Latinx pianist Eliane Correa performs with her twelve-piece band La Evolución, a fresh, high-energy Cuban timba fusion orchestra made up of some of the top Cuban and Latin musicians in the UK and Europe. Led by Eliane – who has MD’d for Grammy-winners Mayito Rivera (Los Van Van) and Maite Hontelé and written for Mixael Cabrera among others – the band is fronted by award-winning Barcelona-based vocalist powerhouse Yadira Ferrer from Holguín, Cuba. Correa’s unique sound equally reflects her Latin heritage and London musical melting pot experience.

La Evolución started out inspired by the modern Havana sound of large-format Timba (Cuban salsa) orchestras and soon found its own London-infused voice, featuring electric guitars and synths over powerful, distinctively Cuban grooves – and nodding occasionally to soul and funk music and modern jazz pianists such as Robert Glasper and Herbie Hancock. One of few – if not the only? – Timba bands in the world that is mixed gender but led and fronted by a woman, Correa’s lyrics make a point of highlighting the female experience from a place of celebration, liberation and empowerment; changing the gender narrative in the genre’s traditionally male-centric approach is an important part of her vision.