Feliz Navidad! Celebrate a Cuban Christmas with Sarah Willis and “The Sarahbanda”
Sarah Willis, horn-player of the Berliner Philharmoniker, is releasing
a new album with her Cuban band “The Sarahbanda” this Christmas on DG
Cuban Christmas weaves the sounds of salsa, mambo, bolero and son into
festive favourites from Silent Night to White Christmas, Jingle Bells to Feliz Navidad
The album also includes reworkings of Bach and Tchaikovsky, full of Cuban flair
Cuban Christmas will be released on 3 October 2025 –
listen to Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 (1st mvt) here
Sarah Willis and “The Sarahbanda” present Cuban Christmas, a celebration of the vibrant rhythms heard in every corner of Cuba during the festive season.
Horn-player Sarah, a member of the Berliner Philharmoniker since 2001, created “The Sarahbanda” as a follow-on from her Mozart y Mambo project which saw her working with some of the country’s finest musicians. “The Sarahbanda” is “a Cuban band with a difference” – Sarah’s French horn bringing a “touch of classical spice” to a traditional Cuban dance band line-up.
Recorded in Berlin, Cuban Christmas features fellow soloists Yuniet Lombida (saxophone) and Harold Madrigal Frías (trumpet), pianists Ernesto Oliva and Edgar Olivero, percussionists Adel González, Alejandro Aguíar and Jesús Estrada, and Carlos García on bass. The strings are led by Anabel Estévez and the band is conducted by José Antonio Méndez Padrón, with Carlos Calunga, of Buena Vista Social Club fame, providing vocals on three of the tracks.
Cuban Christmas will be released digitally and on CD by Deutsche Grammophon on 3 October 2025. The Bach arrangement will be released as a digital single on 22 August, followed by White Christmas on 5 September and The Christmas Song on 19 September.
Sarah Willis says, “This album is a joyful mix of favourites like Jingle Bells and Silent Night, all infused with the irresistible grooves of salsa, mambo, bolero and son. And for something extra special, we’ve given Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite and Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No.3 a true Havana heartbeat.”
As she explains, music is always central to life in Cuba, but never more so than during the holidays. “Passed down through generations, Cuban rhythms bring families and communities together with spontaneous celebrations that often turn into all-night parties. Christmas in Cuba [is] about food, laughter, music, and, most especially, dancing.”
On Cuban Christmas, the dance beats begin straightaway, with We Wish You a Merry Christmas swinging to a salsa groove, and Jingle Bells getting a “mambo makeover”. Gentle bolero rhythms come to the fore in soulful versions of Silent Night, featuring the mellow sonorities of Sarah Willis’s horn on the melody, and White Christmas, to which Yuniet Lombida adds a touch of jazz. The band also give a heartfelt interpretation of the beautiful Cuban carol Criolla Navidad which they discovered on an early 70s LP.
In Edgar Olivero’s arrangement of J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No.3, Baroque elegance does lighthearted battle with sizzling Cuban rhythms. The Cuban Nutcracker Suite meanwhile, translates Tchaikovsky’s frosty Russian Christmas fantasy to warmer climes in another wonderful fusion of different traditions.
Finally, three tracks on Cuban Christmas feature the inimitable voice of Carlos Calunga. As well as joining the band for We Wish You A Merry Christmas, he adds expressive vocals to the Mel Tormé/Nat King Cole classic The Christmas Song and returns for the album’s closing number – a salsa/timba version of José Feliciano’s Feliz Navidad that brims with charm and festive spirit.
“Cuban Christmas is a celebration of culture, connection, and the music that makes the season magical,” says Sarah Willis. “I truly hope it brings as much happiness to your home as it brought to mine while creating it and that it will get you up and dancing this Christmas!”
Sarah Willis & “The Sarahbanda” – Cuban Christmas concerts, 2025
