Yilian Cañizares

In describing the immensely gifted Cuban-born, Swiss-based vocalist and violinist Yilian Cañizares, piano luminary Chucho Valdés says it best: “Yilian is one of the most incredible talents of the new generation of Cuban musicians. She is a virtuoso.”  

For these performances in Joe Henderson Lab, Cañizares performs music from her latest album Vitamina Y. 

Cañizares is one of the most intriguing contemporary violinists, singers and composers on the international music scene. Always staying true to her origins, she skillfully blends jazz, classical and Afro-Cuban rhythms with her otherworldly voice, working with a diverse range of world class artists including Chucho Valdés, Richard Bona, Ibrahim Maalouf, Michael League, Harold Lopez Nussa, Roberto Fonseca, Dhafer Youssef, and Omar Sosa, with whom she performed as part of his week as Resident Artistic Director in March, celebrating their collaborative album Aguas. 

Released in February, Vitamina Y is a dazzling sonic universe shaped by multiple influences, where Afro-Cuban rhythms, the vitality of jazz, the depth of classical music, and the ancestral pulse of Africa converse, reinvent themselves, and nourish each other. 

Whether on stage or in a recording studio, there are few artists like Cañizares with such respect for the past and sensitivity towards the future.