“A joyful, gyratory salsa celebration” – Time Out New York
“The individual playing on the album is superb and the rhythm section displays a level of comfort with all the styles contained within the album with fluidic ease. From the Timba perspective, “Somos latinos” is a treasure trove of state of the art bass, piano and percussion work laid down by some the very best instrumentalists in the genre.” -Ian Stewart, Timba.com
“Somos Latinos is a very refreshing sound,” Vicki Sola, “Que Viva La Musica” Radio Host, 89.1FM.
“Somos Latinos has great arrangements, vocals, musicianship, quality and versatility, or what [Gerardo Contino y] Los Habaneros call ‘Sentimiento con Sabrosura.'” – George Velez, Jr. (Grupo Arcano)....
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“A joyful, gyratory salsa celebration” – Time Out New York
“The individual playing on the album is superb and the rhythm section displays a level of comfort with all the styles contained within the album with fluidic ease. From the Timba perspective, “Somos latinos” is a treasure trove of state of the art bass, piano and percussion work laid down by some the very best instrumentalists in the genre.” -Ian Stewart, Timba.com
“Somos Latinos is a very refreshing sound,” Vicki Sola, “Que Viva La Musica” Radio Host, 89.1FM.
“Somos Latinos has great arrangements, vocals, musicianship, quality and versatility, or what [Gerardo Contino y] Los Habaneros call ‘Sentimiento con Sabrosura.'” – George Velez, Jr. (Grupo Arcano).
“Gerardo’s music is refreshingly authentic and original…The music in this CD [Somos Latinos] is superb, anchored in the strong rhythm (piano, bass) and percussion (conga, bongo, timbal) sections. This CD showcases Gerardo Contino’s talent as a singer and as a producer…” — Hector Aviles, Latino Music Cafe.
Gritty, witty and streetwise, the Havana-born Gerardo Contino, “El Abogado de la Salsa,” is a Cuban singer and songwriter. This former lead singer of the Cuban mega-group NG La Banda is a party onstage: he loves to improvise, to pull the audience into call & response, and to provoke fans into hip-shaking abandon.
Since moving to New York City, Gerardo started his own band, “Gerardo Contino y Los Habaneros,” with Axel Tosca Laugart, Luisito Quintero, and John Benitez. They released their debut album, Somos Latinos, in 2013 to very high critical acclaim. He has toured all over the world and in his new hometown, NYC, he has performed in Brooklyn Academy of Music, Sounds of Brazil (SOBs), BB King Blues Club, Le Poisson Rouge, the Bronx Museum, Live at the Gantries, Roulette, Gonzalez y Gonzalez, Taj, and many others.
With his own project, as well as with NG La Banda, and his other bands, Son Yoruba, and Charanga Forever, Gerardo has toured in Italy, France, Spain, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Venezuela, Mexico, Peru, and Canada. He has played in international festivals of salsa and jazz such as: Toulouse Festival, France; Latin American Festival of Milan, Italy; Festival Fiesta, Rome, Italy; Festival of Múnich, Switzerland, Copenhagen Festival, Denmark; Salsa Festival of Verona, Italy; and, Afro-American Roots of Maracay, Venezuela.
Gerardo has also shared the stage with such artists as Oscar de Leon, Roberto Roena, El Gran Combo, La India, Los Van Van, Xiomara Laugart, Carlos Varela, Alexander Abreu, Frank Fernandez, Osdalgia, Giovanni Hidalgo, Kelvis Ochoa, David Torrens, and Jose Armando Gola.
Gerardo is a recipient of the 2014 Lower Manhattan Cultural Council grant for Manhattan Community Arts Fund. Gerardo is endorsed by Gorilla Ears, is an active member of Musicians on Call, and was an invited speaker and performer for TEDMED 2014 in the Kennedy Center for the Arts, Washington, DC.
Gerardo received his education in Law at the University of Havana and his Master’s in Law (LLM) at Cardozo School of Law in the prestigious Intellectual Property Program.
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