Yerba Buena was a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...

band. The group, active between 2003 and 2009, was founded by Venezuelan musician and producer Andres Levin. Yerba Buena's music (as described by

Razor & Tie Razor & Tie was an American entertainment company that consisted of a record label and a music publishing company. It was established in 1990 by Craig Balsam and Cliff Chenfeld. Based in New York City (with additional offices in Los Angeles an ...

, the band's record label) is a blend of Latin music (

Cuban rumba Rumba is a secular genre of Cuban music involving dance, percussion, and song. It originated in the northern regions of Cuba, mainly in urban Havana and Matanzas, during the late 19th century. It is based on African music and dance traditions, ...

, Colombian

cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans during colonial times, and Europeans. Examples include: ...

, Pan-Caribbean

Soca Soca or SOCA may refer to: Places * Soča, a river in Slovenia and Italy * Soča, Bovec, Slovenia * Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport, by ICAO code * Soca, a village in Banloc Commune, Timiș County, Romania * SoCa, Southern California Other u ...

, and Cuban

Boogaloo Boogaloo or bugalú (also: shing-a-ling, Latin boogaloo, Latin R&B) is a genre of Latin music and dance which was popular in the United States in the 1960s. Boogaloo originated in New York City mainly among teenage African Americans and Latinos ...

) with hip-hop,

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

Afrobeat Afrobeat is a Nigerian music genre that involves the combination of West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) and American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersecting ...

, and a dash of Middle Eastern themes. Before the release of their album ''President Alien'', Yerba Buena collaborated with

Me'Shell NdegéOcello Michelle Lynn Johnson, better known as Meshell Ndegeocello (; born August 29, 1968), is a German-born American singer-songwriter, rapper, and bassist. She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on so ...

on a track titled "Gentleman" for the

Red Hot Organization Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...

's tribute compilation album for

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the p ...

, ''

Red Hot and Riot ''Red Hot + Riot'' (a.k.a. ''Red Hot + Riot: The Music and Spirit of Fela Kuti'') is the fourteenth in a series of music compilation projects produced by Paul Heck and John Carlin of the Red Hot Organization and Grammy-winning music producer ...

''. They also appeared on a track called "Colonial Mentality" for the album. The

Paul Heck Paul Heck (born July 23, 1967) is an American record and video producer. He produces music projects in a range of styles, as well as related concerts and videos. Early career Heck was raised in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey. He was named HS Al ...

produced album was critically acclaimed and donated its proceeds to various AIDS charities. Band members included

Cucu Diamantes Cucu Diamantes is a Grammy nominated Cuban-American singer, songwriter, actress, and philanthropist. Her 2009 debut album ''Cuculand'' received a Latin Grammy Awards, Latin Grammy Nomination for Best Alternative Song, "Más Fuerte". Diamantes is a ...

(vocals), El Chino (vocals), Xiomara Laugart (vocals), Divine RBG (rapper),

Rashawn Ross Rashawn Ross (born January 16, 1979) is an American trumpeter and arranger from St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. His contributions in the Dave Matthews Band as a touring member have gained him visibility. Ross is an accomplished session musician. R ...

(trumpet),

Ron Blake Ron Blake (born September 7, 1965) is an American saxophonist, band leader, composer, and music educator. Born in the Virgin Islands, he attended Northwestern University, and now lives in New York City. Blake began studying guitar at 8 and tur ...

(reeds),

Sebastian Steinberg Sebastian Steinberg (born February 20, 1959) is an American bass player, best known for his work in the band Soul Coughing. Biography Steinberg played with Soul Coughing throughout the band's entire history, from 1992 to 2000. In 2001, Steinberg ...

(bass),

Pedrito Martinez Pedrito Martinez is a Cuban percussionist, drummer, singer, dancer, bandleader, songwriter, composer, and educator. He was born and raised in Havana, Cuba. He is a Cuban Conguero performing classic Cuban Rumbas, Afro-Cuban folkloric and religio ...

(percussion),

Terreon Gully Terreon Deautri Gully (born December 28, 1972) is an American drummer from East St. Louis, Illinois. Career Gully has performed with various musicians and genres, including the Christian McBride Band, saxophonist Ron Blake, vibraphonist Stefo ...

(drums),

Horacio Hernandez The name Horacio is found sporadically throughout all Latinamerica. Historical Figures *Horacio Quiroga, an Uruguayan author and writer. *Horacio Carochi, an Italian Jesuit priest and grammarian *Horacio Pagani (auto executive) (born 1955), Argen ...

(drums)

''President Alien''

The band's debut album, ''President Alien'', was released on April 15, 2003. For the recording of the album, Levin and Diamantes invited several colleagues with whom he had collaborated in the past, including: * singer & songwriter

Descemer Bueno Descemer Bueno (born July 5, 1971) is a Cuban singer, songwriter, and record producer. His first professional gigs were playing bass with Cuban troubadour Santiago Feliú. Early career Bueno studied music and became a music teacher before formi ...

; * singer & songwriter Divine RBG; * singer

; * singer Xiomara Laugart; * singer

; * singer El Chino; * singer/bassist

Meshell Ndegeocello Michelle Lynn Johnson, better known as Meshell Ndegeocello (; born August 29, 1968), is a German-born American singer-songwriter, rapper, and bassist. She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on so ...

; * Brazilian singer-songwriter and percussionist

Carlinhos Brown Antônio Carlos Santos de Freitas, known professionally as Carlinhos Brown (Brazilian Portuguese: /kaʁˈlĩɲus bɾaw̃, -iɲuʃ/, 23 November 1962), is a Brazilian singer, percussionist, and record producer from Salvador, Bahia. His musica ...

; * guitarist Andres Levin; * guitarist

Marc Ribot Marc Ribot (; born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer. His work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, rock, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Wait ...

; * keyboardist

Money Mark Mark Ramos Nishita (born February 10, 1960), known professionally as Money Mark, is an American producer and musician, best known for his collaborations with the Beastie Boys from 1992 until 2011. Early life Born in Detroit to a Japanese-Hawai ...

; * jazz trumpeter

Roy Hargrove Roy Anthony Hargrove (October 16, 1969 – November 2, 2018) was an American jazz musician and composer whose principal instruments were the trumpet and flugelhorn. He achieved worldwide acclaim after winning two Grammy Awards for differing styles ...

; * rapper

Stic.man Khnum Muata Ibomu (born Clayton Gavin, March 6, 1974), better known by his stage name stic.man and more recently as stic, is an American rapper, activist and author known for his work as one half of the political hip hop duo dead prez with M-1. ...

; * drummers

and

; * bassist

In 2004, the album was nominated for the Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album Grammy Award. The popularity of the band has taken the group to play at multiple summer festivals such as

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

Summerstage, The

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

, The

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

, Montreal's Nuits D'Afrique and

Tempo Latino Tempo Latino is a festival of salsa music and Latin music in Vic-Fezensac, France (at the end of July). Artists invited 2008 *24/7 : **/ Ska Cubanowebsite: SkaCubano.com **/ Roy Paci & Aretuska *25/7: **Yerba Buena ** Latin Giants of Jazzw ...

in France.

Ben Ratliff Ben Ratliff (born 1968 in New York City) is an American journalist, music critic and author. Ratliff is the son of an English mother and an American father, growing up in London and in Rockland County, New York. From 1996 to 2016, he wrote abo ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''has described Yerba Buena as "one of New York's best new dance bands, mixing up the Latin

boogaloo Boogaloo or bugalú (also: shing-a-ling, Latin boogaloo, Latin R&B) is a genre of Latin music and dance which was popular in the United States in the 1960s. Boogaloo originated in New York City mainly among teenage African Americans and Latinos ...

of the 60's, Cuban religious music, some American soul and Fela-like Afrobeat. It's a history of the transmission of Yoruban culture in a nutshell, and it's a good party." Since ''Island Life'', both Diamantes and Laugart recorded solo albums, with both artists veering closer to traditional Cuban music.

Current members

* Andres Levin – guitar, electronics *

– vocals *

– percussion, vocals *

Skoota Warner Ra is an American alternative metal band from Los Angeles, taking their name from the Egyptian sun god, Ra. The band was formed in 1996, and took off around 2002, when their song "Do You Call My Name" from their album ''From One'' was released ...

– drums *

– saxophone, flute, vocals *

Alfredo de la Fé Alfredo Manuel De La Fé (born February 6, 1954) is a Cuban-born and New York-based violinist who lived in Colombia for more than 16 years and is responsible for transforming the violin into an important sound of Salsa and Latin music. The first ...

– violin *

Mauricio Herrera Mauricio Herrera (born May 24, 1980) is an American professional boxer who held the WBA interim super lightweight title in 2014. Professional career Herrera turned pro at age 27, signing with Golden Boy Promotions. On January 7, 2011 Herre ...

– percussion

References

Latin Beat Magazine article on 'President Alien'
(via Find Articles)

External links

Cucu Diamantes Interview with nocheLatina
{{Authority control Cuban musical groups Musical groups from New York City Wrasse Records artists