Arthur Hanlon is an American pianist, songwriter and arranger widely regarded as the best-known instrumentalist in the Latin music realm. Born to Irish-American parents, he hails from Detroit, Michigan, but found his calling in Latin music and has received widespread recognition in that realm, becoming the first pianist to reach the Billboard Latin airplay charts in more than a decade.[1] Hanlon is signed to Universal Music Latino and was most recently nominated for a New York Emmy award for his jingle "Esta Navidad" (This Christmas), based on his single of the same name, which was picked up by the Univision Network as its Christmas jingle and spot for 2008. Hanlon again reappeared as the star of Univision's 2010 Christmas campaign, with a Spanish language version of "Jingle Bells" titled "Navidad Navidad" and featuring urban duo Chino & Nacho and Mexican pop star Dulce Maria. Hanlon wrote the Spanish language lyrics and arranged and produced the track, which made it onto Billboard Magazine's Hot Latin Pop Airplay chart. Hanlon also composed and produced "La Gota de la Vida" (The Drop of Life), a song recorded by 46 artists to benefit Cancer Research Center City of Hope and whose video was directed by Simon Brand (www.youtube.com/lagotadelavida).
Also established in the mainstream instrumental realm, Arthur was a featured guest on pianist Jim Birckman's "Beautiful World" CD and PBS special and toured the U.S. with Italian star Laura Pausini in 2009.Most recently, Hanlon was a recurring guest artist on the Univision network's music reality contest "Viva el Sueno," appearing weekly on prime time television alongside the contestants. Hanlon will be a guest on the upcoming album by "Viva El Sueno" winner.
Hanlon is currently promoting his newest album, "Piano Sin Fronteras," released on March, 2009, on Universal Music Latino. The album, written entirely by Hanlon, includes collaborations with the top names in Latin music, including Colombian star Juanes, Italian diva Laura Pausini, Puerto Rican star Luis Fonsi, Venezuelan icon Ricardo Montaner, guitarist Sergio Vallín (lead guitarist for Mexican rock group Mana), Brazilian crooner Alexandre Pires and Chilean superstar Myriam Hernandez. Hanlon was seen performing alongside Cristian Castro at the Billboard Latin music awards in April 2009 and with Luis Fonsi in Madison Square Garden in Aug. 2009. In July, he performed alongside Alejandro Fernandez in his mass concert, "Jalisco en Vivo" before nearly 200,000 people. Most recently, he was a guest artist on Laura Pausini's 2009 U.S. tour. Hanlon also performed a series of intimate acoustic shows with Myriam Hernandez in Chile in October.
With his 2005 hit, “La Gorda Linda,” Hanlon became the first pianist, and the first non-Latin, to reach No. 1 on the tropical airplay chart of Billboard Magazine, according to an article published by Billboard on April 26, 2006, coinciding with the Billboard Latin Music Awards. Hanlon was the first pianist to enter the Billboard Latin charts in more than a decade, according to the magazine. “La Gorda Linda,” which he penned, was also on the top ten of the “Billboard Top Latin Songs” chart and a subsequent remix by DJ Norty Cotto spent weeks on the Billboard dance charts. As a result of “La Gorda Linda,” Hanlon was a double finalist for the 2006 Latin Billboard Music Awards in the Tropical Song of the year and Dance Track of the year categories.[2]
Hanlon returned to the Billboard charts in the Summer of 2009 with "Ya Te Olvide," a single from "Piano Sin Fronteras" featuring Ricardo Montaner. To date, Hanlon has had four major label releases, all under Latin labels, making him an anomaly in the pop music world. He is currently signed to (Universal Music Latino). Aside from his new album, his history of recorded collaborations includes Gloria Estefan (in her album "Unwrapped"), Arturo Sandoval (with whom he recorded "Marianela," from Hanlon's album "La Gorda Linda"), Crooked Stylo (with whom he co-wrote the track "Don Miguel," from the album "Malhablados"), Tito Nieves (who sings in the track "La Gorda Linda" from Hanlon's album of the same name) and Ana Bárbara (who sings "Estar a Tu Lado," from "La Gorda Linda").
In the live concert arena, Hanlon has shared the stage with the likes of Ricardo Montaner, Luis Fonsi, Laura Pausini, ALejandro Fernandez, Myriam Hernández and pop star Chayanne, for whom he opened a series of arena dates in 2007. In a memorable moment, Hanlon played "No Me Llames Extranjero," a song about immigrants, with Fonsi and Montaner during the 2006 Billboard Latin Music Awards which aired on Telemundo.
Contents |
The third of seven children, Hanlon started playing the piano at six, and at 15, was already playing professional gigs in Detroit with ensembles that included the Flip Jackson Band. Hanlon would eventually get his masters degree in piano performance from Manhattan School of Music in New York City.
While in New York, he encountered Latin music head-on, and regularly played Latin club gigs while at the same time studying the music of classical composers.
Hanlon’s first album was an independent recording of purely original material, appropriately titled ’’Encuentros.’’ Licensed by Max Music and distributed by Universal, Encuentros brought Hanlon to the attention of Fonovisa, the leading indie Latin label in the country at the time, with whom he signed in 2000.
Hanlon’s first release with Fonovisa was El Piano Amarillo (The Yellow Piano) and eclectic mix of Latin, dance and pop fare produced by Colombian producers Estéfano and Julio Reyes (of Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez fame).
He followed up with 11 Números Uno, a more classically-tinged album of covers of Latin standards plus one of his original compositions.
He consolidated himself as an instrumentalist with 2005’s La Gorda Linda, an album of mostly original material that featured a handful of guest artists, including jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, salsa star Tito Nieves and Mexican singer Ana Bárbara. The album was produced by Grammy winners Sergio George and Kike Santander and was a multiple finalist for the 2006 Billboard Latin Music Awards, in which Hanlon performed.
In 2006, Hanlon was signed by EMI, and released Mecanomanía, an album of covers of Spanish pop trio Mecano, set to chill-out arrangements.
The video for the album’s first single, “Hijo de la Luna,” was shot at the Baldwin piano factory, marking the first time in the company’s nearly 100 year history that a music video was shot in its installations.[3]
In 2007, Hanlon toured the United States with Puerto Rican pop star Chayanne, opening a series of arena dates for the singer.
Hanlon is currently signed to Universal Music, and released his most recent album, "Piano Sin Fronteras," on March 17, 2009. The album, which Hanlon wrote or co-wrote in its entirety, features collaborations with some of the top names in Latin music, including Colombian rock star Juanes, Italian diva Laura Pausini, Sergio Vallín--guitarist for rock group Maná, Brazilian superstar Alexandre Pires, Venezuelan icon Ricardo Montaner, pop star Luis Fonsi and Chilean singer Myriam Hernandez.
Most recently, Hanlon was a guest artist on the Univision network's reality music show "Viva el Sueno," appearing weekly on prime time.
Billboard Magazine, April 26, 2006 Billboard Magazine, Sept. 8, 2010 Billboard Magazine, Sept. 21, 2010 Musico Pro Magazine, Cover Story, Jan. 2010
www.Baldwinpiano.com