XIOMARA LAUGART IN CONCERT

March 28, 2009
8:00 PM
Tickets $27 -$52
Miami-Dade County Auditorium
2901 W. Flagler Street
Miami

Don’t miss Xiomara Laugart, in her first solo concert in Miami. Adored as the lead singer of new-wave Latin funk band Yerba Buena and her star-turn in the Broadway premiere production of Celia: The Life & Music of Celia Cruz, Xiomara Laugart’s solo performances are marked by her soulful singing and accomplished virtuosity. Her repertory spans a cappella to performing with a full-band accompaniment, from songs like Fé to Hoy Mi Habana to Guajira, I Love You Too Much! Nostalgia and the sounds of today come together in this long-awaited event.

She has been representing her country and her people, performing at venues around the globe for years and along the biggest talents all over. She is a living legend in her native Cuba where she has recorded more than 15 albums. For many years, Xiomara Laugart La Negra as she is popularly known, was Muse to the Nueva Trova artists.

Xiomara is both the essence of the old Cuba, with its rhythmic folk songs, fused with a blend of today’s directness and clarity of voice, which is eventually matched with her deep laugh. It is that distinctive laugh that will soon captivate audiences from all walks of life with her swing style in all of her Cuban splendor.

Obviously, we are not in presence of a common manufactured phenomenon. This singer has a peculiar mystery to reveal, not only her vocal virtues, and flexibility, but a special sound, fluently “liquid” and garrulous. Her range is such that the jazz influences seem to be a natural extension of her repertoire. She takes on each style of music and embraces it with her own stamp and authentic flare.

Ms. Laugart recently released her worldwide debut album for Chesky Records, a lavish and sophisticated collection of old and new songs written by Meme Solís and Andrés Levin, Descemer Bueno and with arrangements by Octavio Kotan and Axel Tosca. Until recently, Ms. Laugart has been the leading vocalist in Yerba Buena, a New York collective with a brilliant mix of rhythms to which she added her African and Caribbean legacy.

She has recorded and/or performed along names such as: Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Albita, Omara Portuondo, Jacky Terrasson, Omar Sosa, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Dave Valentin, Isaac Delgado, Carlinhos Brown, Arto Lindsay, Roy Hargrove, Ron Blake, Kip Hanrahan, MeShell Ndegeocello, Femi Kuti, D’Angelo, Macy Gray, Erykah Badu, Ana Torroja, Meme Solis, Many Oquendo & Libre, Fun Loving Criminals and Busta Rhymes, among many others.

Her monthly showcases at New York City’s famed Zinc Bar have been called legendary. She has flooded the stage with her powerful voice around the entire world. Ms. Laugart appears in the film Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights and also appears in the German/Cuban film Paraíso Bajo las Estrellas.