RAMON TARANCO is a Maple Ontario-based, Cuban-Mexican-Canadian composer & guitarist whose world beat fusion music runs the gamut from Afro-Cuban Jazz & Blues to Southern Rock & New Orleans Funk.
Born in Havana & raised in Toronto, Ramon has Cuban, continental Spanish & indigenous roots in Southern California (Shoshone) & Mexico (Yacqui & Michocan.)
photo above: Ramon Taranco after a performance on December 14th 2018 outside The Falcon & Firkin in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
photo above: Ramon Taranco & Raul Abreu Pineda @ Harlow Sound recording studio, Rexdale Ontario Canada, March 2018
Oct 13 2018
Ramon's new single "Love Survives" was released on October 13th and is now being sold through iTunes and CD Baby. Listen to this and all of Ramon's other recordings on Spotify. A big thank you to the band for their fabulous playing: Ruben Vazquez (keyboard), Juan Pablo Dominguez (bass), Ahmed Mitchel (drum kit), Raul Abreu Piñeda (percussion) and Maureen Leeson (background vocals.)
Thanks also to Rob Amaral for his intriguing cover art for all of Ramon's 2018 releases: Love Survives, The New York Shuffle and Debi Mexico.
Ramon's new single "Love Survives" was released on October 13th and is now being sold through iTunes and CD Baby. Listen to this and all of Ramon's other recordings on Spotify. A big thank you to the band for their fabulous playing: Ruben Vazquez (keyboard), Juan Pablo Dominguez (bass), Ahmed Mitchel (drum kit), Raul Abreu Piñeda (percussion) and Maureen Leeson (background vocals.)
Thanks also to Rob Amaral for his intriguing cover art for all of Ramon's 2018 releases: Love Survives, The New York Shuffle and Debi Mexico.
Friday December 15th 2018
Ramon Taranco & Raul Abreu will be appearing LIVE @ the Falcon & Firkin in Richmond Hill (9-11:30pm). The photo (above) was taken during a recording session @ Harlow Sound in Etobicoke
Ramon Taranco & Raul Abreu will be appearing LIVE @ the Falcon & Firkin in Richmond Hill (9-11:30pm). The photo (above) was taken during a recording session @ Harlow Sound in Etobicoke
Oct 27th 2018 - "Love Survives" made it's radio debut on "Made in the Shade" with DJ Pete 'Amigo' Williams on Sunbury Radio 99.3 FM (Melbourne, Australia.)
Live Performances - check out the Gigs page
Airplay - scroll down this page for our list of international radio airplay (that we know of), interviews, on-air performances and radio shows that featured Ramon's music
Feb 7th 2018 - The New York Shuffle debuted on Rick Stuart's "Roots & Fusion" (Stockport, UK)
Feb 3rd 2018 - Debi Mexico debuted on Cal Koat's "World Beat Canada" (Vancouver, Canada)
Jan 26th 2018 - Ramon released 2 new singles, The New York Shuffle & Debi Mexico - Now Available on Spotify, CD Baby & iTunes
Live Performances - check out the Gigs page
Airplay - scroll down this page for our list of international radio airplay (that we know of), interviews, on-air performances and radio shows that featured Ramon's music
Feb 7th 2018 - The New York Shuffle debuted on Rick Stuart's "Roots & Fusion" (Stockport, UK)
Feb 3rd 2018 - Debi Mexico debuted on Cal Koat's "World Beat Canada" (Vancouver, Canada)
Jan 26th 2018 - Ramon released 2 new singles, The New York Shuffle & Debi Mexico - Now Available on Spotify, CD Baby & iTunes
"Two Fantastic Songs. Congratulations."
~ Josep Palmada Verdier, host of 'Red Hot Blues'
since 1996 on Radio Vilafant, Spain
~ Josep Palmada Verdier, host of 'Red Hot Blues'
since 1996 on Radio Vilafant, Spain
Ramon Taranco playing at the Woodbridge Ontario RibFest, August 2017.
RADIO INTERVIEWS
March 11 2018 - Ramon talked about his unique fusion of musical styles
with DJ Haff on
"The Colourblind Blues Show" Radio Gwendolen 1287 AM, Leicester UK
https://www.dropbox.com/s/jmo1a13jed67rm8/CBS%20Ramon%20Taranco%20Interview%2011.3.18.mp3?dl=0
Nov 5 2017 - RAMON TARANCO TALKS ABOUT BRITISH BLUES
and more in this incredible interview with Kev "Legs" Walker on The Cat FM's "Shades of Blues" out of Crewe UK. The one hour feature segment starts about 53 minutes into the show. Here's the link...
http://thisisthecat.com/listen-shades-blues-061117/
Sept 29 2017 - SO MANY FASCINATING ANECDOTES !!!
Ramon did a wonderful on-air interview with DJ Francesca d'Alessio on "Do I Move You" KPOO FM, San Francisco. If you want to hear "the story-behind-the-song-lyrics," click on the link below.
The interview starts 1 hour into the show...
drive.google.com/file/d/0BweSGQybuVkkcGNNVnN1R1FJSGc/view
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May 26 2017 - Ramon released 2 singles: "Desperate Love" & "Devil Can Blues." READ the CD Reviews page on this website...
LISTEN to them on Ramon's Spotify page.
BUY them from iTunes or CD Baby.
March 11 2018 - Ramon talked about his unique fusion of musical styles
with DJ Haff on
"The Colourblind Blues Show" Radio Gwendolen 1287 AM, Leicester UK
https://www.dropbox.com/s/jmo1a13jed67rm8/CBS%20Ramon%20Taranco%20Interview%2011.3.18.mp3?dl=0
Nov 5 2017 - RAMON TARANCO TALKS ABOUT BRITISH BLUES
and more in this incredible interview with Kev "Legs" Walker on The Cat FM's "Shades of Blues" out of Crewe UK. The one hour feature segment starts about 53 minutes into the show. Here's the link...
http://thisisthecat.com/listen-shades-blues-061117/
Sept 29 2017 - SO MANY FASCINATING ANECDOTES !!!
Ramon did a wonderful on-air interview with DJ Francesca d'Alessio on "Do I Move You" KPOO FM, San Francisco. If you want to hear "the story-behind-the-song-lyrics," click on the link below.
The interview starts 1 hour into the show...
drive.google.com/file/d/0BweSGQybuVkkcGNNVnN1R1FJSGc/view
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May 26 2017 - Ramon released 2 singles: "Desperate Love" & "Devil Can Blues." READ the CD Reviews page on this website...
LISTEN to them on Ramon's Spotify page.
BUY them from iTunes or CD Baby.
L-R Jackie Richardson, Betty Richardson, Yohanna van der Kley & Liz Tilden - the vocal chorus in the studio recording "Sugar Cane Rider" & "Hard Work" for Ramon's Music From the Bermuda Triangle CD
Soul of the Blues Festival poster designed by Rega - Ramon Taranco + His Havana Blues Revue @ The Cornelia Street Cafe in Greenwich Village, July 31st 2009
Ramon Taranco + His Havana Blues Revue @ The Groove in Greenwich Village, Feb 4 2012; L-R: Ramon Taranco (guitar), Cinque Ubangi Kemp (drums), Judd Nielsen (keyboard), Dave Cutler (bass); photo by Andrew Jack
 Ramon Taranco portrait by Mendelson Joe
performing with violinist Igor Romanyk
International Airplay
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Ramon Taranco & Raul Pineda Abreu performing at the Richmond Hill Ontario Farmer's Market, July 2017
RecordingsRamon's 2 CDs, Music From the Bermuda Triangle and The Adventures of Bo Segovia, present 16 of his organic and very natural eclectic compositions. Encompassing a wide variety of styles, they range from solo guitar (electric and acoustic) to full band.
Music From the Bermuda Triangle is primarily a world beat jazz album with some blues accents. The Adventures of Bo Segovia is mostly blues and funk. And a new album, "The New York Shuffle," is in the works !!!! Ramon released 2 singles in May 2017 and released 2 more singles in January 2018. See our "CD Reviews" page to read what DJ's and music journalists have said about Ramon's music. Our "Buy CDs" page links to online distributors. Also note: a list of artists who influenced Ramon's song writing is posted at the bottom of this page. 
Ramon Taranco, Greenwich Village, Feb 2012
RAMON TARANCO + HIS HAVANA BLUES REVUE (core band) L/R: Yahoteh Kokayi, Ramon Taranco, Judd Nielsen - August 16 2011, photo by Jimmy Wade (NYC)
After eighteen years of playing guitar professionally and teaching in New York City (1994-2012), Ramon moved back to Canada and now operates a music teaching studio in the heart of Maple Ontario. He continues to create & record music and performs solo and with his band, Ramon Taranco + His Havana Blues Revue.
NEW YORK In New York, Ramon performed solo, duo & with his band; including 8 concerts in the Guggenheim Museum's World Beat Jazz Series, "Celebrating the Diaspora: Strummin' the Americas" for African-American Heritage Month @ Bronx Museum of Fine Arts, played on-stage in Liz Swados' opera "Missionaries" @ Brooklyn Academy of Music's Majestic Theater, Queens Museum of Art, Harborside Jazz Festival, Stephen D. Hassenfeld Children's Center (Manhattan), Visions Institute for the Blind (Manhattan), Connie Lekas School (Brooklyn), Hellenic Cultural Center (Astoria, Queens), New York State University @ Stony Brook, Manhattanville College, Monroe College (Bronx), The Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims (Brooklyn), Latino Heritage Month Celebration @ Javits Convention Center (Manhattan), concert celebrating Martin Luther King Jr's birthday @ Newark Public Library, reBar Gastropub (Brooklyn), in NYC jazz & blues clubs ie La Belle Epoque (Cabaret Nights & Jazz Brunches), Izzy Bar, Mozart Cafe, Cornelia Street Cafe (NYC Soul of the Blues Festival) and The Groove. TORONTO While based in Toronto in the 80's and 90's, Taranco played at may of Toronto's iconic venues including The Riverboat (with Colin Linden and Mendelson Joe), C'est What, Hart House Theatre, the Windsor Arms Hotel's Courtyard Cafe, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, and in the Senator Hotel's Top O' the Senator Guitar Bar Series. He played for several years with blues harpists Carlos del Junco and Jon Dickie at The Water's Edge Cafe and in blues clubs including Zydeco's and Caps. Ramon also performed live on CBC Radio's Musical Friends and Morningside. , Ramon has also toured in Western Canada & several times across Ontario (including Sudbury's Laurentian University) giving concerts, lecture / recitals & guitar clinics. Grants Taranco received several arts grants: an Ontario Arts Council multicultural music recording grant, a composition grant from the Toronto Arts Council, another composition grant from the Ontario Arts Council, and a new talent recording grant from The Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent on Record (FACTOR). These grants made it possible for Ramon to continue recording songs for his first CD of original compositions, “Music From the Bermuda Triangle.” clinics. 
AIRPLAY CHARTS
In February 2010, The Adventures of Bo Segovia CD was #3 on the Roots Music Report international top 100 jazz charts and #10 on the New York State top 100 roots artists (all genres) chart; where rating are tallied based on airplay on 500 affiliated stations worldwide. Music From the Bermuda Triangle was on the European Broadcasting Union's World Music Charts in 2008 & 2009. In March 2012, The Adventures of Bo Segovia was featured album-of-the-week on Paris-based Midnight Special Blues Radio & Vancouver's Cal Koat put it on the World Beat Canada Top 3 Albums list. 
concert poster designed by Rega
NYC Blues Harmonica & Guitar Duo: L-R Jasper McGruder & Ramon Taranco
concert poster designed by Rega
"Ramon Taranco + His Sugar Kings" playing at Finally Fred's in NYC, June 1st 2001
concert poster designed by Rega
KUBA: L-R Basi Mahlasela, Ramon Taranco, Memo Acevedo
"Two Cubans Named Moe" blues duo: Ramon Taranco (guitar) & Carlos del Junco (harmonica)
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MOTOR (Ramon's Teenage Rock Band) in 1968
Ramon playing with "Motor"
"Motor" L-R: Ramon Taranco,
Bruce Durling,
Peter Mercer,
Stephen Keen
Ramon's father, Raul Taranco riding on family plantation - Maximo Gomez, Cuba
tiny guitarman, Ramon Taranco wearing traditional Mexican garb - Los Angeles
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Jimi Hendrix - Ramon's hero
MUSICAL INFLUENCES:
Artists who have had an impact on Ramon's songwriting
Jimi Hendrix, Lenny Breau, Muddy Waters, Jeff Beck, J B Lenoir, Steve Marriott, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Son House, James Brown, Lee Dorsey, King Sunny Ade, Guillermo Portabales, Sonora Matancera, Monguito, Dr John, Rolaand Kirk, Ebenezer Obey, Charlie Palmieri, Bessie Smith, Skip James, Benny More, Joe Cuba, Miles Davis, Leo Brouwer, Miguelito Valdez, Frank Zappa, Oscar Peterson, Sergei Prokofiev, Junior Parker, Earl King, Don Rich, B B King, Freddie King, Albert King, Robert Johnson, Chet Atkins, Pete Townsend, Buddy Guy, Magic Sam, Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop, Fred Stone, Peter Green, Charlie Christian, Sony Greenwich, Django Reinhardt, T-Bone Walker, Chuck Berry, Grant Green, John Renbourn, Tim Mason, Captain Beefheart, & Fela Kuti
Artists who have had an impact on Ramon's songwriting
Jimi Hendrix, Lenny Breau, Muddy Waters, Jeff Beck, J B Lenoir, Steve Marriott, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Son House, James Brown, Lee Dorsey, King Sunny Ade, Guillermo Portabales, Sonora Matancera, Monguito, Dr John, Rolaand Kirk, Ebenezer Obey, Charlie Palmieri, Bessie Smith, Skip James, Benny More, Joe Cuba, Miles Davis, Leo Brouwer, Miguelito Valdez, Frank Zappa, Oscar Peterson, Sergei Prokofiev, Junior Parker, Earl King, Don Rich, B B King, Freddie King, Albert King, Robert Johnson, Chet Atkins, Pete Townsend, Buddy Guy, Magic Sam, Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop, Fred Stone, Peter Green, Charlie Christian, Sony Greenwich, Django Reinhardt, T-Bone Walker, Chuck Berry, Grant Green, John Renbourn, Tim Mason, Captain Beefheart, & Fela Kuti