Pepe Rivero Presents «Yoruba Suite» on Spanish Public Radio

Foto: Música Creativa / Diego García Márquez

September 16, 2026

Cuban pianist and composer Pepe Rivero, born in Manzanillo in 1972 and based in Spain, drew fresh attention on Spanish public radio this week as he presented his album Yoruba Suite on RTVE. He appeared on Sateli 3 on September 11, 2026, and was interviewed on El resto es ruido on September 15 about the record, which blends jazz, classical writing and Afro-Cuban roots.

The album, released digitally in April 2026 with thirteen tracks, expands a project Rivero first premiered in 2018 for Madrid's International Festival of Sacred Art. Collaborators include Paquito D’Rivera and other musicians from the Ibero-American jazz scene.

Rivero trained at Havana's Instituto Superior de Arte, arrived in Spain with Issac Delgado, later worked with Celia Cruz, and has built a career as a bandleader, teacher and founder of the CLAZZ festival. The current promotion underscores his long interest in bridging Yoruba-rooted Cuban tradition with contemporary jazz and orchestral form.

Fuente: RTVE; Apple Music / Deezer

Pepe Rivero

Arts, Music, Pianist, Composer, Producer, Arranger

Pianist, composer, pedagogue, producer, promoter, his name appears among the most relevant and versatile Cuban pianists of recent decades, with repeated interests in blending works of classicism with jazz and genres of popular music. Pianist and composer Pepe Rivero is part of a "New Generation" of Cuban musicians who have emerged on the international jazz scene. Pepe is from the city of Manzanillo.