instructor at the University of Connecticut recently brought together two Cuban musicians – one from the island, one living in New York City – for an informal concert. The two hadn’t seen each other in more than a decade.
About 50 people recently gathered in a loft in lower Manhattan, where bassist Gregg August is performing with a conga player and two singers, who are also masters of the Cuban tres: an instrument similar to the guitar, but with three sets of double strings tuned to the same pitch.
Speaking during a break, August remembers meeting tres player Juan de la Cruz Antomarchi, better known as Coto, on his first trip to Cuba in the late 1990s. “And his music and his whole personality seduced me, so to speak, musically of course,” said Coto. “And I maintained contact with him on my subsequent trips. Been back to Cuba six times total. And while I was in New York playing this music I met Pablo Moya.”