ARTHUR HANLON
“Like Elton John, Hanlon has the ability to focus with laser-like precision on the melodic essence of a song and rework it to find new dramatism. Hanlon doesn’t sing, and you could think the piano would limit him to instrumental albums, but that isn’t the case. Like Chris Botti, trumpeter for Sting, or rock guitarist Ottmar Liebert, Hanlon brings a broad range of guest artists to create fascinating albums.
-The Houston Chronicle
Chart topping pianist/composer/arranger Arthur Hanlon is the single most recognizable name in Latin instrumental music today. Born in Detroit to Irish American parents, Hanlon found his calling in Latin music and has done what no one else has accomplished in Latin instrumental music, becoming the only pianist to hit Billboard’s Latin charts in the last decade.
The first and only pianist to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Latin charts and the only pianist to hit Billboard’s Latin Airplay charts in over a decade, Hanlon plays a distinctive blend of Detroit street, classical virtuosity and Latin fusion which has traveled the globe.
Widely acclaimed by artists as well as audiences, Arthur has recorded and performed with the likes of superstars Laura Pausini, Alejandro Fernandez, Juanes, Luis Fonsi and Ricardo Montaner. His most recent album, “Piano Sin Fronteras” (Piano With No Borders), out on Universal Music, is a collection of Arthur’s compositions, performed with the Pauisini, Fonsi, Juanes, Chilean superstar Myriam Hernández, Brazil’s Alexandre Pires and Sergio Vallín, guitarist for leading Latin rock band Maná. The album’s hits include “Ya Te Olvidé,” a duet with Venezuelan superstar Ricardo Montaner which hit Billboard’s Latin pop charts last fall, and the current instrumental single “No Borders.”
A celebrity in the Latin realm, Arthur’s Christmas track, “Esta Navidad,” was selected by the Univision network as its official Christmas song for 2008, with a spot featuring Arthur and his blue piano running nationwide during the month of December. This year, Arthur was again a regular on the Univision network as the official guest artist of “Viva el Sueño,” the network’s top-rated music reality show.
Most recently, Arthur composed “The Drop of Life,” a song to benefit the outreach program of cancer research center City of Hope. The song was recorded by a legion of stars—including Placido Domingo, Gloria Estefan, Enrique Iglesias, Luis Fonsi and David Bisbal—who all appear on a music video—a la “We Are the World”—that will be released this Spring, with Arthur featured on piano.
Arthur was also a guest on Jim Brickman’s PBS special “Beautiful World,” which is currently iring nationwide. He also recently toured with Laura Pausini in the United States and with Myriam Hernández in Chile.
Arthur started playing the piano at six, and at 15, was already playing professional gigs with Detroit’s leading bands, hiding his real age in order to get into the clubs that were booking him.
The Latin in him is the product of his life in New York City, where he completed postgraduate work in classical piano performance at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music and continued to obtain his Master’s Degree. Most importantly, while in New York, Arthur fell in love with Latin music, which irreversibly changed his life.
To this date he can’t explain it "I don’t know why or how but suddenly, I was surrounded by Latinos", remembers Arthur. "I became kind of like Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. I had a double personality. I was a classical musician by day and a Latin one by night."
Completely fluent in Spanish, Arthur traces his hard-to-pin accent on his many influences. "My teachers were Colombian, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Mexican, people from all over Latin America,” he says.
Arthur’s first album was an independent recording of purely original material, appropriately titled “Encuentros.” Licensed by Max Music and distributed by UMVD, “Encuentros” brought Arthur to the attention of Fonovisa, with whom he released three albums, including top-selling “11 Números Uno,” and 2005’s hugely successful “La Gorda Linda,” featuring Tito Nieves, Ana Bárbara and Arturo Sandoval.
The single “La Gorda Linda” became the first track ever by a pianist to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Latin charts making Arthur a multiple Billboard Latin Music Award finalist. The album was produced by Grammy winners Sergio George, Arturo Sandoval and Kike Santander, and guitarist Manny Diaz.
2006’s “Mecanomanía,” a tribute to Spanish pop group Mecano, earned raves from artists like Ricardo Montaner, Luis Fonsi and Juanes, who invited Arthur to play at his landmark benefit concert, “Colombia Sin Minas.” Last summer, Arthur joined another Latin pop star, Chayanne, opening his U.S. tour.
Arthur’s spirit of collaboration culminates this year with the release of “Piano Sin Fronteras” on Universal Music Latino. All tracks in “Piano Sin Fronteras” were written or co-written by Arthur himself, with his friends.
Arthur plays Baldwin pianos and is the only artist to have recorded a video in Baldwin’s legendry factory in Arkansas.
SPANISH VERSION
Hijo de padres Irlandeses, el pianista/arreglista y compositor Arthur Hanlon es de Detroit, Michigan, (una ciudad mejor conocida por sus plantas de automóviles) pero su pasión es la música Latina. Arthur demostró talento musical desde muy temprana edad. Empezó a tocar piano a los seis años, y a los 15 ya tocaba profesionalmente con los mejores grupos de Detroit, escondiendo su verdadera edad para poder entrar a los clubes que lo contrataban.
Arthur Hanlon virtuoso del piano/compositor/arreglista—es el nombre más reconocido de la música instrumental Latina. Arthur ha logrado lo que nunca antes nadie había logrado con la música Latina instrumental. El primer y único pianista en llegar al Número Uno de las listas Latinas de Billboard y el único instrumentista firmado a Universal Music Latin Entertainment, el sello más importante de la música Latina. El sonido de Arthur es una mezcla reconocible de las calles de Detroit, virtuosismo clásico, fusión Latina y blues.
Su lado Latino es producto del tiempo que pasó en la ciudad de Nueva York, donde obtuvo su maestría como pianista concertista del afamado Manhattan School of Music. Más importante, durante su estadía en Nueva York, Arthur se enamoró de la música Latina, la cual le cambió la vida.
Hasta la fecha, no tiene explicación. “No sé cómo ni cuando, pero de repente, estaba rodeado de Latinos”, recuerda Arthur. “Me convertí en una especie de Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Tenia una doble personalidad. De día era pianista clásico, y de noche, tocaba música Latina”.
Completamente bilingüe, Arthur dice que su español viene de muchas partes: “Mis maestros fueron amigos de Colombia, Puerto Rico, México, y Dominicanos. Gente de toda América Latina”.
La posición de Arthur en el ámbito musical es evidente en su nuevo disco solista—“Sin Fronteras”-- una colección de música original que incluye duetos con amigos como Ricardo Montaner, Juanes, Sergio Vallín (guitarrista de Maná), Alexandre Pires, Laura Pausini, Luis Fonsi y Myriam Hernández.
El primer álbum de Arthur fue “Encuentros”, una colección de obras originales inéditas que exploran el encuentro de culturas. “Encuentros” fue distribuida por UMVD y llamó la atención de Fonovisa, sello con el cual Arthur lanzaría tres álbumes, incluyendo “La Gorda Linda” en el 2005. El exitoso álbum contó con la participación de Arturo Sandoval, Tito Nieves y Ana Bárbara, y fue producido por “monstruos” como Kike Santander, Sergio George y Manny Diaz.
Tras ese éxito, el vicepresidente creativo de EMI/Televisa, Adrian Posse (el hombre detrás de Thalia, Belinda, Raul Di Blasio, Tito El Bambino y Alexandre Pires, entre muchos otros), buscó a Arthur para plantear un novedoso concepto: Grabar la música de Mecano, al estilo Arthur Hanlon (quien hizo los arreglos pianísticos), y con arreglos orquestales chill-out. El álbum, “Mecanomanía”, fue un favorito de músicos como Ricardo Montaner, Luis Fonsi y Juanes, quien invitó a Arthur a tocar en su famoso concierto “Colombia Sin Minas”.
Pero el espíritu de colaboración de Arthur encuentra un nuevo lugar con “Sin Fronteras”. El álbum, producido esta vez por el colombiano Milton Salcedo, incluye duetos con Juanes, Luara Pausini, Luis Fonsi, Ricardo Montaner, Alexandre Pires, Sergio Vallín y Myriam Hernández. Todos los temas fueron escritos por el propio Arthur o en colaboración con sus amigos.
Son ocho artistas, de ocho países distintos, juntos en un extraordinario álbum sin antecedentes..un álbum “sin fronteras”.
