About
Yazmin and Beat Zero
Yazmin and Beat Zero (YBZ) is a melting pot of influences, led by singer-songwriter and pianist Yazmin. She originally created Beat Zero 15 years ago with her father and musical collaborator T Bruce Bowers. Over the years the lineup has changed many times, but Yazmin’s songwriting and vision remain. She weaves soulful, bilingual lyrics with Cuban-influenced rhythms, to create a new sound drawing from years of study in Havana and deep Folk, Rock and Jazz musical roots.
In 2023, Yazmin brought the current band together for a tour. The energy from that experience led to three more tours and a desire to record an album. The current powerhouse lineup includes Andrew "Dizzy" Gillespie, a multi-instrumentalist percussionist who has made his mark for decades on the Minneapolis and New York City music scenes and Grammy-nominated bass player Álvaro Benavides who adds the funkiest funk imaginable. This trio is often joined by the incredible Havana String Quartet hailing from Cuba, now living in Minneapolis, MN. Together they create a powerful, effortless sound that transmits an experience of hope, care and joy to their audiences.
Yazmin
Yazmin’s story is as diverse as her musical influences. Her father was from Texas, mother from Connecticut. They met in San Francisco as professional musicians and then followed a musical opportunity to Northern Wisconsin, where Yazmin was born. Everything about her upbringing was unconventional. She slept in road cases, traveled around the country as a gig baby and early on decided to dedicate her life to the craft of art and music. At thirteen, she discovered Cuban music and her world blew wide open, her path forever changed. This drove her to learn Spanish and live for periods of time in Havana where she studied music and dance over the decades to come.
Yazmin’s songwriting defies genre. Drawing influence from her immersion in Cuban music, along with artists from Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Queen, to Led Zeppelin, her music is a melting pot of styles with bilingual lyrics that bring messages of curiosity, compassion and care for people and the world. Over the course of her career, she has shared the stage with the likes of Nanci Griffith, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Yusa, Maykel Blanco, and Akie Bermiss of Lake Street Dive.