Arthur Hanlon
Encyclopedia
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.
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.
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
.
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.
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.
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, 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.
Hanlon is signed to Universal Music Latino and was most recently nominated for a New York Emmy award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
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
Chino & Nacho
Chino y Nacho are a Venezuelan urban and tropical duo, consisting of Jesús Alberto Miranda Perez and Miguel Ignacio Mendoza . They are one of the first Venezuelan reggaeton labels that have gained international play...
and Mexican pop star Dulce Maria
Dulce María
Dulce María is a Mexican actress, singer, and songwriter. She is best known for playing Roberta in the telenovela Rebelde and being a bandmember of the Latin Grammy nominated band, RBD...
. 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
Laura Pausini
Laura Pausini, is a Grammy Award-winning Italian soul singer-songwriter. She debuted in 1993, winning the newcomer artists' section of the 43rd Sanremo Music Festival with the song "La solitudine", which became an Italian standard and an international hit, reaching the top spot on the Italian...
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
Juanes
Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez , better known as Juanes is a Colombian musician who was a member of heavy metal band Ekhymosis and is now a solo artist. In 2000, his solo debut album Fíjate Bien won three Latin Grammy Awards.Juanes has sold more than 13 million albums...
, Italian diva Laura Pausini
Laura Pausini
Laura Pausini, is a Grammy Award-winning Italian soul singer-songwriter. She debuted in 1993, winning the newcomer artists' section of the 43rd Sanremo Music Festival with the song "La solitudine", which became an Italian standard and an international hit, reaching the top spot on the Italian...
, Puerto Rican star Luis Fonsi
Luis Fonsi
Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero, more commonly known by his stage name Luis Fonsi, is a Latin Grammy winning Puerto Rican singer and composer.- Early life :...
, Venezuelan icon Ricardo Montaner
Ricardo Montaner
Ricardo Montaner is an Argentine-Venezuelan singer and songwriter. Starting his career in the early 80s, he has already released more than 15 albums with numerous successful singles and has sold over 22 million record worldwide.-Early years:Montaner was born as Héctor Eduardo Reglero Montaner, in...
, guitarist Sergio Vallín
Sergio Vallín
Sergio Vallín Loera is the lead guitarist of the Mexican band Maná. Vallín was born in Mexico City, where he lived for the first ten years of his life until he moved with his family to Aguascalientes, capital of the state of the same name...
(lead guitarist for Mexican rock group Mana), Brazilian crooner Alexandre Pires
Alexandre Pires
Alexandre Pires do Nascimento is a Brazilian singer. Pires was previously the singer of group Só Pra Contrariar which he joined in the late 80s....
and Chilean superstar Myriam Hernandez
Myriam Hernández
Myriam Raquel Hernández Navarro is a Chilean singer-songwriter and television presenter. She is known throughout Latin America for her romantic ballads.-Biography:Myriam Hernández began her career in the late 80's...
. Hanlon was seen performing alongside Cristian Castro
Cristian Castro
Cristian Castro is a Grammy Award-nominated Mexican pop singer. He is referred to as "Christian Castro" or "Cristian."- Biography :...
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
2006 Latin Billboard Music Awards
The 2006 Billboard Latin Music Awards, produced and broadcast lived on Telemundo, were held on Thursday, April 27, 2006. The award show aired on Telemundo at 8pm EST...
in the Tropical Song of the year and Dance Track of the year categories.
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
Gloria Estefan
Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan; known professionally as Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen Of Latin Pop", she is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those...
(in her album "Unwrapped"), Arturo Sandoval
Arturo Sandoval
Arturo Sandoval is a jazz trumpeter and pianist. He was born in Artemisa, in the newest renamed Artemisa Province, Cuba....
(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
Tito Nieves
Humberto "Tito" Nieves became one of the leading Salsa singers of the 1980s and the early 1990s....
(who sings in the track "La Gorda Linda" from Hanlon's album of the same name) and Ana Bárbara
Ana Bárbara
Ana Bárbara is a Mexican Latin Grammy Award winner, songwriter, producer, and Grammy-nominated recording artist.-Early life and early career:...
(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
Ricardo Montaner
Ricardo Montaner is an Argentine-Venezuelan singer and songwriter. Starting his career in the early 80s, he has already released more than 15 albums with numerous successful singles and has sold over 22 million record worldwide.-Early years:Montaner was born as Héctor Eduardo Reglero Montaner, in...
, Luis Fonsi
Luis Fonsi
Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero, more commonly known by his stage name Luis Fonsi, is a Latin Grammy winning Puerto Rican singer and composer.- Early life :...
, Laura Pausini
Laura Pausini
Laura Pausini, is a Grammy Award-winning Italian soul singer-songwriter. She debuted in 1993, winning the newcomer artists' section of the 43rd Sanremo Music Festival with the song "La solitudine", which became an Italian standard and an international hit, reaching the top spot on the Italian...
, ALejandro Fernandez
Alejandro Fernández
Alejandro Fernández is a Mexican singer. Nicknamed as "El Potrillo" by the media and his fans, he has sold over 20 million albums worldwide. Alejandro is the son of the ranchera singer Vicente Fernández. He originally specialized in traditional, earthy forms of Mexican folk music, such as...
, Myriam Hernández
Myriam Hernández
Myriam Raquel Hernández Navarro is a Chilean singer-songwriter and television presenter. She is known throughout Latin America for her romantic ballads.-Biography:Myriam Hernández began her career in the late 80's...
and pop star Chayanne
Chayanne
Elmer Figueroa Arce , best known under the stage name Chayanne, is a Puerto Rican Latin pop singer and actor. As a solo artist, Chayanne has released 21 solo-albums and sold over 20 million albums worldwide.-Early life:...
, 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
Telemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
.
History
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 MusicManhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
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
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
, 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
Estéfano
Fabio Alonso Salgado, better known as Estéfano, born in Cali, Colombia is a musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. Along with Donato Poveda formed the duo Donato & Estéfano, releasing three studio albums through 1995-1999...
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
Arturo Sandoval
Arturo Sandoval is a jazz trumpeter and pianist. He was born in Artemisa, in the newest renamed Artemisa Province, Cuba....
, salsa star Tito Nieves
Tito Nieves
Humberto "Tito" Nieves became one of the leading Salsa singers of the 1980s and the early 1990s....
and Mexican singer Ana Bárbara
Ana Bárbara
Ana Bárbara is a Mexican Latin Grammy Award winner, songwriter, producer, and Grammy-nominated recording artist.-Early life and early career:...
. The album was produced by Grammy winners Sergio George
Sergio George
Sergio George is a pianist and record producer, known for working with many famous performers of salsa music, although he has worked in other genres as well...
and Kike Santander
Kike Santander
Dr. Flavio Enrique Santander Lora, commonly known as Kike Santander, is a Colombian composer, record producer, arranger and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the principal Latino composers of the day, having worked with artists such as David Bisbal, Christian Castro, Thalía, Chayanne,...
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
Mecano
Mecano was a Spanish pop band whose debut coincided with La Movida Madrileña , a sociocultural movement that occurred in Madrid, Spain during the 1980s...
, set to chill-out arrangements.
The video for the album’s first single, “Hijo de la Luna
Hijo de la Luna
"Hijo de la Luna" is a song written by José María Cano performed originally by the Spanish band Mecano with lead singer Ana Torroja. It appeared on their 1986 album, Entre el cielo y el suelo and had great success all over the Spanish speaking world, as did the album...
,” was shot at the Baldwin
Baldwin
- United States of America :* Baldwin, Florida* Baldwin, Georgia* Baldwin, Illinois* Baldwin, Iowa* Baldwin, Louisiana* Baldwin, Maine* Baldwin, Maryland* Baldwin, Michigan* Baldwin, Chemung County, New York* Baldwin, Nassau County, New York...
piano factory, marking the first time in the company’s nearly 100 year history that a music video was shot in its installations.
In 2007, Hanlon toured the United States with Puerto Rican pop star Chayanne
Chayanne
Elmer Figueroa Arce , best known under the stage name Chayanne, is a Puerto Rican Latin pop singer and actor. As a solo artist, Chayanne has released 21 solo-albums and sold over 20 million albums worldwide.-Early life:...
, 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
Juanes
Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez , better known as Juanes is a Colombian musician who was a member of heavy metal band Ekhymosis and is now a solo artist. In 2000, his solo debut album Fíjate Bien won three Latin Grammy Awards.Juanes has sold more than 13 million albums...
, Italian diva Laura Pausini
Laura Pausini
Laura Pausini, is a Grammy Award-winning Italian soul singer-songwriter. She debuted in 1993, winning the newcomer artists' section of the 43rd Sanremo Music Festival with the song "La solitudine", which became an Italian standard and an international hit, reaching the top spot on the Italian...
, Sergio Vallín
Sergio Vallín
Sergio Vallín Loera is the lead guitarist of the Mexican band Maná. Vallín was born in Mexico City, where he lived for the first ten years of his life until he moved with his family to Aguascalientes, capital of the state of the same name...
--guitarist for rock group Maná
Maná
Maná is a pop rock band from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, whose career has spanned more than three decades. They have earned three Grammy Awards, seven Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards Latin America, five Premios Juventud awards, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards and 13 Premios Lo...
, Brazilian superstar Alexandre Pires
Alexandre Pires
Alexandre Pires do Nascimento is a Brazilian singer. Pires was previously the singer of group Só Pra Contrariar which he joined in the late 80s....
, Venezuelan icon Ricardo Montaner
Ricardo Montaner
Ricardo Montaner is an Argentine-Venezuelan singer and songwriter. Starting his career in the early 80s, he has already released more than 15 albums with numerous successful singles and has sold over 22 million record worldwide.-Early years:Montaner was born as Héctor Eduardo Reglero Montaner, in...
, pop star Luis Fonsi
Luis Fonsi
Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero, more commonly known by his stage name Luis Fonsi, is a Latin Grammy winning Puerto Rican singer and composer.- Early life :...
and Chilean singer Myriam Hernandez
Myriam Hernández
Myriam Raquel Hernández Navarro is a Chilean singer-songwriter and television presenter. She is known throughout Latin America for her romantic ballads.-Biography:Myriam Hernández began her career in the late 80's...
.
Most recently, Hanlon was a guest artist on the Univision network's reality music show "Viva el Sueno," appearing weekly on prime time.
Discography
- Encuentros, Independent
- El Piano Amarillo, Fonovisa Records (2001)
- 11 Números Uno, Fonovisa Records (2004) Graphic Design & Art Direction by: Adriana Rebold
- La Gorda Linda, Fonovisa Records (2005)
- Mecanomanía, EMI Records (2006)
- Piano Sin Fronteras, Universal Music Latino (2009)
- Esta Navidad (single), Universal Music Latino, 2008
- Navidad Navidad (single), Universal Music Latino, 2010
- Carol of the Bells (single), Universal Music Latino, 2009