Yolanda Duke, biografía

Se apagan las luces, los primeros acordes indican que ha empezado el show; y por las próximas dos horas sus fanáticos se enaltecen de gozo y sabor al escuchar esta elegante, fina y sensual voz del mundo Latino. Yolanda Duke hace vibrar de emoción su audiencia con su magistral manera de interpretar Salsa, Latin Jazz, Merengue, Baladas, Bossa-nova y Boleros.
Hoy día esto es una consumada realidad, sin embargo para la joven Yolanda era solo un sueño mientras crecía en la ciudad de Nueva York.
Yolanda desde muy chica y joven poseía una gran voz, mucho talento y creación artística, esto la llevó a tomar lecciones de canto la cual le dio la confianza para lanzarse como artista del canto.
A edad muy temprana entra a competir en concursos de cantos los cuales gana, después pasó a cantar en varios clubes de la escena nocturna de New York y Toronto.
Fue contratada para ser la estrella de un show estilo Las Vegas, el cual se presentaría en el nightclub más grande y prestigioso del Caribe, La Fuente Nighclub, del famoso Hotel Jaragua donde ella mejoró su estilo y presencia escénica, empezando así su transformación en “La Duke”
Siguiendo esta exitosa presentación realizó la grabación de un nuevo álbum de música tropical “Soy Una Fiera”, para RMM/SONY Music.
Yolanda luego grabo un nuevo álbum “Nostalgias de La Lupe”, homenaje a la Reyna del Soul Latino, La Lupe, quien había obtenido fama internacional cantando junto al Maestro Tito Puente.
Una copia del cd llegó a la mano de Tito quien impresionado inmediatamente la contrató como artista invitada en varios conciertos. Después de estas presentaciones Tito le hizo a Yolanda una oferta que no pudo rehusar, irse de gira por el mundo con Tito Puente y su Latin Jazz Ensemble.
Cautivando publico alrededor del mundo, La Duke tuvo el privilegio de compartir escenarios con artistas de la talla de Ray Charles, BB King, Arturo Sandoval, Dianne Reeves y Al Jarreau.
Como sus fans testifican, lo que aparta a Yolanda de los demás artistas es que ella no solo interpreta una canción, ella la convierte en toda suya. Su voz es un maravilloso instrumento que clama con exuberancia, llora con el alma y susurra con intimidad. En el curso de una canción, ella puede inspirar tu mente, tocar tu corazón y hacer mover tus pies como ningún otro interprete.
Hoy en día continúa el legado del Rey de La Música Latina, cantando a nivel mundial acompañada por La Gran Orquesta de Tito Puente. Ella recientemente termino una nueva grabación musical de clásicos de la música de jazz de los Estados Unidos.
La pequeña ruiseñor ha crecido, pero muy dentro de si ella solo es una pequeña niña quien con su canto quiere deleitar a todos.
Esta es
Yolanda La Duke.

In English
Biography

Yolanda Duke––La Duke
The lights go down, the band strikes the opening notes of the first song and for the next two hours Yolanda Duke mesmerizes the crowd with her mastery of Latin jazz, Merengue, Ballads, Bossanova, Salsa and Bolero.
While that is a very real scenario today, it was but a recurring dream for young Yolanda growing up in New York City. She was the gifted little girl with the big voice, who––after taking singing lessons––began to take command of her talent and gain confidence in her ability to entertain.
In her early teens she entered singing contests and eventually won a local competition. Soon after she began her singing career, performing in local clubs in NYC and Toronto. This lead to her being booked as the headliner of a Vegas-style show at the number-one showplace in the Caribbean, La Fuente Nightclub, at the prestigious Hotel Jaragua, where she refined her performing skills and stage presence, beginning her transformation into ‘La Duke.’ She followed the success of that appearance by recording a hit tropical album for RMM/SONY Music.
Yolanda then recorded a tribute to the famous Latin songstress La Lupe, who gained international fame performing with the Tito Puente Orchestra. A copy of the cd made its way to Tito, who was so impressed that he invited young Yolanda to appear as a guest vocalist at several concerts over the next few years. Then he made her an offer she couldn’t refuse––becoming a permanent singer in the band from 1994 -97, thrilling audiences all over the world. La Duke had the privilege of sharing stage with the likes of Ray Charles, BB King, Arturo Sandoval, Dianne Reeves and Al Jarreau.
As her fans will attest, what sets Yolanda apart is that she doesn’t just interpret a song, she takes it and makes it her own. Her voice is a wondrous instrument that yells with exuberance, cries with soul and whispers with intimacy. In the course of one song, she can inspire your mind, touch your heart and move your feet like no other singer.
Today, Yolanda carries on Tito’s legacy, performing in venues around the world with the Tito Puente Latin Jazz Orchestra. She continues her prolific recording career as well, recently producing a new Big Band recording of standards.
The little songbird might be all grown up, but deep inside she is still a young girl singing her heart out for all the world to hear.
YOLANDA DUKE
Discography:
La Luna. Produced by Johnny Ventura: Merengue, Ballad and Bossanova
Soy Una Fiera. Produced by Chery Jiménez and Manuel Tejada: Merengue, Salsa, Bachata and Ballad
Nostalgias de La Lupe. Produced by Sergio George: Bolero
Recordando a Selena. Salsa
Cubismo, Live at the Gavilla Theater in Zagreb. Salsa
Dejame Vivir, duet with Raulin Rodríguez, Bachata
Amigo. Duets with Fernando Villalona, Merengue, tipico
Experiencias. Produced by Isidro Infante & Nelson Hernandez: Salsa
Live Around The World: Salsa, Bolero
Many Moods, Yolanda Duke with The Tito Puente Orchestra: Big Band Latin Jazz, Swing, Bolero and Salsa
Concert Appearances
USA: 36 states, over 76 cities
16 European Countries, over 54 cities;
5 Countries of Asia;
4 cities of Australia and New Zealand;
5 countries of South and Central America;
5 Caribbean countries.
And 2 cities in Canada.
Television Appearances
Among them:
Jerry Lewis Telethon (USA) , BET on Jazz (USA), Christmas Special, Telemundo (USA)
Sabado Gigante, Univision (USA), Domenica, from BAM USA, RAI Italy (USA)
Las noches con Freddy (RD), Divertido con Jochy (RD)
Panama Telethon (Panama)
Honduras Telethon (Honduras)
Buenos Aires, HBO Argentina (Arg)
ShowTV, Lima, Peru.
Zagreb TV, (Croatia)
Thesaloniki Jazz, HBO Greece (Greece)
Umbria Jazz, RAI TV(Italy)
San Sebastian Jazz, TV Española (Spain)
Marciac Jazz, France Sud 3 (France)

YOLANDA DUKE AWARDS
1990
ALBUM OF THE YEAR AWARDS * New York City *
"NEW COMER ARTIST OF THE YEAR "

1991
LARIMAR AWARDS *RADIO HIT* Dominican Republic
"Merengue Of The Year " NEGRO CANDELA " FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR"
STARS OF THE LATIN MUSIC AWARDS New York City
"MOST POPULAR FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR"

1992
TOO MUCH MUSIC AWARDS New York City
"MOST POPULAR FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR"
STARS OF THE LATIN MUSICAWARDS New York City
"MOST POPULAR FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR"

1993
ACE MUSIC AWARDS New York City
MOST POPULAR ARTIST OF THE YEAR, BEST ALBUM OF THE YEAR *NOSTALGIAS DE LA LUPE*
1993
TOO MUCH MUSIC AWARDS New york City
"MOST POPULAR FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR"
STARS OF THE LATIN MUSIC AWARDS New York City
"MOST POPULAR FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR"
1994
STARS OF THE LATIN MUSIC AWARDS New York City
"MOST POPULAR FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR"
TOO MUCH MUSIC AWARDS New York City
"MOST POPULAR FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR"

1995
TOO MUCH MUSIC AWARDS New York City
MOST POPULAR FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

1996
TOO MUCH MUSIC AWARDS New York City
"LOCAL FEMALE ARTISTOF THE YEAR MOST RECOGNIZED ABROAD"