Wobbly World “A Night in Havana!”

Wobbly World is a group of internationally recognized musicians in a powerful unique collaboration.  They bring experiences, languages, traditions and instruments to a musical partnership that defies simple description and exists in perfect harmony. Guitarist Freddy Clarke carefully chose these select musicians based on their musical genius and dedication to collaboration and peace. Tonight we are featuring the Cuban aspect of this diverse musical group.

Freddy Clarke, raised in San Francisco, fell in love with classical guitar when his dad bought him a new hand-made Yamaha Classical guitar as a child.   In high school he went to see Andres Segovia in concert at The Masonic Auditorium. That was a life changing moment for him.  He continued his musical journey at College of San Mateo and studied music theory with Gus Gustavson. He learned about  Buckminster Fuller’s idea of synergy —  that the total is more than the sum of its parts — and how this relates to the reciprocity that exists in the musical conversation that takes place between musicians during a performance. This very concept would be the underlying theme of Wobbly World 20 years later.

Freddy studied  classical guitar at San Francisco State University with Rani Cochran, and privately with Narcisso Yepes, Rey De La Torre, and Leo Brower. He also studied music composition, emphasizing form and technique, with Roger Nixon and Peter Sacco, and fell in love with Igor Stravinsky and John Cage.

Freddy has traveled the world playing guitar and studying world music.  His solo performances and original compositions have been likened to “Segovia on acid,” and “Smashing Pumpkins meets Gypsy Kings.”

Yeni Valdes Fuentes was born in Pinar del Río Cuba.  Her musical brilliance was discovered on her first day of school. And her teacher saw her talent and guided her in the right direction. That direction would lead to seven Grammy nominations, six Latin and one American.  After graduating from Provincial School of Arts, she first performed with the second most popular band in Cuba, the Sello LA orchestra and the PG group.  This experience led to her accepting a position with Los Van Van THE most popular band coming out of Cuba.  She performed for 16 years as the only female singer in the band and traveled the world with them.

Yeni lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband Erick Barberia. In addition to performing with Wobbly World she has her own band and continually produces music of her own.

Erick Barberia grew up in Havana Cuba with a life filled with music and dance. His father taught music at Escuela National De Artes, sang in the Jorrin Creators of Rhythm Cha Cha Cha orchestra  and was Erick’s inspiration.  Erick graduated from Escuela National De Art in Havana and performed professionally in the artistic community company and in Cory Macchio, as a dancer, drummer and actor. Working and performing in Cuba taught Erick a lot about expressive dancing, melodious vocals, and professional skills.  Today he’s a principal musician in Wobbly World and has his own group of musicians with Yeni specializing in Cuban music and performance.

Erick Peralta’s mother was a nanny in Peru and his dad was studying to be a doctor, but they dropped everything to move, while she was pregnant, so that he could be born in the U.S. Growing up in San Francisco, he and his three sisters were exposed to Afro Cuban, Latin ballads, American Pop music, as well as native Afro Peruvian music through his father, who was taught by his uncle. When he was little, he would sit on his lap while he played piano, bass, and guitar, watching his hands and learning what he did. Since he never had a formal musical education, he was determined that Erick would, and enrolled him in a music class. He loved it, and was a quick learner, and on the first day the teacher told his dad that he was already ready for formal piano lessons. His three sisters are all musical too, and to this day, all family get togethers end with them playing.

Ernesto Mazar hails from Santiago Cuba. He performed with Grammy nominated Charanga  Habanera while studying at the prestigious Institute Joe national day art in Havana. He graduated with a degree in classical double bass, performance, and teaching. He toured internationally with Charanga for eight years gaining recognition as one of the best bassist in Cuba.  In America, he  taught at the Bullis Charter School in Los Altos and then at Mount Diablo unified school district. Eric loves his work with the children. As a trained classical double bassist and a disciple of Feliciano Arango, Juan Formell, John Patitucci, and Dave Holland, Ernesto displays excellent technique across the whole family of basses (electric, upright, and baby bass), with a unique approach to each instrument. Ernesto is a powerful, rhythmic player who brings an unbelievable amount of energy on stage and radiates love of music.

He displays excellent technique across the family of bases including electric, upright, and baby base with a unique approach to each instrument. Ernesto is a powerful rhythmic player who brings an unbelievable amount of energy on stage and radiates love of music.

Colin Douglas grew up in New York, and music was always a big part of his childhood, because his dad is a record producer. When he was a kid, he worked with John Lennon, Cheap Trick, Aerosmith and several other notable names. Their garage was filled with instruments of all kinds so Colin and his sister hung out there for hours, pretending to play, or they’d go to his in-home production studio, and pretend to be rock stars recording an album. His school had a good music program, and in the 5th grade, he began to play the drums, especially the snare: he just loved the sound and feel of that. Like any music crazed kid, he was in several middle school and high school bands and then attended Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, and Manhattan School of Music, where he developed a love of Jazz. He then discovered Cuban music and became obsessed!