Biography
David Calzado serves as bandleader, music director, arranger, and lead vocalist for the fourteen-piece ensemble Charanga Habanera, shaping the course of contemporary Cuban music in fundamental ways. Even after being compelled to rebuild the group in 1997, he has remained among Cuba’s most pivotal musical figures. Under his direction the band earned recognition as the country’s Most Popular Band in both 1998 and 1999.
Raised in a family already immersed in music, Calzado received early encouragement from his maternal grandmother, a musician herself, to study violin. He first drew notice in that role with the orchestra Pancho Bravo. Charanga Habanera itself was founded in Monte Carlo in 1988, initially staffed by graduates of the Escuela Nacional de Arte and additional conservatories under the leadership of Jose Picayo. Calzado assumed control in 1992 and reconfigured the ensemble around piano, keyboards, conga, two violins, two trumpets, alto saxophone, flute, and two vocalists. This instrumentation helped establish the timba style that emerged in the early 1990s. Calzado y Charanga Habanera soon moved to the center of Cuba’s music world. In 1996 the group presented its sound to audiences throughout Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Holland, Germany, and Sweden.
The following year difficulties arose when one singer was charged with exposing himself onstage and another was faulted for asking listeners whether they liked marijuana. The Cuban government responded by suspending the band’s travel rights for six months. In an effort to sustain his career, Calzado separated from the original members, an event that produced three distinct groups: Charanga Forever, Dany Lozada y su Timba Cubana, and the renewed Charanga Habanera assembled by Calzado from younger players.
Raised in a family already immersed in music, Calzado received early encouragement from his maternal grandmother, a musician herself, to study violin. He first drew notice in that role with the orchestra Pancho Bravo. Charanga Habanera itself was founded in Monte Carlo in 1988, initially staffed by graduates of the Escuela Nacional de Arte and additional conservatories under the leadership of Jose Picayo. Calzado assumed control in 1992 and reconfigured the ensemble around piano, keyboards, conga, two violins, two trumpets, alto saxophone, flute, and two vocalists. This instrumentation helped establish the timba style that emerged in the early 1990s. Calzado y Charanga Habanera soon moved to the center of Cuba’s music world. In 1996 the group presented its sound to audiences throughout Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Holland, Germany, and Sweden.
The following year difficulties arose when one singer was charged with exposing himself onstage and another was faulted for asking listeners whether they liked marijuana. The Cuban government responded by suspending the band’s travel rights for six months. In an effort to sustain his career, Calzado separated from the original members, an event that produced three distinct groups: Charanga Forever, Dany Lozada y su Timba Cubana, and the renewed Charanga Habanera assembled by Calzado from younger players.
Albums
