One World

Latin Sensation, One World

Latin Sensation, One World, inspires and unites a discordant world with its melodic and inspiring sound

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Biography

Latin music will never be the same now that One World is back on the scene, sharing its love with a cutting edge mix of jazz, pop and rock, a passion for traditional Mexican sounds and an deep, growing desire to bring these exotic rhythmic styles beyond today and into a bright, thriving future.

Share My Love, the band’s third album, is first and foremost a 15-track celebration of the rich heritage of Frank Unzueta, the group’s founder, lead vocalist, keyboardist and acoustic guitarist. He gained a deep appreciation of his roots from his Mexican-born grandparents, but it was his beloved mother

Elisa Maes, a pianist, who taught him about classical music, mambo and mariachi. On a deeper, more personal level, Unzueta set out on this recording to Share My Love with his mom, who passed away just as he was starting to write songs for the project in 2003.

Many artists find solace and catharsis in making music after a devastating loss, but this album is more than simply a loving dedication to Elisa. Before she died, she also co-wrote with her son the three Spanish language songs that inspired Unzueta to go full force into completing this true labor of love: the vibrant and uptempo “Las Calles” and “Un Hombre Esperando” and the balmy romance that closes the set, “Julia (Espanol). Share My Love features a great variety of Latin rhythms, romantic Spanish guitars, sensuous love songs, explosive rock edges (thanks to the band’s crackling electric guitarist Mitchell Chavez and its other lead vocalist Alandras Brown) and compelling jazz harmonies throughout. Yet it’s these three tracks that are the heart and soul of the project and leave the most indelible impression.

“My mom and I were incredibly close, and in the last years of her life, we wrote many songs together,” says Unzueta, who formed One World with more of a Caribbean/African than purely Latin vibe in 1985. “Working on this album after she passed away was very therapeutic and I wanted it to be a real tribute to her spirit and all she brought into my life. Musically, it’s the most mature and cohesive album that One World has ever done. If people are familiar with us from our last album, L.A. Mambo (2000), they may hear less horns this time but they’re going to love these songs because they’re the best I’ve ever written.”

Indicative of One World’s stature in the independent music realm, Unzueta co-produced Share My Love with Grammy winning producer/engineer Rafa Sardina, whose superstar credits include Luis Miguel, Alejandro Sanz, Babyface, Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart, Dru Hill and Ricky Martin. Joining the core band of One World members Unzueta, Brown, Chavez, Al Salas (congas, percussion) and Larry Steen (bass) are violin and viola player Gail Gerding Mellert and contemporary jazz superstar saxman Eric Marienthal, who leaves his powerful emotional mark on three tracks: “She Longed For His Love,” “Give Yourself To Me” and the rousing dancehall tune “Tina Mas Fina,” a subtle tribute to Cuban Mexican bandleader and “King of Mambo” Perez Prado.

Founded in 1985 by lead vocalist, keyboardist and acoustic guitarist Frank Unzueta, the band enjoyed unanimous acclaim and massive smooth jazz and Adult Contemporary radio play with “Calypsoul,” “East of Java” and “Soul Forest” from its popular 1991 debut Spirits Beckon You. After sharing stages with an incredible array of rock and jazz heavyweights like Diane Schurr, The Yellowjackets, Poncho Sanchez, Los Lobos and even the Los Angeles Philharmonic, One World returned to the studio to record their second album, L.A. Mambo. Over the years, the band has slowly abandoned its roots as a purveyor of African and Caribbean sounds (which began with Unzueta’s discovery of soca music from Trinidad) and moved towards embracing the Latin roots of most of its members.

“Through most of our career, and despite our early success on a national level, we have been known best as a popular regional band, playing clubs and festivals throughout Southern California,” says Unzueta, who is currently working on a recording with the jazz piano trio he also leads. “With Share My Love, which has worldwide online and brick and mortar distribution through Orchard, we are poised to finally break through and take our music everywhere. Our style has evolved, but what hasn’t changed is our desire to touch people, not with flash, style of technical wizardry, but on a meaningful emotional level through these songs. We’re like one big family, always there for each other as musical compadres and friends, and that’s been very fulfilling for all of us.”