Bridget Kibbey’s Bach to Brazil with Samuel Torres and Rubén Rengel

Harpist Bridget Kibbey has assembled an all-star cast merging folk, jazz, and classical idioms to celebrate one of history’s grandest cultural migration stories, leading to today’s Nuevo Latino Luminaries. Starting with the baroque courts of Europe, melding with the rhythm of Western Africa, and mixing with the indigenous melodies of the Caribbean Coast, Kibbey and Co track the cross-pollination stories that give us the songs and dances we love, alongside the folk masters that inspired them. This is Cumbia before Shakira… where the Llanera and Kora traditions meet the modern harp.

The project also features works from today’s great composers, emerging from these traditions, including our own Latin-Grammy winning percussionist/composer Samuel Torres, Brazilian-born João Luiz, and Cuban-born Paquito d’Rivera. Kibbey is on a mission to commission new works that bring new light to the rich history of the harp within this migration story – presented alongside the folk masters that inspired them.

Works by: J.S. Bach, José Barros, Jacob de Bandolim, Paquito d’Rivera, Juan Manuel Plaza, Samuel Torres, Manuel Valera, Miguel Zenón, Astor Piazzola, Joaquín Rodrigo, and João Luiz. Representing: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela.