Hilario Duran: “The Cuban” Review

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Good Cuban music

Good sampler of Cuban music rhythms.

  • Music & Performance
  • Sound
  • Overall Production

Cuban music played with great arrangements and sound.

This post is also available in: Español

Cuban-Canadian pianist Hiliario Duran released “The Cuban“, the soundtrack of the movie of the same name that takes us on a musical journey.

The Cuban” Music

Without having seen the movie, I can tell you that “The Cuban” soundtrack delivers on being a great sampler of Cuban music. The album includes the rhythms of “son“, “bolero“, “danzón“, “guraracha“, and the “mambo“. From the little information, I could find online, the theme of the movie is about the effects of music on Alzheimer’s.

Hilario Duran "The Cuban" cover art
Hilario Duran’s “The Cuban” is a beautiful soundtrack of the movie of the same name.

The music, led by Duran’s piano, is energetic, full, and with swing. The songs are a mix of originals with a few covers of classics like “Guantanamera” and the “bolero” “Quizas, Quizas, Quizas“, which appears twice; one time sang by guest Armando Armando, and the second time sang by the other guest Ana Golja. Golja is a Canadian singer-actress, who performs very well on this classic song.

There’s not much I can tell you about this album other than my insights on the music. As I hinted above, I couldn’t find much information on it even on Hilario Duran’s website (it’s not there). There are no credits for “The Cuban” on its record label (Alma Records) site either.

About Hilario Duran

Hilario Duran is a Cuban-born pianist that moved to Canada and made it his home more than 20 years ago. In the 70s he was chosen to replace Chucho Valdes in the island’s prestigious Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna (modern big band orchestra), as Chucho went on to start the iconic fusion group Irakere.

Duran has been nominated several times for the Juno Award, winning it twice, along with several other awards throughout his career.

Below I share the opening theme of the album, with hints on what is about to follow, and highlight Hilario Duran’s piano.

The Cuban” Great Musical Journey

I ran across “The Cuban” on Spotify and really enjoyed listening to this album. The thing about soundtracks is that you have to keep in mind it is music for a movie. That said, this album takes us on a wonderful musical journey that you will enjoy without noticing it’s a movie soundtrack.

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