The highly-anticipated second album from composer, multi-instrumentalist, and arranger Joachim Horsley, “Caribbean Nocturnes” makes its debut during the month-long celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, and what a way to celebrate! “Caribbean Nocturnes” a release of LA Café & Le Plan Recordings, is a fusion of Classical Music and Afro-Caribbean rhythms, Caribbean Nocturnes is an innovative, joyous and virtuosic celebration honoring centuries of great musical traditions. The album was released on September 2nd and is available on all music streaming platforms.
Having recently created original scores for film and television shows HBOMax’s Gordita Chronicles, Warner Bros. Batman: Soul of the Dragon and the hit Disney Channel show Big City Greens, Horsley continues to score his own story. “It’s an alternate universe: one where Beethoven, Chopin and Mozart are channeling Havana more than Vienna,” says Horsley. “To me, this is a way to meet old friends in a fresh context, giving our audiences a new take and a renewed appreciation for both the classical world and the Caribbean cultures.”
As an American with a life-long passion for Caribbean music, Horsley jumped at the opportunity to study Cuban Music in Havana in 2015 through Aldo Mazza’s KOSA Cuban Workshop. This experience made a lasting impression on the classically-trained pianist and inspired him to create new music by taking the works of classical giants and combining them with traditional Afro-Cuban rhythms. In 2016, Beethoven In Havana, an arrangement of Beethoven’s 7th symphony in a Cuban style, performed entirely by Horsley using the piano itself as a percussion instrument, became a viral sensation and gained international attention. The overwhelming response led Horsley to produce his debut album, Via Havana.
Following the success of Via Havana, Horsley was eager to dive deeper into exploring the fusion of the two genres and after three years of recording, Caribbean Nocturnes was born. To Horsley, the most important element of this project is the collaboration with the various Afro-Caribbean musicians. It is his hope that merging these two worlds opens minds, expands audiences and encourages exploration.
Caribbean Nocturnes features guest artists from Europe, North and Latin American including English violinist, Charlie Siem; Afro-Colombian percussionists, Orito Cantora and Jenn del Tambó, Miami’s Nu Deco Ensemble with Jacomo Bairos conducting; Cuban bassist, Damian Nueva Cortez; Colombian guitarist and percussionist Pedro Barrios; French, Caribbean percussionist, Natasha Rogers; Haitian percussionist, Jeff Pierre; Martinican percussionists Thomas Bellon and Boris Reine-Adelaïde; Venezuelan percussionist Yonathan “Morocho” Gavidia, The Hollywood Chamber Orchestra from Los Angeles, California, and Trinidadian Classical Soprano, Jeanine De Bique singing an original Caribbean Aria written by Horsley based on the Haitian poem Testaman by Felix-Morrisseau Leroy.