OSVALDO CHACÓN

Osvaldo Chacón is a singer and songwriter who specialized in the "timba" style — a spicy mixture of jazz, salsa, soul, funk, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms unique to Chacón's native Cuba.

Originally a music teacher in Havana, Chacón got his start singing with Manuel Gonzalez Hernandez, "El Medico de la Salsa" (aka "The Doctor of Salsa") and moved on to join Pablo Fernandez Gallo and his band Paulito F.G.. In 1996, he appeared on Bamboleo's debut, Te Gusto o Te Caigo Bien, which gave his expressive vocal style and songwriting skills much wider exposure. Chacón then left Bamboleo and moved to the United Kingdom, where he assembled his own fusion outfit. Chacon y su Timba debuted in 2001 with Salsa Afrocubana and featured many Paulito F.G. expats, including Joel Dominguez and Yaniel "El Maja" Matos.

The collective returned in 2003 with Voy en Entrar, which expanded on Chacón's timba style with elements of modern U.S. pop and hip-hop. Along the years Osvaldo Chacón has been invited to perform alongside the likes of Adalberto Santiago, Azuquita, Tito Allen (Fania All Stars), Roberto Pla, Herman Olivera and Eddie Palmieri (at Ronnie Scott's), the great Latin percussionist Giovanni Hildago (at the Queen Elizabeth Hall), Chick Corea as well as the supreme luminaries of Latin song Celia Cruz, Oscar d'Leon, Ruben Blades and Alberto "El Canario". Chacón y su Timba consists of some of the UK's foremost Cuban and Latin musicians and has been filling up venues and festivals alike for the last 20 years, including the Barbican Centre, the Bristol Old Vic, the Millenium Dome and many more.

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