History

Lido 66 was formed in September 2003 as a collaboration between dance producer Hal Ritson and Puerto Rican singer Abel Baerga-Ortiz. Bringing together strong roots of Afro-Caribbean drumming and an ethos from western dance music the band focuses on bringing salsa and Cuban music to a club audience.

Lido 66 is a ten-piece band and traditional instrumentation is used - in particular its two Havana-trained percussionists bring authentic Havana-style Afro-Cuban percussion to the mix.

Lido 66 play a monthly residency at Afro-Cubism, Cambridge, which has become one of the most popular live events in the East. Their manic intensity on stage is infectious - the press have described the night as being closer to a ‘Latin rave’ than a gig.

The band play regularly at events in London and Cambridge and have supported Snowboy (Feb 2004), the Scissor Sisters (June 2004) and Soweto Kinch (June 2004).

Testimonials "The response from the audience to the band was spectacular. Everyone was moving, even the staff" – BBC Online, August 2004 "Lido 66 brought the spirit of Havana to Cambridge. I danced so much I nearly dropped my mojito!" - Frances Alderton, Cambridge World Music day, Cambridge City Council.

Demo CD
The tracks (No Creo En Bugalu, Quimbara, Sabroso, Watermelon Man) were selected to show the range of styles played by the band.

Lido 66 main members

Tiago Coimbra : Bass
Born in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, in 1980, Tiago Coimbra grew up in Brasil, Washington D.C., Guatemala and Cambridge UK. Studied at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, England. After graduating from ACM Tiago won a scholarship to Berklee College of Music, Boston, starting his studies there in September 1999. Whilst in Berklee, Tiago performed and recorded with AVA, Spontaneous, and Hiromi Uehara's Explosion Trio.

Hal Ritson : Piano
Hal is a dance producer signed to EMI, voted best bootleg remixer of 2003 by Radio One listeners, and is the owner of Heavy Disco records. Recently played on and co-produced Eric Prydz’s No. 1 hit ‘Call on Me’ and is currently working with Alicia Keys on a remix project.

Abel Baerga-Ortiz : Lead Vocals and Percussion
Abel formed the band Nova Ilusion in San Juan, Puerto Rico, performing original tunes with voice, percussion and guitar arrangements. Their 1992 recording Cancion Desnuda was a hit in Puerto Rico. Later he moved to California, USA, where he performed Cuban and Puerto Rican rhythms with Areito Borincano (www.areitoborincano.org).

Neil Waters : Trumpet
After trained at Trinity College of Music London Neil cut his teeth playing with U.S. jazzmen Bobby Shew and Richie Cole, both formerly of the Buddy Rich Band. He regularly performs at the Jazz Cafe and Ronnie Scott’s in London and has also performed at the la Bodeguita del Medio in Havana.

David Millard : Tres and Guitar
Dave is an accomplished guitarist and has been performing, recording and teaching music for the last 10 years. He has recently been producing jazz-influenced dance music for Good Looking Records, approximately 30,000 copies have been sold world-wide.

Katy Marks: Coro WiIl Roberts: Timbales Justin Read: Alto sax Mike Doris: Trombone

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