Guest artist: YAIMA SÁEZ
Meme Solís comes to Jamboree with Legend of Cuban Feeling, a concert showcasing his talent as a pianist, composer and singer, taking audiences on a journey through the songs that have made him an essential figure in Cuban music. His greatest hits will share the programme with works from the international repertoire, moving through ballads, boleros, feeling, son and jazz, with a special appearance by singer Yaima Sáez.
The maestro’s piano will be the guiding thread throughout an evening that alternates instrumental and vocal performances. He will sing solo and share duets with his guest. Yaima Sáez will also perform some of Meme Solís’s compositions in her own distinctive solo interpretations. This intimate format offers a close-up view of the composer’s artistic personality, the richness of his arrangements and the distinctive accompaniment style that has shaped his collaborations with so many great voices.
From his early days as Olga Guillot’s pianist to his close collaboration with Elena Burke, Meme Solís has played a central role in defining key moments in Cuban song. With his quartet, later known as Los Meme, he achieved extraordinary popularity and left a lasting mark through his approach to vocal arrangements, harmonies and performance style. «Otro amanecer» is one of the signature songs in a catalogue of around three hundred compositions, whose works have been performed by artists including Olga Guillot, Elena Burke, Omara Portuondo, Pablo Milanés and Francisco Céspedes, among many others.
This remarkable career comes to life on stage through a repertoire that bridges memory and the present. Songs of love, encounters and farewells take on new shades of meaning in the hands and voice of their creator. Feeling, with its expressive intimacy and affinity with jazz, occupies a central place in this musical universe, where freedom of phrasing and attention to every word meet the elegance of melody and the rhythmic pulse of Cuban music.
As guest artist, Yaima Sáez brings a distinctive voice and a special affinity for bolero and canción. Born in Camagüey, she has received the «Elena Burke» Award and the National Culture Distinction, and has built a career performing on international stages. Her collaboration with the maestro includes recordings of «Me falta la canción» and «Ebb Tide», laying the groundwork for the musical rapport they will share at Jamboree.
Legend of Cuban Feeling offers a rare opportunity to experience a legend of Cuban music in the intimate setting of a club: enjoy his most beloved songs, discover his perspective on other musical repertoires and reconnect with an artist who continues to bring a multigenerational body of work to life from behind the piano.
