On my first trip to Cuba I had no idea what to expect when I traveled with my Cello and Sarangi to perform at the Havana Jazz festival. I was privileged to perform my compositions with Janio Abreu y Aire de Concierto, a band with a unique sound from the instrumentation of three Clarinets, Drums and Guitar. I had been hearing great reviews of the band all week at the Festival events and then the opportunity to perform my compositions with them arose. On this CD, you will hear musical arrangements that I orchestrated for the Clarinets and musicians and the vibration and sound is incredible. The influence of the Woodwinds, Drums and Guitar combination makes for a strong soul to the band and my Cuban friends are not only very educated and talented but they are always open to creating new ideas. I decided to start the show as a soloist singing and performing Black Angels on cello. Next, India Flamingo is a duet with the Sarangi (a 3000 year old, 43 string bowed instrument from India) and the Guitar player playing Flamingo. This combination of World music has never been performed before. From there we opened it up with Rastaman, a funky reggae upbeat piece that got the audience going with great Clarinet reggae solos. On Echoes of Africa, you hear a phrasing from spiritual African history which deals with the reflection of life in Africa. The Flute calls out to the voice and the voice to the Cello and then I set up a gut and then the solos spiral off to work the song and it goes out the same way calling out to the spiritual ancestors. Afro Blue is a strong African 6/8 rhythm that I love to play. It has a lot of space for solos and to play the great changes written by Mango Santamaria. Africa Calling is a piece I wrote to take a bad vibe off of South Africa and the Apartheid system. It highlights the wah-wah pedal on the Cello and vocals. It is a great arrangement with this instrumentation the harmony works very well. I would like to first of all thank Susan Pearlstine , for all of her professional work , if not for her it would not happen. Secondly , thanks to all the musicians and the manager of Janio Abreu y Aire de Concierto as listed below. I would like to also thank Yasmin Gonzalez and her family for their support and her wonderful translations and friendship. Thanks to the Director and staff at the Havana Jazz Festival for making it all possible. Finally, thanks to Kenneth Nash Productions for mixing and mastering the CD . Cello Now, Kash Killion This Concert was in the Fine Arts Museum as part of the Havana Jazz Festival. The musicians were: Kash Killion (Cello, Vocals, Sarangi) Hansel Guerra (Clarinet) Joel Lafont (Clarinet) Miguel Véliz ( Guitar) Alberto Batista( Drums) Janio Abreu ( Clarinet, band leader) There is a place in deep improvisation where jazz and classical Indian music meet, and that is where Kash Killion plays. A San Francisco-based cellist, bassist, player of sarangi and bolong, vocalist and composer, he began his professional music career at the age of ten. Kash is a visionary musician who stretches the boundaries of bowed string instruments to produce something unique and extraordinary yet still authentic within the jazz and Indian classical traditions. KASH KILLION has recorded and/or performed with the Sun Ra Arkestra , Chocolate Armenteros, Richard Egues ,Cecil Taylor, B.B. King, Billy Higgins, Eddie Palmeri, Tom Waits, Reggie Workman, Bobby Hutcherson, Pharoah Sanders, Larry Willis, Francisco Aquabella, Quincy Troupe and Roberto Borrell. Having developed an outstanding reputation as a virtuoso jazz player, Kash performed and recorded with the Masters Ali Akbar Khan and Sultan Khan and became committed to the development of a new world music that incorporates many genres and is played for listeners of all ages and cultures.