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Cuban Christmas

The Sarahbanda

Cuban Christmas

Awards:

The Cuban Nutcracker Suite stands comparison with Duke Ellington’s iconic 1960 reworking of the piece, with a sassily swung Overture showcasing Willis’s fabulous lower register and the Trepak...

Cuban Christmas

The Sarahbanda

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This release includes a digital booklet

Stream now Hi-RES 96 kHz, 24 bit

Awards:

The Cuban Nutcracker Suite stands comparison with Duke Ellington’s iconic 1960 reworking of the piece, with a sassily swung Overture showcasing Willis’s fabulous lower register and the Trepak...

About

Sarah Willis, horn-player of the Berliner Philharmoniker, teams up with the Sarahbanda for a celebration of the vibrant Cuban Christmas rhythms. The album injects the colourful, contagious energy of Cuban music into a selection of timeless holiday classics – some featuring vocals from Carlos Calunga, of Buena Vista Social Club fame. It also includes works by Bach and Tchaikovsky – these too reimagined with Cuban flair. “The result”, says Willis, “is a joyful mix of favourites like Jingle Bells and Silent Night, all infused with the irresistible grooves of salsa, mambo, bolero and so on. And for something extra special, we’ve given Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite and Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto no.3 a true Havana heartbeat.”

“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.”

Contents and tracklist

Spotlight on this release

  • A Cuban Christmas from The Sarahbanda

    28th Nov 2025by Katherine Cooper

    Horn-player Sarah Willis and her Havana-based dance-band add spice and salsa to a host of seasonal favourites including an exuberant reimagining of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, with guest vocals from Carlos Calunga (of Buena Vista Social Club fame).

Awards and reviews

  • Presto Recording of the Week
    28th November 2025
  • Opus Klassik Awards
    2026
    Winner - Instrumentalist of the Year

28th November 2025

The Cuban Nutcracker Suite stands comparison with Duke Ellington’s iconic 1960 reworking of the piece, with a sassily swung Overture showcasing Willis’s fabulous lower register and the Trepak reimagined as a riotous conga. But there’s delicacy aplenty too, especially in the spiced-up 'Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy' and the guajira-inflected 'Waltz of the Flowers'.
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