I started to conceive "Cuban Fires" as a sequel to my first CD “Havana Blue”, with the idea of deepening some aspects of the Cuban musical heritage. I also wanted to explore different moods and sonorities, and for this reason on the occasion of my second trip to Havana in December 2016 I contacted Eduardo Sandoval, a young and gifted musician and trombone player whose CD “Caminos Abiertos” had particularly impressed me.
 
   With his help I hired trumpet player Thommy Lowry, saxophonist Michel Herrera - well-known in Cuba as leader of his own jazz project “Madre Tierra”, - and Alejandro Falcòn, a worthy heir of the great tradition of Cuban pianism, and leader of his own band “Cubadentro”. For tenor sax and clarinet I called Emir Santa Cruz, who had already collaborated in my first cd. The bass player is Roberto "El Chino" Vàsquez, while Eduardo Silveira and Deivys Rubalcaba play respectively congas and timbales, plus various percussions. For the title track I invited percussionist Degnis Bofill, who plays the sacred batà drums.