Arthur Hanlon announces concerts in Colombia and Mexico, following the release of his album '2 Hands, 1 World'

"I'll be performing a series of concerts in theaters in Colombia and Mexico with my group," American pianist Arthur Hanlon told EL TIEMPO. He is in the country promoting his latest album, "2 Hands, 1 World." The album was released on April 11. Although the dates haven't been set, the performances are scheduled for October and November of this year.

In addition, the artist, who fuses classical piano virtuosity with modern Latin rhythms, is currently working on his new album.

"I'm working on another album, also with collaborations. Omar Montes will be there, a super musical and open person," Hanlon revealed. However, the release date is still unknown, as it is still in the works.

Pianist, composer, and arranger Arthur Hanlon was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, to Irish-American parents. He fell in love with the instrument the moment his father brought a piano home one Christmas.

Indeed, he began playing piano at the age of six. By 15, he was performing with Detroit's top bands, hiding his age to gain entry to the clubs that would hire him. After joining the Flip Jackson Orchestra, at the same age, the artist chose music as his career.

In fact, he moved to New York to study at the Manhattan School of Music, where he began to explore tropical music and experiment with innovative proposals that fused Latin traditions with jazz and rhythm and blues (R&B).

"For me, the magic is in that, in that exchange of ideas, of cultures when mixing cumbia with blues, for example," Hamlon explains.

Arthur has been nominated for Billboard Awards and Emmys, and has had a musical career spanning over 20 years. In fact, he's the only pianist to reach number one on the Billboard charts. He's also recorded with artists such as Ozuna, Luis Fonsi, Laura Pausini, Marc Anthony, Juanes, Myriam Hernández, Sergio Vallín, and Ricardo Montaner.

"Carlos Santana, Chucho Valdés, Bebo Valdés, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba are my greatest musical influences," says Arthur, who emphasizes that his favorite song is "Europa" by Santana, which he covered and is included on his latest album, "2 Manos, 1 Mundo."

"It's a musical manifestation of friends, artists from different countries that I admire," is how Arthur described the essence of his latest musical production. Indeed, that was the reason why he titled the album that way, two days before its release: "2 Hands, 1 World."

This album was released on April 11, 2025, and featured collaborations with Carlos Vives, Goyo, Yotuel, Darell, Ana Bárbara, Manuel Medrano, Ángela Aguilar, Nia Skyfer, and Tiago. It was also produced and co-written by Nicolás de la Espriella (known in the music world as Na'vi producer).

The idea for the album came about after having been part of two HBO musical specials: 'Piano and Woman I' and 'Piano and Woman II': "They were very successful, but almost all the songs were covers (interpretations of existing songs). So, I wanted to go back to composing, writing and collaborating, but with people I admire and respect a lot," he noted.

And he added: " I sing with my hands, that's my life. So, with these great musicians like Carlos Vives, like Manuel Medrano, my sister Goya, we are connected by music: two hands, one world."

According to him, Arthur and Vives had been discussing the possibility of collaborating together for five years.

One day, the pianist invited Carlos to dinner at his house with Claudia Vásquez and Elena Vives, the Colombian artist's wife and daughter, respectively: "I cooked; I love to cook. I made a New Orleans gumbo, and I'm very good at it. Then, Carlos started talking about cumbia and its origins, and I talked about the blues and the Mississippi River. Suddenly, I had a crazy idea: what if the Magdalena River connects with the Mississippi, musically? And in two weeks, we had the lyrics ready."

Furthermore, the song was composed in the key of A minor (Am), which is generally used in music to achieve a sad sound: "I was looking for sad cumbia and also lost loves. Songs like 'You left me', 'Why do you leave me alone at night' or the album 'Gear blues' were running through my mind. So, A minor (Am) seems perfect to me for crying with my piano," he said.

It's worth noting that the video for the song was recorded in Bogotá, in the La Candelaria neighborhood: "We wanted to capture the essence of the song, on a street in Latin America, and we succeeded." In fact, he stated that this particular song on the album identifies him as a person.

" Six years ago I was working in Mexico and got an apartment there in Mexico City, and I fell in love with the huapango rhythm, which is a super Mexican and very regional rhythm. So, I contacted her (Aguilar) and Na'vi, the album's producer. I wanted to show the anguish of losing someone to a stray bullet. You know, everyone has their stray bullet in love. I tried to capture that on my piano and that's it," he explained.

It's worth noting that the video for the song was filmed in the desert , and according to him, recording it was quite a challenge: "We were two hours outside of Houston, in the desert. And I don't know how they managed to carry the grand piano. It was very cold and we had several horses in the background, but the setting perfectly captured the essence of the musical composition."

And he concluded: "For me, the most rewarding part of the album is when songs from this album appear on the Billboard charts."