Camila Cabello had a huge international hit with “Havana”, but it turns out she left out a banging trumpet solo. YouTuber Oli Parker decided to rectify this oversight by composing a brilliant, swinging trumpet solo over the Latin pop hit. The original studio recording had a trumpet melody in the bridge, but Parker uses his talents to turn the bridge into a full-on trumpet extravaganza, which scored him a viral video on YouTube.
Parker crafted an inspired solo for the “Havana” bridge, in which he creates not only a filthy groove but also lays out some great hooks. The Englishman is a real master of his instrument and breaks out a number of novel techniques which add some spiciness to the solo and keep your ears guessing. Extended solos are very much out of fashion in pop music these days, but as Parker showed, maybe it’s time to bring them back!
Parker’s take on “Havana” went down a treat with fans online, who tuned into his video 1.3 million times. This made his solo on the tune his biggest hit on the platform, and his only video to surpass a million views so far. The English musician is relatively new to YouTube, only having begun uploading in November 2022, but with his impressive talents, no doubt he’ll create many more popular videos moving forward.
Fans were mightily impressed with Parker’s playing on “Havana”, and added appreciative comments such as “Man you make it look so easy! I’m blown away by your impeccable tonguing and tone quality. Keep up the great covers!” and “Those intro notes are some of the jazziest, most attention-grabbing, most jarringly pleasant notes I’ve ever heard on any instrument ever.” Parker’s second most popular video is his take on a flugelhorn solo on Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal.”
Camila Cabello released “Havana” on August 3, 2017, as a promotional single from her debut album Camila. The song took off like a rocket, and it was subsequently released as the lead single for the album.
“Havana,” which features rapper Young Thug, was a smash hit for the Cuban-American singer. The song went to number one on 23 charts across the world, including on both sides of the Atlantic. It was particularly popular in the US and is certified Diamond by the RIAA.
“Havana” broke numerous chart and streaming records and has continued to be popular with fans. The song is currently Cabello’s second most streamed song on Spotify, with two billion streams clocked.
If you would like to hear more from this talented musician, you can subscribe to [Oli Parker’s YouTube Channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWtgI8STUstEmFzXrBRKp7Q) for more incredible music or follow him on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/oliparker_music/).