Charanga del Norte - one of UK's leading Cuban bands

In the year 2000 I finished my degree, and moved away from leeds. My time there had been rich and I had grown as a musician. I loved doing my degree, and I loved playing the piano. But when I finished I found myself in a strange vacuum. There followed a period of time where because of my location, I still practiced but I wasn’t connecting with other musicians. I felt strangely empty. Eventually and despite not being a ‘city’ person, I decided to move back to Leeds.

My second ‘coming’ to Leeds was extremely fruitful. I met musicians there that would shape my future to come. I had begun my journey learning about Cuban drumming, and I had started teaching piano at Leeds Music House. It was here that I met Sue Miller, a fellow teacher. Sue holds a doctorate on the subject of Cuban music, is a researcher, has written books on the subject and is an incredible musician. She needed a pianist for her amateur Cuban big band, and invited me to come along. Keen to join in with new musical ventures I agreed… and I remember vividly the first time she suddenly shouted ‘SOLO!’ Filled with equal amounts of adrenaline and terror I launched into something… who knows what… I had never improvised on the piano before. I was a classical pianist after all. But Ruban Gonzalez was one of my piano hero’s and I at least knew the rhythms and the feel. Despite my terror of those early days, I loved the music and I kept practicing. I listened to Cuban pianists and I copied what I heard. I played along. Sue also had her professional band Charanga Del Norte, and I would glance towards it, like a child who wants something too far out of reach. I really wanted to play in the band. Then one day I was invited to be a dep for a rehearsal. A foot in the door? If I did well maybe I would get invited to do more. I practiced, and then I practiced some more. I kept practicing.

And now? …. the year is 2026. In the past week we have just recorded two more tracks - Elisa and Chanson De Prevert for the Serge Gainsbourg project, and in preparation for our album launch on the 18th June at Leeds City Varieties. It has been a long journey, and honestly mainly one of imposter syndrome.….up until now. Now I sit on the piano stool, and I sing coros, and I feel like I own where I am. There is enough evidence to suggest that I belong there. I fill my shoes. I have grooved, I have played solos that have made the other musicians whoop and make ‘special musician yes faces’ (you know the one I mean?!) I have toured, and the band feels special. It is after all unique, being the only full time Charanga band in the UK.

I am ever grateful to Sue for seeing my musicianship, even when I did not think I was enough. Believing you are not enough, is not unique, but if someone else believes in you and thinks you are good, then why not take their word for it? It’s so important to take the compliments and opportunities gracefully when they come and simply say thank you - because there may come a time when you even start believing it yourself. It is also a reminder that we should take the time to compliment others, people are good at fake it till you make it, and even when a person appears confident and set up, it is not necessarily true, so go on and dish out that compliment- you might change someones life.

If I hadn’t loved playing music so much maybe I wouldn’t be here, but I really wanted this, and insecurity, fear of failure, imposter syndrome and stage fright were not good enough reasons to say no to stepping onto a stage. The moral of the story is- If you want to follow your hearts deepest desire then it is worth facing your deepest fears in order to come out the other side and become what you were meant to become, in my case, the musician I knew I was.