Yilian Cañizares – Vitamina Y

I discovered Yilian Cañizares on February 28 through the Cuban pianist Omar Sosa, who presented Aguas, a trio concert, at the Place des Arts. The Cuban-Swiss violinist and singer was part of it, along with percussionist Gustavo Ovalles.

I knew nothing about this 43-year-old artist, let alone that she had a solo career. Vitamina Y is her fifth release, and it’s a rather successful blend.

Vitamina Y brings together all the elements of Yilian’s influences. Trained in classical violin at a very young age in Cuba, she later discovered Afro-Cuban music with great enthusiasm. As a teenager, she moved to French-speaking Switzerland and discovered the jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli. She then wanted to pursue jazz

Vitamina Y blends jazz with influences from Mozambique, West African music, and Afro-Cuban traditions. Yilian Cañizares enjoys exploring different styles. Her previous albums had explored Haitian rhythms with Erzulie (2019) and Brazilian music with Habana-Bahía (2023).

With this latest opus, the singer and violinist demonstrates an increasingly fluid command of her fusion style. Her violin sometimes evokes that of French musician Jean-Luc Ponty, without, however engaging in long improvisations. We hear kora, Moroccan gnawa percussion, electric guitars, and plenty of violin.Yilian sometimes sings in French, a language she speaks very well, but it is mainly in Spanish that her highly versatile voice resonates. Despite the very contemporary musical setting, she draws us into the spiritual universe of the Yoruba Orishas, with plenty of groove!