Charles Flores was born in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

in 1970. He became a bassist when he was 10 years old, but Cuban laws prohibited an in depth study of jazz and other American genres of music. Flores eventually immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

as a

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

and settled in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, where his wife, Miriam Flores, had relatives. He joined the group Afro-Cuba, led by Emiliano Salvador, during his senior year in high school and later toured with the group in 1992 and 1993. He then joined the Isaac Delgado Group and appeared on some of their albums. In 2002, Flores joined the Michel Camilo Trio, which consisted of

Michel Camilo Michel Camilo (born April 4, 1954) is a Grammy-award winning pianist and composer from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He specializes in jazz, Latin and classical piano work. Camilo lists some of his main influences as Chick Corea, Keith Ja ...

, Dafnis Prieto and Flores. He won a Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2004 for their album, '' Live at the Blue Note''. Most recently, Flores performed on the trio's 2011 album, ''Mano A Mano''. He stopped performing with the Michel Camilo Trio in November 2011 due to declining health. Charles Flores died of complications of throat cancer on August 22, 2012, at the age of 41. Mayor

Pedro Segarra Pedro E. Segarra (born April 28, 1959) is a Puerto Rican-American politician and lawyer who served as the 66th mayor of Hartford, Connecticut. Prior to becoming mayor, Segarra was president of Hartford's City Council. He succeeded former Mayor ...

, Flores' adopted hometown, told reporters, "Charles' story of leaving his native Cuba to pursue his dream and passion for music was only surpassed by his talent and skill as a musician...Hartford has lost a giant in the world of jazz and my thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Flores family."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flores, Charles 1970 births 2012 deaths Cuban jazz musicians American jazz musicians Grammy Award winners Musicians from Hartford, Connecticut Cuban emigrants to the United States Afro-Cuban jazz musicians Jazz musicians from Connecticut