Five women, all with diverse musical styles and from different Spanish-speaking countries, join an Irish American pianist who loves Latin music for the upcoming HBO concert special entitled Piano y Mujer, which premieres April 16 on HBO Max and HBO Latino.
Arthur Hanlon, pianist, songwriter and arranger is widely known in the Latin music realm having had multiple hits on the Billboard charts. For Piano y Mujer he is collaborating with Puerto Rico’s Kany García, Colombia’s Goyo, Venezuela’s Nella, Spain’s Natalia Jiménez and Venezuelan-American Evaluna Montaner.
Filmed at the Faena Theater in Miami last October in the middle of the pandemic, the special includes renditions of Garcias’ Hoy Ya Me Voy, Nella’s Me llaman Nella and the tropical classic Gotas de Lluvia/La Reina del Combo. The hotel was closed off to the public due to COVID-19 but a section was transformed into an intimate venue and temporary studio to record all the live performances following local pandemic protocols.
The concert followed the recording of Hanlon’s latest album of the same title earlier last year. The album is produced by Motiff (Gloria Estefan, Gente de Zona, Yandel) and consists of 13 tracks—three instrumentals by the pianist and 10 collaborations with the same five female artists. The album is set to release April 9.
Detroit-born Hanlon plays a blend of Detroit street, jazz, Motown, classical virtuosity and Latin beats and collaborated with Latino stars like Luis Fonsi, Fonseca, Laura Pausini, Marc Anthony, Juanes, Chocquibtown, Ozuna, Prince Royce, Myriam Hernandez and Ricardo Montaner among others. The album has hit No. 1 on the Billboard Latin charts.
García has won six Latin Grammys and received two Grammy nominations. The Boricua singer-songwriter released her latest album Mesa para dos in 2020. She also had her own HBO concert special, Kany García: Soy Yo en Vivo, that is currently available on HBO Max. García was also part of the line-up for the musical series A Tiny Audience’s second season earlier this month.
Goyo is a singer and rapper who co-founded the Latin Grammy award-winning ChocQuibTown, an Afro-Colombian hip-hop group that combines electronica, Afro-Latin rhythms and Latin jazz.
For her part, Madrid-born Jiménez has sold three million albums worldwide and recorded duets with luminaries like Marc Anthony and Ricky Martin. In 2019, the Latin pop artist released the “rancheras” album México de Mi Corazón to honor that Mexican genre. She also has been a guest in A Tiny Audience.
Actress turned singer, Montaner is an up-and-coming Venezuelan-American artist who still combines music and acting. She made her TV debut on Nickelodeon’s Latin American series Grachi. Montaner was featured in the film Hot Pursuit, a dramedy starring Reese Witherspoon and Sofía Vergara, and Club 57, another Nickelodeon TV series. Her singing career started accompanying his famous father, legendary singer Ricardo Montaner, who is a recipient of a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Finally, Latin Grammy-winning singer Nella sound mixes her native Venezuela’s music with Andalusian influences. She won the music award with her debut album Voy in 2019.
