Roberto Fonseca: Tiny Desk Concert

Roberto Fonseca: Tiny Desk Concert with tags npr, npr music, national public radio, live, performance, tiny desk, tiny desk concert, tony desk, tiny concert

Felix Contreras | February 5, 2025

In Cuba, pianists explore the wonderful rhythms of the island with their own percussive sense of melody. From the very first song in Roberto Fonseca’s Tiny Desk, we’re reminded of the Afro-Cuban jazz tradition’s long history: Not only do we get a driving foundation but also the kinds of horn lines that have sounded since the 1940s when Afro-Cuban rhythms and jazz improvisation bumped into each other.

The best always make it look easy. These band members, in particular, look like they could do this in their sleep. But there is a slight shift in the musical personality of this performance when the band strips down to a quartet: Fonseca's mastery of the instrument fuels the fiery finale.

SET LIST

“Yanim”

“Baila Mulata”

“Aggua”

MUSICIANS

Roberto Fonseca: piano

Ruly Herrera: drums

Sam Burgos: bass

Christian Ortiz: baritone saxophone

Thommy Lowry Garcia Rojas: trumpet

Carlos Averhoff Jr.: tenor saxophone

Degnis Bofill: percussion

TINY DESK TEAM

Producer: Felix Contreras

Director/Editor: Kara Frame

Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell

Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter

Videographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Zayrha Rodriguez

Audio Engineer: Tiffany Vera Castro

Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer

Photographer: Michael Zamora

Tiny Desk Copy Editor: Lars Gotrich

Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed

Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson

VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

#tinydesk #nprmusic #robertofonseca