Video of the Week: Ochimini by Sintesis

This week’s video takes us to Cuba. Sintesis is a legendary progressive rock group that has been around since the 1970s. Síntesis was formed in 1975 as Cuba’s first progressive rock band. Their first incarnation combined influences from British progressive rock classics such as Genesis and Yes with Cuban folk music and nueva trova. Throughout the years, Sintesis changed line-up and evolved into a band that fuses progressive rock and jazz with Afro-Cuban music.

Since the 1980s, Síntesis is led by singer,bassist and composer Carlos Alfonso, a former member of the legendary Cuban fusion jazz band Irakere. The current version of the band features Carlos Alfonso on bass, guitar and vocals; his wife Ele Valdés, the original singer and keyboardist from the 1970s version of Síntesis; Madonna Alfonso on vocals; composer Esteban Puebla on keyboards and guitar; Michael Olivera Garcia on Cuban percussion; and Andrei Martinez on guitars.

On the Ochimini video, Sintesis is joined by the Conjunto Folklorico Nacional of Cuba (Cuban National Folk Ensemble).

Ochimini appears on the album Trilogía Ancestros Vol. III and also on Yoruba Celebration.

As an added bonus, watch the live version of the song Itewere which features (brief) superb keyboard work by Esteban Puebla.

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Digital version