Roberto Fonseca

The Cuban multi-instrumentalist is back at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 15 years after accompanying Ibrahim Ferrer and the Buena Vista Social Club at the Auditorium Stravinski. Born into a musical family in Havana, Cuba, in 1975, young Roberto originally gravitated to percussion, but started playing the piano at age 8 (the interest in percussion would eventually enhance his piano style). He began composing at 14, inspired by Afro-Cuban music and the jazz of Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett. In 2001, he joined Ibrahim Ferrer’s Orchestra for a world tour of over 400 dates. Fonseca has established his reputation as a creative bridge between traditional Cuban music and the sound of a new era with several magnificent solo albums and collaborations with several members of the Buena Vista Social Club as well as Gilles Peterson, Mayra Andrade, Raul Midón and Fatoumata Diawara.