Grupo Esperanza is a 7-piece afro-cuban band out of Portland, Maine. The band consists of a rhythm section (Congas, Drum Set, Upright Bass, and Fender Rhodes) and a three piece horn section. You can find Grupo Esperanza playing different clubs around Portland as well as many places throughout New England. The music is a mix of originals and traditional Cuban standards, all of which will bring you helplessly to the dance floor.
Facts
- Our first CD, Esperanza Live, was released in Spring 2005
- Grupo Esperanza has just recorded it’s first studio album at The Studio in Portland, ME, engineered by Jim Begley. The CD is set to hit stores in July 2006
- We are available and well versed in providing entertainment for all kinds of occasions from Clubs to Festivals, Benefits, Gazebos, Weddings and other private events
- Our horn players attended the music programs of the University of Southern Maine.
- One of our percussionists spent two months in La Habana, Cuba studying percussion with renowned musicians Panga and Betun, percussionists who perform with the Buena Vista Social Club, bassist Cachaito, and others.
- One of our members traveled to study percussion in Brazil in 2004 and have brought samba drumming into the mix
- Grupo Esperanza dresses nice, real nice
- We are known to parade spontaneously
- Members of the band performed with the Grammy-nominated timba group from Miami, Tiempo Libre(recently signed to Shanachie Records), when their tour stopped at Portland’s Merrill Auditorium
- The group is most excited and proficient about presenting clinics on the fundamentals of several Afro-Cuban styles in a Latin Jazz setting.
