Phil Manzanera shares his life's sounds, from a Cuban Revolution childhood to Roxy Music - 48 hills

"Revolución to Roxy begins long before glam, synthesizers, or LP covers became cultural landmarks. Manzanera's earliest memories are shaped by upheaval: childhood in Cuba during the revolution, displacement, and an upbringing that crossed Venezuela, Colombia, England, and beyond. That instability, he says, produced something lasting-understanding. "If you grow up speaking two languages, you are scientifically proven to be more compassionate," Manzanera says. "You have this kind of duality, and one of those is the power to be empathetic. For a musician, that is such a helpful tool.""

"Music, for Manzanera, has always been a form of conversation-sometimes literal, sometimes abstract. Long before he imagined himself as a professional musician, he was absorbing international rhythms, dialects, and genres. "One of the great things about playing with other musicians is that you have musical conversations," he says. "It's a basic call-and-response-but if you're not speaking, you can talk in music." That ability to communicate without words became essential as his life unfolded across different scenes"

Phil Manzanera returns to the United States with a hybrid performance built around his memoir and companion CD, Revolución to Roxy. His life began amid upheaval in Cuba and included displacement across Venezuela, Colombia, England, and elsewhere. Those experiences fostered bilingualism and empathy, which informed his musical approach. Manzanera treats music as a conversational medium, absorbing international rhythms, dialects, and genres, and using call-and-response methods to communicate without words. The presentation combines live guitar performance, archival imagery, and reflective storytelling that connects early cross-cultural roots to a five-decade career spanning art-rock innovation and ongoing creative reinterpretation.

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