El Zorro

El Zorro is a contemporary cuban timba group led by two cuban music stars. Martin Richard Lehner"El Zorro" (composer, arranger and trombone) Education/ Educaci?n: Swiss Jazz School Bern, Master of Arts (1988), Trombone, Conservatory of Winterthur, Switzerland (1988-1990), Studies in Cuban Music in Havanna, Cuba (1996-2002) Performance Credits/ Experiencia laboral: V. BENEDETTI BIG BAND, SOUL CLUB, NO NO DIET BANG, D. GUGGENHEIM GROUP, RACINE ROUGE, XING TO., MOROPO NICHE, SARABANDA, ZURICH JAZZ ORCHESTRA, DIRTY CHICKEN, EL ZORRO Y SU CHARANGON, XXL TROMBONES, OEL

Recording Credits/ Discos:
MARTIN RICHARD LEHNERs XING TO (composer & trombone), MARTIN RICHARD LEHNERs XING TO "Yellow "(composer & trombone), DIRTY CHICKEN "Eggstream" (arranger & trombone), EL ZORRO "La Vida Entera"(composer & arranger), EL ZORRO "Somos Hermanos"(trombone, composer & arranger), EL ZORRO "Volando"(trombone, composer & arranger).
V. BENEDETTI BIG BAND, RHYTHM AND STEEL, D. GUGGENHEIM GROUP (FEAT. HERMETO PASCOAL), NO NO DIET BANG, PIPPO POLINA, STOP THE SHOPPERS, SUPERKIND, EXTEMPORANEOUS. ( trombone)
Since 1988 Performing Artist, Recording Studio Musician, Arranger/Composer and Songwriter.
1989 - 2005 Professor of trombone and music theory at the Jazzschool Zurich and the University of Zurich, Switzerland.
2001 -2005 CEO, Jazzschool Zurich
Since 2005 CEO, Department Jazz at the Zurich Conservatory Classical and Jazz, Switzerland
Gustavo Carlos Duran Anaya "El Buda"[/bandmember] (musical director and trombone)
Education/ Educaci?n:
Master of Arts, Conservatorio Provincial de Musica Esteban Salas, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
Further Education at the Instituto Superieor de Arte, Havanna, Cuba
Performing Credits/ Experiencia laboral:
Orquesta Sinfonica del Oriente (lead trombone)
Los Tainos, LOS KININ, SUR CARIBE (trombone), QUIMICA PERFECTA, CHAN CHAN (lead trombone), ELIO REVE Y SU CHARANGON (trombone), EL ZORRO (lead trombone and musical director),PEDRITO CALVO Y LA JUSTICIA (trombone) Nelson Manuel Y SU CORTe (lead trombone and musical director)
Toured Mexico with CHAN CHAN and the Dominican Republic with QUIMICA PERFECTA.
Recording Credits/ Discos:
SUR CARIBE "No hay Casualidad", SUR CARIBE "La Demanda"(trombone), EL ZORRO "La Vida Entera"(lead trombone & musical director), EL ZORRO "Somos Hermanos" (lead trombone & musical director) EL ZORRO "Volando"(lead trombone & musical director)
Honors and Awards:
Four times winner of the Concurso Provincial de Musica Amadeo Rold?n, Santiago de Cuba.
As a trombone player, I had played Salsa music with different bands (like Alberto Y Su Sarabanda, Moropo Niche and Havanaclub) before I actually set foot on Cuba and heard the real thing. Little did I know what this experience would do to me.

In 1995, I visited Cuba for the first time and realised that what I had been playing up to now was a tame version of Cuban Latin music. In Santiago de Cuba, I met Gustavo, then trombone player with Orchestra Sinfonica del Oriente and prepared to take me to a couple of jam sessions. From then on I returned to Cuba every year to study Cuban music and had the opportunity to learn from the best musicians on the island. Not only did I learn to play and write Cuban music, I also earned myself a proper Cuban nickname: El Zorro (the fox).

In the meantime, Gustavo had moved on from Santiago to Havanna and played with a string of bands like Los Tainos, Los Kinin, Chan Chan and Elio Reve y su Charangon. When we met again in April 2002, I showed him my newest composition and to my big surprise, Gustavo was convinced that the songs would be instant hits in Cuba. He suggested to record them with Cuban musicians and was willing to do his share to make this project a success.

To cut a really long story short: Gustavo arranged the musicians and recording facilities, while I was busy organising the financial side of the project. In November 2002 I went to Havanna to get the fincal recordings. Back in Switzerland, I arranged the mixing and mastering and by the end of February I held the finished CD in my hands. I am happy to let you know that Bembe Records has agreed to release "La Vida Entera" in October 2003.

May 2004 the band is live on stage performig in Cuba. We will see what the future brings......