OKAN is performing this Fri., July 29th, at 7 p.m. at The Barn

“Our whole point is making people have a good time, especially now after such hard years. So we want people to feel connected to what we do, because at the end of the day music is what connects the world.”

Article by Sue Dickens

Campbellford – Wed., July 27, 2022 - Want to get up and dance, get your feet moving while you listen to a Latin Jazz ensemble coming to Westben for the first time?

Then meet the Juno award-winning contemporary Afro-Cuban roots and jazz ensemble, OKAN.

CBC Music describes the music of this high-energy women-led ensemble as “lush and vibrant, pushing Latin jazz into new and unexpected territories.” With a name meaning “heart”, OKAN fuses Afro-Cuban roots with jazz, folk, and global rhythms in songs about immigration, courage, and love.

OKAN’s performance is part of the summer festival at Westben and the ensemble will be performing this Fri., July 29th, at 7 p.m. at The Barn.

Trent Hills Now interviewed Elizabeth Rodriguez, who performs alongside Magdelys Savigne as lead vocals for the OKAN Ensemble.

Born in Havana, Cuba, Elizabeth is a classically trained violinist who served as concertmaster for Havana’s Youth Orchestra.

Savigne hails from Santiago de Cuba and graduated with honours in orchestral percussion from Havana’s University of the Arts.

Both are also Grammy-nominees for their contributions to Jane Bunnett and Maqueque, of which they are former members.

When asked how the duo met Elizabeth said. “We were working with another band here in Toronto. That’s where we met. Then we decided to do our own music … it got pretty serious.”

Their performances together show just how much in harmony the two singers are.

Elizabeth plays violin and sings and Magdelys plays percussion and sings.

Their ensemble includes a drummer, piano player and bass player.

Both women come from Cuba but didn’t meet each other until later when they lived in Toronto.

When asked how much music was in her life while growing up in Cuba she said, “We did start playing music very early on when we were very little in music schools in Cuba.” She added, “And we’ve had training for more than 20 years now.”

When asked if the two women have a lot in common Elizabeth replied, “We do have a lot in common and now we’re actually married and have a family.”

​We asked what the couple is trying to give the audience with their performance Elizabeth ssaid, “We just try to give them joy. We try to give them our culture and our background sharing our stories and ancestry. We would love for them to dance and engage with the the music because people here are sometimes a little bit too shy and they feel self conscious if dancing and in participating.”

She added, “Our whole point is making people have a good time. especially now after such hard years. So we want people to feel connected to what we do, because at the end of the day music is what connects the world.”

Since this will be their first time at Westben we asked Elizabeth what the couple thought of the venue.

She said, ‘I think it’s going to be fantastic. And we can’t wait to go there.” They had seen videos of the venue online so know some of what it looks like.

Having recently worked with Bomba Estereo, Lido Pimienta and Bianca Gismonti, OKAN follows up on their Juno-nominated and Independent Music Award-winning debut album Sombras, with their JUNO Award-winning album Espiral, out on the Lulaworld Records label.

Buy tickets here: https://www.westben.ca/22-okan

To learn more about them go to: okanmusica.com