Gonzalo Grau y La Clave Secreta

Ordering Closed

Boston 1998…it all began with a desire to rescue the now sometimes forgotten roots of Latin music through modern arrangements that would feature new sound elements, experimenting with salsa classics and opening up a new world of possibilities. I used Cuban timba as my foundation because this contemporary style was open to fusion and from this starting point we developed our own musical identity.

Superb musicians and friends from around the world have accompanied me on this adventure, and I say adventure because little did we know the group’s real potential when we started out. Only now, years later, can we comprehend the immense value of this project. We each contributed our signature grooves, backgrounds and tastes. Greece, Holland, Israel, France, USA, Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Colombia and Venezuela make up just a few of the spices added to our musical family’s melting pot.

The ensemble once called “La Timba Loca” easily found its niche as a musical innovator of the Latin genre and we conquered open-minded, smart audiences with a thirst for a new sound. As one of the first timba bands in the USA, we participated in the most important festivals and concert halls in the Boston area and sold out shows in Philly and New York. The outpouring of affection from our fans led to the release of our first album under the Carijazz record label titled “Mas Allá de la Habana”. A year later we were performing at the “Global Village Festival” in Sydney Australia followed by the “Benny Moré Festival” in Cuba.

Since its inception, our group has been at the forefront of Latin music, thinking outside the “music box” and beyond the prescribed formulas of the mainstream market. We are not salsa and certainly not just timba but a whole lot more, a mix of cultures and flavors with a message for serious listeners and rabid dancers alike. That band that was at one time “loca” is now not as crazy as we thought. Today it reflects a more mature side of music and fronted by some of the genre’s most talented professionals it bears its own fingerprint…its own secret “clave”.