Tiempo Libre

Tiempo Libre

Tiempo Libre is a Miami-based Cuban music group that forms in 2001 and specialises in timba, a style that combines Latin jazz and son rhythms. The group is made up of Hilario Bell, Luis Beltran Castillo, Joaquín “El Kid” Díaz, Tebelio “Tony” Fonte, Cristobal Ferrer García, Jorge Gómez and Leandro González. It works across Latin and salsa, and is known for bringing Cuban dance music into concert halls, jazz clubs and dance venues.

Background and style

The group’s members are classically trained at Cuba’s leading conservatories, and the band also works in classical settings. Tiempo Libre presents music rooted in Cuban tradition while mixing that material with a modern sound shaped by its members’ experience in the United States. Its performances centre on energetic timba and on keeping Cuban musical heritage present in contemporary contexts.

Releases and collaborations

Tiempo Libre releases three timba albums: Timbiando, Arroz Con Mango and Lo Que Esperaba. The latter two receive Grammy nominations. The group also records O’Reilly Street with flutist Sir James Galway, which includes an Afro-Cuban treatment of music from Claude Bolling’s jazz suites and original pieces by Jorge Gómez. The band signs to Sony and plans an album that fuses Bach with Afro-Cuban rhythms and includes guest appearances by Paquito d’Rivera.

Other projects and activity

In 2007, Jorge Gómez works with composer Ricardo Lorenz on Rumba Sinfónica, a piece that combines Cuban urban rhythms with the sound of a symphony orchestra, and Tiempo Libre continues to perform it with major symphonies. The group also appears in Miami Libre, a musical based on the members’ immigrant experience, staged at The Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami. In addition to performing, the members teach rumba, Latin jazz and traditional Cuban music to audiences of different ages and backgrounds.