Yudelkys Perez steps right into her spotlight with her new single, "Pasada Las 12" A native of Santa Clara, Cuba, Perez has been steadily making a claim for herself as one of the island's most compelling emerging voices, and this track proves she's no longer just a hidden gem, but a budding star.
"Pasada Las 12" is the alchemy of traditional and cutting-edge elements that Perez brings. The song, which Perez also produced and arranged, unites her powerful yet tender vocal delivery with lush, full sound from a backing lineup of Cuban greats. The trova of trumpeter Julio Padron, guitarist Jose Carlos Acosta, and the late, great Lucia Huergo, whose melody is the song's heartbeat. The lyrics, penned by Perez, unfold like poetry, capturing the intimacy of Cuban canción and the spontaneous spirit of jazz.
The track features 7-time GRAMMY and 6-time Latin GRAMMY-winning pianist Chucho Valdés, whose contributions imbue the song with polish and substance. Valdés is here to remind everyone of the weight Perez's artistry commands. This is no mere meeting of peers, but a handoff from one great generation of Cuban brilliance to the next.
"Pasada Las 12" is a slow burn of a discovery. And Perez's voice, warm and soulful, with a hint of blues edge, leads the way through the song's smoky jazz textures, which makes the title all the more fitting, as every note here lingers after midnight like a whispered secret. It's a song that feels timeless yet current, something that could have been reverberating through a jazz club in Havana decades ago, but is gliding across the global soundscape as effortlessly as a setting sun on a city beach in 2019.