Yilian Cañizares is a

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 ...

n-Swiss musician who has been described as one of the most incredible talents of the new generation of Cuban musicians.

Biography

Yilian Cañizares was born in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, and studied

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

there, following the Russian violin school. In 1997, she moved to

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, in order to pursue her studies at the "Academia Latinoamericana de violin". Three years later, she moved again, to Switzerland, in order to complete her studies at the Fribourg/Freiburg conservatory. In addition to her classical brackground. she became interested in

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and started developing her singing skills. At the end of her studies, Cañizares started the band ''Ochumare'', or "rainbow" in

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

, with David Brito (

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

) and Cyril Regamey (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

and

percussions A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Excl ...

). She continued her career under her own name. She has been considered the raising star of the year 2013 by the French weekly ''

Le Nouvel Observateur (), previously known as (1964–2014), is a weekly French news magazine. Based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, it is the most prominent French general information magazine in terms of audience and circulation. Its current editor is Cécil ...

'' and the French magazine ''

Les Inrockuptibles ''Les Inrockuptibles'' () is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly magazine in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. Now it is a monthly again, since 2021. In the beginning, rock music was the magazine's primary focus, though every issue in ...

'' selected her album ''Invocación'' in the top ten 2015

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

albums. In 2018 Cañizares and the Cuban pianist

Omar Sosa Omar Sosa (born April 10, 1965) is a jazz pianist from Cuba. Biography A native of Camagüey, Cuba, Sosa studied percussion at the Escuela Nacional de Musica and Instituto Superior de Arte. In the 1980s he started the band Tributo, recording alb ...

released th
album “Aguas”
featuring Inor Sotolongo as percussionist. '
The new album, “Erzulie”
named after the Haitian goddess of love and freedom, was released on 15 November 2019. Recorded in New Orleans, the album features the participation of several guests including

Christian Scott Christian Scott (born March 31, 1983), known professionally as Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah), is an American jazz trumpeter, multi instrumentalist, composer, and producer. He has been nominated for six Gramm ...

(trumpet),

Michael League Michael League (born April 24, 1984) is an American composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the bandleader of New York-based instrumental band Snarky Puppy and the international music ensemble Bokanté. He also founded the band Fo ...

(double bass),

Bill Laurance Bill Laurance (born 2 April 1981) is an English composer, producer, and multi-instrumental musician. Laurance is a member of jazz fusion and funk band Snarky Puppy, as well as founder and CEO of London-based record label Flint Music. Biograp ...

(piano), Bobby Sparks (organ) and Justin Stanton (keyboards). With this album, Yilian has been nominated for the Songlines Music Awards as best artist/album 2021. Yilian has collaborated with artists like Chucho Valdés, Ibrahim Maalouf, Diego El Cigala, Youn Sun Nah, Omar Sosa, Dhafer Youssef, Richard Bona, Roberto Fonseca and El Comité. She teaches violin and jazz improvisation at the Ecole de jazz et des musiques actuelles in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

. She has remained in Switzerland and has acquired citizenship.

Style

Cañizares's style reflects her various influences with shades of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

and

cuban music The music of Cuba, including its instruments, performance, and dance, comprises a large set of unique traditions influenced mostly by west African and European (especially Spanish) music. Due to the syncretic nature of most of its genres, Cuban mu ...

, with a lot of space left for improvisation. The French magazine ''

'' describes her style as a jazz instrumentation mixed with Yoruba ritual percussion. She sings in Spanish, Yoruba and French. One of her hallmarks is simultaneously playing violin and singing.

Discography

Ochumare Quartet * 2009: ''Caminos'' * 2011: ''Somos Ochumare'' Yilian Cañizares * 2013: ''Ochumare'',

Naïve Records Naïve Records is a French independent record label based in Paris, specializing in electronic music, pop music, jazz and classical music. Founding and expansion It was founded in 1998 by Patrick Zelnik, former CEO of Virgin France, Gilles Paire ...

* 2015: ''Invocación'', Naïve Records *2019 : Erzulie
Planeta Y
Omar Sosa & Yilian Cañizares *2018: ''Aguas'', with

, Otá *2019 : Omar Sosa & Yilian Cañizares feat. Gustavo Ovalles - Live at Elbphilarmonie, Hamburg.

References

External links

*
Yilian Cañizares - Erzulie - Official VideoYilian Cañizares & Resilience Trio - Contradicciones live at Roma Jazz Festival
*
ilian Cañizares - Facebook PageYilian Cañizares - Official Instagram account
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canizares, Yilian Living people Cuban violinists 21st-century Swiss musicians 21st-century Cuban women singers Year of birth missing (living people) People from Havana French-language singers Spanish-language singers Yoruba-language singers Cuban emigrants to Switzerland Swiss women musicians 21st-century Swiss women singers Swiss violinists 21st-century women musicians 21st-century violinists Naïve Records artists