New Jazz Vocal Album Produced by Two Duke Alumni, Eric Oberstein and Harsha Murthy

New Jazz Vocal Album Produced by Two Duke Alumni,
Eric Oberstein and Harsha Murthy

This September, Cantar, by Cuban-American drummer, composer, and bandleader Dafnis Prieto, was released by two Duke alumni: Eric Oberstein (T ’07) and Harsha Murthy (T ’81). Prieto’s sound is accompanied by Grammy-award-winning Brazilian-American singer Luciana Souza, who adds vocals to Prieto’s music.

Oberstein and Murthy have worked with Prieto on numerous projects before Cantar, including Back to the Sunset, which won a Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2019, and Grammy-nominated Transparency. The two alumni collaborated on Cantar with multi-Grammy Award-winning producer Larry Klein, and all three are credited as producers of the album. Cantar was recorded in September 2021 in Brooklyn, New York, and features tracks with English, Spanish, and Portuguese lyrics.

Cantar has received wide critical acclaim:

The New York Times describes the music as, “a marvel of acrobatic musicianship…a glorious match of percussive angularity and tuneful allure.”

The Latin Jazz Network says, “Prieto … has managed to craft an album of intense, songful, and poetic beauty.”

Obertstein and Murthy have made an indelible impact on the arts at Duke. Oberstein served as the Interim and Associate Director of Duke Performances and taught a course in Arts Management. Two of his students, Ethan Udell (T ’20) and Nell Jones (T ’20), are now working with Oberstein by leading Digital Strategy for Cantar. 

Murthy is a long-time supporter of Duke Arts through the Murthy Agora studio at the Rubenstein Arts Center as well as the Murthy Digital Studio at the Duke LIbraries. While a student at Duke, Murthy was a member of the Duke Chorale.

For a behind-the-scenes look at Cantar, featuring exclusive interviews with Eric Oberstein and Harsha Murthy, check out Dafnis Prieto’s Youtube Channel.

Stream, download, or purchase Cantar.