Born: December 16, 1979 Primary Instrument: Piano
Born in Manzanillo Cuba, Zahili graduated from the National Conservatory of Music in Havana and quickly became immersed in the performance and production of traditional Cuban music, as well as Salsa, Latin Jazz and other World music. She migrated to Canada in 2002 as a keyboardist with the all female band D'talle and soon performed in such festivals as Nuits d'Afrique in Montreal and the TLN Carnival Festival in Montreal and Toronto. She also performed in the Toronto Street and The Beaches International Jazz Festivals, sharing the stage with such legends as Oscar de Leon and Gilberto Santa Rosa. Concurrently Zahili tapped into her vocal talent, singing with traditional Cuban band Puro Son at the 2008 TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival.
Venturing into Asia in 2008, she performed with the multifaceted D'luz jazz trio and became featured keyboardist and singer for high-energy performance ensemble FunkyDeep. Using these experiences Zahili has formed an ensemble spanning multiple genres, working with some of America's most talented young musicians from Los Angeles to New York, all of whom have received significant individual accolades involving international performance, competition prizes, and steady contracts with such prestigious companies as the Walt Disney and Sands Corporations. Under Zahili’s direction, their friendship and varied insights have distilled into an impassioned sound that seeks to express unity of all types of music and cultures.
