Hanny

Born Leosbel Jimenez in Havana, Cuba, in 1973, Hanny had earlier competed on the Cuban Olympic fencing team before establishing himself as a singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1996 the London-based label Mr Bongo Records encountered him performing on the streets of Havana and subsequently brought him to the studio. Working between London and Havana, he assembled The Voice Of Cuba with an international cast that blended British players and Cuban musicians, among them pianist and cellist Daniel ‘Chino’ Rodriquez of Sinfonica Cubana together with percussionists Anga of Irakere and Williams Cumberbache of Tumbaito. Issued in 1997, the album wove together the classic Cuban forms of son, mambo, and bolero with two Latin ballads, all rendered through polished, contemporary salsa arrangements.