OCTOBER 10TH, 6pm & 9pm

*TWO SHOWS*

The London Latin Jazz Fest is honoured to announce two shows by the legendary collaborative collective Interactivo de Cuba, led by pianist, singer and composer Roberto Carcassés. Interactivo, the sound of an entire generation in Havana, single-handedly redefined the course of Cuban musical identity in the 2000s and 2010s. The group avoids rigid formats; every concert is a unique and unrepeatable experience, adapting to the creativity and interactions of the moment. Their repertoire fuses a wide variety of genres, including jazz, timba (“Cuban salsa”), funk, Cuban son, and hip-hop, all imbued with modern touches and themes that reflect global contemporary issues. In this way, Interactivo de Cuba becomes a dynamic meeting point where Cuban music and culture flourish vibrantly. As an acknowledgement of their growing notoriety, the band has been the subject of a documentary directed by Tane Martinez (2010), won two Cubadisco awards, and the collective have consistently filled Cuba's largest theatres for two decades, toured across the world playing headline slots at large festivals such as Fuji Rock in Japan and MasiMas in Barcelona, as well as the Latin stage at Glastonbury Festival this year.

Labelled by timba.com as “a very Cuban cousin of Acid Jazz”,  Interactivo, according to bandleader Roberto Carcassés, “is the willingness to share music or simply to annul the ego - or use it as a tool to help you to share your own music. Sometimes there are 30 musicians on stage and all of them are focussed on making music together. That is the principle of Interactivo”.

As such, the band has served as a launching platform for many of today's most renowned names of Cuban music such as Cimafunk, Brenda Navarrete and Rodney Barreto.

OCTOBER 11TH, 6pm & 9pm

*TWO SHOWS*

*Festival Exclusive*

The AfroCuba:Jazz Sessions are a unique staple of the festival. This night provides an improvisation-based bridge/conversation between (Afro-)Latin musical traditions and the unique, evolving UK jazz sound. The artists have only one day to rehearse together, keeping the improvised element of musical conversation at the centre of the experience. Cuban percussion virtuoso Hammadi Valdés (Chucho Valdés) will be accompanied by his team of world-renowned Afrocuban folklore percussionists, and they will be exchanging with drummer and producer Sam Barrell Jones (Obongjayar, Nubya Garcia, Binker Golding) and his trio. The musicians will have only one day to rehearse together before stepping onstage, with the aim of keeping the improvised element of musical conversation at the centre of the experience.

Sam Barrell Jones is a South East London based drummer, producer and DJ best known for his work with Mercury Prize nominated and all-round saxophonist Nubya Garcia, and MOBO and Jazz FM award winner Binker Golding and Ivor Novello award winner Obongjayar, which he also holds the role of musical director for. He is one of the most on-demand drummers among the leading lights of the UK jazz scene, working regularly with the likes of Sons of Kemet, Joe Armon-Jones, Charlotte Dos Santos, Zara McFarlane, Yazmin Lacey, Oscar Jerome, Pa Salieu and more. He also leads his own original project. Effortlessly fluid in his approach and adaptability, his approach draws from his London upbringing combining the sounds of Grime, UK Bass, Jazz, Reggae, Dub and more. He will be performing with his trio, with which he tours playing his original music.  

Hammadi Valdés is a Grammy-award-winning percussionist, composer and educator from Havana, Cuba, whose CV includes Chucho Valdés, Carlos Acosta's Tocororo touring ballet, and an array of jazz and Latin artists from both the UK and abroad. His collaborators Flavio Correa and Randy Lester, from the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba, carry a wealth of multi-generational knowledge of Afro-Cuban drumming and folklore that facilitates a collaborative experience rooted in authentic ancestral tradition.

OCTOBER 7TH, 7pm

Inês Loubet is a Portuguese singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer blending Latin-jazz, Tropicália, and soulful grooves into her signature sound. Her debut album, Senga (2024), released on Albert’s Favourites, has earned critical acclaim for its heartfelt storytelling and Brazilian-inspired rhythms, with tracks championed by Chris Philips and Yolanda Brown on Jazz FM, Cerys Matthews, Craig Charles, and Huey Morgan on BBC Radio 6, and Gilles Peterson on Worldwide FM.
Her music has captivated audiences at headline shows and festivals like the EFG London Jazz Festival, Tropical Pressure Festival, and Brick Lane Jazz Festival, as well as venues like the Royal Albert Hall and Union Chapel. Senga has cemented Inês as a rising songwriter, with widespread praise for its blend of poetic themes, lush harmonies, and compelling rhythms.
With extensive radio play and celebrated live performances, Inês continues to enchant listeners worldwide, solidifying her place as a vital voice in contemporary jazz and world music. 
Inês Loubet will be appearing at the London Latin Jazz Fest as a quintet featuring some of London's most established jazz and lusophone music instrumentalists such as Jansen Santana and Greg Sanders.

OCTOBER 8TH, 7pm

This unique event recreates the historical and creative story of the Latin Vibraphone Sextet. Led by Colombian composer, multi-instrumentalist and vibraphone virtuoso Dorancé Lorza, Sexteto Café tell a story that begins with the American vibraphone becoming an instrument of fascination for Latinos in New York in the 1940's. The band then journeys through the shift from big band to small combo, the emergence of boogaloo, and the growth of salsa.

Sexteto Café are one of the UK's longest-running bands in the vibrant and exciting London salsa scene, forming in 1996. Pioneering the worldwide “salsa con vibes” revival of the late 1990s, they were one of the first bands in Europe to favour the small combo salsa sound of 1960s/1970s bands like Joe Cuba Sextet / New Swing Sextet / Pete Terrace Combo rather than that of the more common big brass-heavy salsa orchestras of the day. Dorancé Lorza has released, with Sexteto Café, nine albums spanning salsa dura, Latin jazz, and much more; their 2022 album Circles of Time featured 28 musicians and explored rhythms from Mambo to Cha Cha Cha and Cumbia. Their recorded music is widely played throughout the world, frequently heard on Colombian national and international Latin radio.