BANDS & COLLABORATIONS
CURRENTLY ON TOUR WITH AMADOU & MARIAM. PREVIOUS TOURS AND COLLABORATIONS: ALFREDO RODRIGUEZ Y LOS ASEREKÓS-OMARA PORTUONDO-ROBERTO FONSECA-ANGA DIAZ-FATUMATA DIAWARA-MAYRA ANDRADE-MANU KATCHÉ-YONATHAN AVISHAI-SALOME DE BAHIA - BOB SYNCLAIR-MUNIR HOSSN-VERONIQUE HERMAN SAMBIN-GILLES PETERSON & HAVANA CULTURA-AFRICANDO-TATA GUÎNES-JOSE LUIS QUINTANA(CHANGUITO)-MAMBI-FELIPE CABRERA-ALEX TERRIER-YURI BUENAVENTURA-DIEGO PELAEZ-RAUL PAZ- MOKHTAR SAMBA- LINE KRUSE-ROBERTO TORRES-TITO ALEN- PARIS SALSA ALL STARS-CUBAILA-HAMIDOU-ORLANDO POLEO-JOSE MANGUAL JUNIOR-JIMMY SABATER- ERNESTO TITO PUENTES-CAMILO AZUQUITA-FRAPADINGOS-ROBERTO PLAT ORQUESTA-DJ DINASTY.
ABOUT
Born in Havana in 1972, Joel Hierrezuelo Balart grew up sharing the musical world of his family, Lorenzo, Caridad and Reynaldo Hierrezuelo was they greats uncles but it is specially his father showing him the way of Percussions, At a very young age, when he began guitar studies at the Academy of Music. At 12 he started singing and playing percussions in amateur bands.
In 1995, he graduated as a music professor from the Havana Instituto Superior Pedagógico. - September -1995-1996:
Joel sings in the group Ricoson with which he toured in France. Back in Cuba, he play with the Polito Ibanez band and begins playing percussions in the band Temperamento with Roberto Fonseca, Javier Zalba, and Ruy Lopez Nousa.
-1997: Joel moves to Paris and plays in various bands with the likes of Alfredo Rodriguez, Miguel Anga Diaz, Dj Dinasty, Diego Pelaez, Camillo Azuquita, Orlando Poleo, Sabor a Son, Raul Paz, Paris Salsa All Star, and with Beny Suarez y su Son. He shares the stage with well-known artists such as Tito Allen, Guillermo Fellove, José Alberto « El Canario », Celia Cruz, Caterine Lara, Jimmy Bosh, Ernesto Tito Puentes, , Mokhtar Samba ,Roberto Plat group, Jimmy Sabater, Jose Mangual Junior, Roberto Torres.
-1998- 2001 As a singer, he recorded the album - "La Charanga" - with the group Cubaïla (1998) and "Latinoriental" (2000) of the duo "Jomed" with the singer Algerian Hamidou. From then on, he takes part in numerous musical adventures such as percussionist Miguel Anga Diaz album « Echu Mingua »(2000) and pianist Alfredo Rodriguez y los Asereko’s « Cubanjazz. »(2001), Line Kruse " Dream ", Enma Baya, Salome de Bahia and Bob Sinclar, North African Groove, Paris Salsa All Star, Sabor a Son. He sings on mix-albums such as Sos Dialogue, Party Mix 1998, Mega Dance Millenium, Cubana Café 1 & 2.
-2002-2005: he founds MAMBI with Carlos Miguel Hernandez, Luis Manresa, Fino Gomez and Yaite Ramos. On MAMBI’s recorded the album « Al Machete, » he is joined by Tata Guines, José Luis « Changuito » Quintana, Alfredo Rodriguez, Julio Padron, Miguel Anga Diaz.
-2006: he records with Africando Group “Ketukuba” recording .With Michelle Charropin Alfredo Rodriguez wife he produced “Oye Afra” in memorian Alfredo Rodriguez .
-2007-2016: After ten years Joel re-integrate and records with Roberto Fonseca band: “Akokan” (2008), “Live in Marciac”(2009), “Yo” (2011,Nominate Grammy awards for the best latin Jazz Album) and Roberto Fonseca & Fatumata Diawara “Live in Marciac” as a percussionist and performing major international tours arrow the word and produced in important festivals: Montreal Jazz Festival, Umbria Jazz, North Sea Festival, Jazz in Marciac, Jazz a Vienne, Monterrey Jazz Festival, Woomad Adelaide, Woomad New Zeland, Sidney Opera House , Blue Note Tokyo, L’Olympia in Paris, Juan-Les Pain Festival, Barbican Hall in London, the Ronnie Scott’s London, Royal Festival Hall, Vienna Konzerthaus, Pori Jazz Festival, Jazz à Vienne, San Francisco Davies Symphony Hall, Chicago Symphony Center, New York Hihgline Ballroom Paris Duc de Lombars, New Morning in Paris, Luxemburg Phillarmonic Hall, Hong Kong Arts Festival, an many others.
In the same time he collaborates with different projects: Omara Portuondo ( Magia Negra Tour ), Havana Cultura tour with Gilles Peterson, Alex Terrier Cuban Project, Mayra Andrade, Ibrahim Malouff, Felipe Cabrera, Munir Hossn, Etienne M’Bappe, Minino Garay and Frapadingos, Véronique Herman Sabin,Abraham Mansfarrol & Campana Projet "Dizzy el afrocubano", Sabor a Son and his project Mambí.
-2017 Joel joins the group of the very famous Malian duo Amadou & Mariam and performs more than 80 concerts across Europe, the United States, Canada and Africa: We Love Green Festival, Marseille Fiesta des suds, Chorus des Ht de Seine - La Seine Musicale, Festival Mawazine, Chicago Millenium Park, New York Celebrate Brooklyn Festival, San Francisco Stern Grove Festival, Quebec International Festival, EdmontonFolk Festival, Montreal Festival Nuits d'Afrique, Hungary Vidor festival, Düsseldorf New Fall Festival - Capitol et many others .
- 2018 Tours with Amadou and Mariam: Asia: Hong Kong and Singapore, The United States, Europe among others. Selected Spedidam Generation Artist of the 2018-2021 class. With his group participates in the Wolfi Jazz Festival, Musicora edition 2018, Festival de Theater d'Avignon. In September 2018 release of his album "Zapateo Suite" under the Label Continuo Jazz recorded with Yonathan Avishai, Felipe Cabrera, Lukmil Pérez, Luis Manresa and Munir Hossn a musical journey through his roots and influences accumulated over his career. He performed in concert at Studio de L'Ermitage for the release of this album and also at Sunside, the legendary Parisian jazz club.
… The care taken in the arrangements shows great latitude in the work carried out. The major body of genre music surprises (Guajira and Son, for Cuba; Zapateo, for Spain; traces of Uruguayan Zamba; certain Brazilian rhythms from the Northeast). In addition, some assumed African mottling, and Middle Eastern resonances, cross the heady cohabitation of the genres "BRUNO PEFFEIFER / LIBERATION"
... the musician deploys in his Zapateo Suite the whole range of his talent. An instinctive guitarist, singer with a delicate voice, percussionist, Hierrezuelo presents what he calls "a personal vision of Cuban music" which, far from being confined to a single register, opens up the color chart of its colors. Beyond anchoring in the traditions of its origins;
Vincent Bessières / JOURNAL LA TERRASSE "
2019- Tours in Europe and Asia with Amadou and Mariam. With his quintet he performs in several rooms and jazz festivals in France and Europe: Malte International Jazz Festival, Duc de Lombards, Saveur Jazz Festival, La Ferté Jazz Festival, Albervillet jazz, Music en Avre festival.
2020- The Cuban singer, percussionist and guitarist reveals to us after Zapateo Suite: “Así de simple”, the second album of his quintet project: a musical walk to meet Jazz and world music. His personal vision of music shapes Cuban codes and makes them evolve into his own musical language.
In this album he brings with him an exceptional cast: Pierre de Bethmann on piano, Felipe Cabrera on double bass, Lukmil Pérez on drums or even flautist Naïssam Jalal, singer Aminata Doumbia, trumpeter Nicolas Folmer and guitarist Sandro Zerafa.