KOCHI: Cuban violinist Santiago Jimenez and Swedish flautist Jessica Hugoson, along with their group, are all set to take Kochiites by storm with a performance at the Casino Hotel on June 20. The live performance will end with a three-course fine dining experience.
Several years ago, Santiago joined Mynta, which had Swedish musicians along with Indians tabla players like Fazal Qureshi and singer Shankar Mahadevan. The group produced eight albums and performed all over the world.
Santiago came to Kochi, thanks to his partner Jessica Hugoson. She saw an advertisement looking for music teachers at Simi Koshy’s Amadeus School of Music and Fine Arts in Kochi. They have spent almost a year teaching at the School. Their music is an intriguing mix of jazz, Latin, classical and folk. They also do a lot of improvisation.
Jessica Hugoson has played and performed jazz, classical and Swedish folk music with her group, both in Sweden and Denmark. They are planning to bring out an album on their experiences in Kerala.
Simi Koshy began her career by singing for the 13 AD band and arranged a concert last year with the students of her music school where Santiago, Jessica, and others performed.