About Bellita & Jazztumbatá

Lilia Expósito Pino (a.k.a. Bellita) is a rarity in the male-dominated Cuban-jazz movement. A successful female bandleader and top instrumentalist schooled in the "Nova Trove" movement of the 60's and 70's, she combines a driving, sparkling keyboard style with funky vocal unisons à la Tania Maria, delivered with Afro-Cuban sensuality.

Pianist, singer and composer Bellita was introduced to to the jazz listening public with the quintet 'Bellita & Jazztumbatá', a concise and prolific group specializing in Nova Cuban Jazz. When her first album was pre-nominated for a Grammy award in 1998, she was sending a clear message of her musical initiatives and showcasing the interpretative wealth of her band members; musicians like the multi-instrumentalist Miguel Miranda, who simultaneously plays electric bass, congas and keeps the bell beat with the foot.

When Bellita sings, she radiates her Cuban roots. She and her quintet, one of the foremost on the contemporary Cuban music scene, create a special sound that reflects a refreshing perspective of Cuban jazz fusion by incorporating elements of both modern and traditional Cuban music flavored by the Brazilian Bossa Nova. In addition, it was Bellita who organized the First Encounter of Female Jazz Artists in Cuba to promote a new type of event and forum to debate on Cuban contributions in Latin Jazz.

Bellita and her group have performed at festivals around the world, including Jazz on the Greens, Trinidad & Tobago; Nova Jazz Festival, Copenhagen, Denmark; Teatro Municipal de Leon, Managua Jazz festival, Nicaragua; Blues Fest, Ottawa, Canada; Standard Jazz Festival, Johannesburg, South Africa; Queen Hall Theatre, Puerto Principe, Trinidad & Tobago; Jazz Open Festival, Stuttgart, Germany, and many others.

"…their recent release BELLITA Y JAZZTUMBATA is a joyous and optimistic debut" - Straight No Chaser Magazine

"... the recording debut of pianist-vocalist composer Bellita illustrates how Cuba's jazz-fusion practitioners have consistently incorporated, since the early days of Irakere, a wide range of elements from folklore and popular Cuban sources, from danzón and lucumií drumming to chachachá …" – Latin Beat Magazine