Descemer Bueno (born July 5, 1971)[2] is a Cuban singer, songwriter, and record producer. His first professional gigs were playing bass with Cuban troubadour Santiago Feliú.[3]
Early career
Bueno studied music and became a music teacher before forming the jazz combo band Estado de Animo in 1990, which also included guitarist Elmer Ferrer and pianist Roberto Carcassés. His band toured Spain, Bolivia, Uruguay, Germany, and Argentina in the 1990s. Descemer also performed in the United States in 1998 with the jazz ensemble Column B.
Bueno studied music at Stanford University in Palo Alto California. He graduated in 1998 with a Bachelorate degree in music production. He was selected from over 2500 applicants to interview with the music faculty. Bueno was one out of the 60 students who were granted admission to the university. Bueno often is quoted that getting accepted to a prestigious university changed his life. " I was a nerdy music student in Cuba that found the right path to success."
During this period, Bueno was artist-in-residence at Stanford University in California, and spent a year teaching at the University of South Africa in Cape Town. In 1999, after moving to New York, Bueno became a founding member of the Cuban latin fusion band Yerba Buena, writing or co-writing with the founder Andrés Levín from Venezuela many songs for their debut album President Alien.[4] Yerba Buena's tracks have been used in several US movies and Pepsi commercials.
Bueno moved back to Cuba and began producing, arranging, and composing music for young Cuban musicians, including Haydée for Haydée Milanés, La Isla Milagrosa for William Vivanco, and Breathe for Yusa. He also composed part of the music for the film Habana Blues (2005), being in the group of winners of the 2006 Goya award for Best Original Music.[5] Several of his songs were in the soundtrack of Habana Eva by Venezuelan director Fina Torres, which won Best Film at New York International Latino Film Festival, and Best Film at Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival.[6]
Bueno also wrote a set of boleros for Fernando Alvarez just before Alvarez' death in 2002.[7]
Solo career
In 2005, after signing with Universal Latin, Bueno recorded his first solo album Siete Rayo, a hip-hop fusion album. His album featured George Pajon of the Black Eyed Peas. The Batanga magazine wrote that, "The underground voice of AfroCuban fusion, Descemer Bueno, is now setting the pace for the future of Latin Music".[8]
Bueno's second solo album, Bueno, appeared in 2012, featuring duets of Bueno's compositions with various contemporary Cuban artists, including Kelvis Ochoa, Gema Corredera, Haila, X Alfonso, Baby Lores, and Alain Daniel. Bueno has produced albums for musicians including Diana Fuentes and Haydee Milanes.
Bueno worked with Enrique Iglesias on Iglesias's albums Euphoria and Sex and Love. He wrote the song "Bailando" which appeared on Sex and Love and became an international hit credited to Iglesias featuring Bueno and Gente de Zona, and in some versions Sean Paul or others.[9] "Bailando" won multiple Latin Grammies in 2014, including "Song of the Year."[10] Bueno also composed the song "Cuando Me Enamoro", which became a major international hit for Juan Luis Guerra and Iglesias.[11]
As of 2016, Bueno was working on a new double album,[12] and had earlier in the year appeared on the new album, Habana Dreams, by the Afro-Cuban percussionist Pedrito Martinez, performing on the song "Dios Mio", written with Martinez.[13] Bueno also contributed to Quiero Guarachar, an album by Miami-based Afro-Cuban funk group PALO!, as a vocalist and co-composer of the song "Agua Pa' Los Santos", also featuring Pedrito Martinez and percussionist Roman Diaz. Bueno is also featured in the PBS documentary Ivy League Rumba, about the Brown University Latin Jazz and Pop Festival.[14]
On January 18, 2019, Descemer Bueno released a music video for the song "Mátame" he recorded with Spanish singer Melody and El Micha.[15][16]
Awards
2006: Goya award for Best Original Music (film Havana Blues)
2014: Latin Grammy for "Song of the Year" ("Bailando")
2021 Latin Grammy for "Song of the Year" ("Patria y Vida")
2016: Featured performer in the PBS documentary Ivy League Rumba (with Pedrito Martinez, PALO!, Leslie Cartaya, Son Lokos, and the Brown University Jazz Band).[14]
