"Sé que muchos se preguntan que me ha pasado, que si me he vuelto loco, que si estoy acabado, que si todavía estoy cantando y con quien ..... (I know many are wondering what happened to me, if I went crazy, if I'm finished, if I'm still singing and with who...)"

Well the answers are all laid out in this new release "Tirso Duarte y la Mecánica Loca" (Agorila).

Recorded in France and released by the French label Agorila, the album is a collaboration between Tirso and an award winning percussionist and band-leader Julien Garin. 

Click here to continue reading and review the full track list and musician listings....

Also from France and making the rounds on YouTube is a project from trumpeter / band-leader Alexander Batte called "Cuban Monsters". Based in Paris, their first single "La Rumba La Pongo Yo" features some excellent bass playing and mambos on this blend of traditional son / salsa that leads into a heavy timba coro-pregón. Enjoy! 

It took a while but I finally got both halves of Alain playing bass with Havana d'Primera at their historic US debut. Check out at about 4:12 (and many other places!) after the video switches to the narrower iPhone clip. To me, the way Alain's is laying down the bomba is truly what timba is all about. The audio is not the greatest, but use your imagination - it was truly insane!

César Pupy Pedroso y los que Son Son 
Manolito y su Trabuco  
Lazarito Valdés y Bamboleo,  
Alexander Abreu & Habana D' Primera, 
José Luís Cortés y NG la Banda,  
With Special Guests:
 Mario Mayito Rivera & Pedro Calvo (ex-Los Van Van)
Tania Pantoja & Vania Borges (Ex-Bamboleo) 

AHORA LA COSA SE PUSO BUENA
To purchase TICKETS click here or call 1-888-584-3070 
** 10% discount promo code = Timba.com **

NEW VENUE From Havana's Copa Room to the Copacabana club in NYC, a truly historic night. The newly renovated 8 million dollar facility with huge dance floor is located at:

Copacabana 268 West 47th St., Corner of 8th Ave, NY, NY 10036

Click here for Peter's full gallery of this extraordinary series of performances.

Coming to New York, May 26th - the mega concert with Pupy, Bamboleo et al.

Coming to Yoshi's SF, June 1 & 2 - Bamboleo!

Peter Maiden was on hand to photograph Friday night's show and will post a full gallery in the coming days. There are still two more workshops and two more concerts this weekend. Of special interest is the presence of guarapachanguero extraordinaire Manley "Piri" López of Los Chinitos fame. Click "continue reading" for two other amazing preview shots.

The 6th National Changüí Festival in memory of Elio Revé Matos will take place in Guantanamo from May 30th - June 3rd. This year will include the participation of Orquesta Revé and Los Van Van. On the second night of the event Van Van will perform in Plaza Pedro Augustín Pérez, health permitting, Pastorita Yuani Sayús, the inspiration for the famous changüí "El guararey de Pastora", will dance changüí on stage with Van Van to the song she inspired.

If you will be unable to make a trip to Guantanamo for the festival, you can still see Orquesta Revé and Los Van Van together in concert on May 19th in Havana as they give Habaneros a small taste of the changüí festival.

This year will also see the 1st International Workshop on Changüí "el changüinaso" for national and international musicians who wish to update their knowledge of the instruments, dance and genre-related topics surrounding the most indigenous musical style from Guantanamo, Changüí. This pre-festival workshop takes place from May 27 - 30. To sign up for the workshop you must confirm your participation by May 15th. Contact the Centro Provincial de la Música “Luís Martínez Griñán” .
Director: Alexis Téllez Guerrero
Address: Los Maceo No 906 e/ Emilio Giro y Crombet
Telephones: (53) 021 - 32 2870 – 32 7590 – 32 9202
e-mail: cpm@gtmo.cult.cu
http://www.gtmo.cult.cu/instituciones/cpm

Let me leave you with a little taste from a changüí @ Casa de Pipi in Yateras December 2007 where Pipi shares stories about when he met Elio Revé Matos and what the old changüí used to be like.

Cuba's pop / timba supergroup la Charanga Habanera (led by David Calzado) perform Gozando En Miami and La Suerte at Yoshi's Jazz Club in San Francisco. The original release of Gozando on the album No Mires La Caratula is a collaboration with rapper El Chacal. La suerte appear son Acabaito De Nacer. Courtesy of Yoshi's & Blue Night Entertainment. Videography by Tom Erhlich of TIMBA.com.

Click here for Peter's amazing shots of Saturday night's show.

ATTENTION NEW YORK: Timbalive, currently the most exciting US-based timba band, will be at SOB's THIS FRIDAY. I've been so enthralled with HdP that I haven't been pushing this show, but I heard them at the SF SalsaRueda Fest and they're definitely the real deal - all recent original songs and arrangements, and as tight, distinctive and unique as a Cuban-based band - no easy feat to accomplish in the "timba graveyard" (Miami), where there are at least 100 world-class Cuban musicians and almost no gigs.

BAMBOLEO IN JUNE: Bamboleo, with a great new leader singer, Ailyn Dallera, is already booked for June 1 & 2 at Yoshi's SF, May 26 at the NY Mega Concert, and will probably also be in LA and other cities. 

TIMBALIVE IN NEW YORK: This show is coming up Friday at SOB's.

photo by Peter Maiden

UPDATE: Saturday shows were great, and packed to the rafters. Final 3 hour show tonight at 7:00 is selling briskly. LINK FOR TICKETS

Review of Friday's Performance. 

Knowing I had two more nights at Yoshi's SF ahead of me, I just relaxed and let my first-ever Havana d'Primera concert wash over me. And I kept finding myself asking ... what is it about this band?

Maybe the better question is what Havana d'Primera isn't. It's not an "espectáculo" - it's not "de película" - it doesn't have a lot of choreography, gimmicks or bravura. It's a bunch of great musicians playing great songs and this one guy standing up there just singing his heart out.  Who else sings and plays with this kind of pure, unaffected, real emotion? Alexander Abreu radiates an overpowering sense of integrity ... of honesty ...  of poetry ... in his voice, in his facial expressions, in the way he moves, and God knows, in the way plays that trumpet. He played one gut-wrenching, soaring high note over a ballad accompanment that made want to scream - like that guy in the audience at Lincoln Center in 1964 when Miles Davis built the same kind of climax on that legendary version of Stella by Starlight. Actually he played quite a few notes like that. And just as important, he didn't play any notes that he didn't mean - that didn't start deep in his gut and end up deep in yours.

That's one thing about Havana d'Primera - their use of solos. Instead of the standard once-a-night descarga where everyone gets a solo over a traditional vamp and plays the obligatory hot licks and quotes from Stormy Weather, the solos in this band are key parts of the emotional arcs of the songs in which they appear.

... and then Alain Pérez sat in! He started out singing - improvising beautifully about the events of the night, instigating several coros that HdP's coristas nailed instantly in harmony.

Then he switched to bass and lit a raging fire under a band that had already been throbbing hot for several hours. It was torrid bomba the likes of which I haven't heard since ... well, since Alain with Issac's band in 1997. I managed to film the vocal and the first minute of so of the bass part before my camera screwed up on me. Maybe someone else got the rest. I'll post mine to youtube soon.

Another thrill for the Bay Area was the presence of local hero Carlos Caro, who's playing all six shows as HdP's regular bongosero didn't make the tour. Well, he's "local" to us because he's been here for 20 years, but in Cuba, Carlos, along with current HdP guitarist Rogelio Nápoles played in Opus 13, and was then a founding member of Paulito FG y su Élite, where Alexander later got his start. In many ways, HdP is the next step in that lineage of great bands. Almost everyone in the band played with one or more of Paulito, Issac, Manolín, Revé, Manolito and Klímax.  

Havana d'Primera's mission statement was to restore the power, dignity, musicianship and creativity of the late 90s - and they're doing that - but in the dark, riveting intensity of Alexander Abreu they've also added some very new - and very real - and deeply moving. [Kevin Moore]

HdP arrives tomorrow and all systems go for the 5 San Francisco shows - their first shows ever in the United States. TICKETS HERE

All-night tickets for Friday and Saturday are sold out, but some tickets for individual shows remain.

Sunday show will be 3 hours of music for $45, starting at 7:00 p.m.

Alain Pérez will be with Paco de Lucia in Oakland on Friday and will tentatively be at Yoshi's during the second set.

Incredibly, no other cities seem to have booked HdP - what's up with that?

See you in SF!

I "met" Billy probably about 10 years ago. He is one of my Internet timba friends to whom I feel very close, although we have never met in person, and in recent years we have dropped out of touch. If you've been a follower of the world timba scene for the past several years, you are probably familiar with his blog, MisterBryans. For six years his blog was the absolute leading source of information on what was happening within Cuban music and dance in the rapidly-growing Canadian scene. He began traveling to Cuba back in the early 90s and has worked with musicians such as Telmary and Alberto Alberto.

But Billy's illustrious musical career began long before timba. He began working as a professional musician 40 years ago. He may be best known in Canada as the drummer of the Parachute Club. He has also worked as a promoter, DJ and publicist, not only in Cuban music but also with African and Brazilian music.

Five years ago Billy fought and won a bought with lung cancer. Sadly he is ill again. Now Canada's musical community is rallying behind the man who has given so much to them, and to the world, with a Rumbón for Billy Bryans this Thursday April 19 at Lula Lounge. Billy has worked closely with Lula Lounge over the years, DJing there quite often for Timba events. All funds from the event will go to help cover Billy's expenses. The rumbón will include a dance lesson, dance performances and a concert by Alex Cuba. For more information and to book a table see Lula's website.

And, Billy, on behalf of all of your friends around the world who can't be there on Thursday, I send you our love and our good vibes. Take care of yourself!

Billy on drums with Parachute Club - Rise up!

This film is currently making the rounds of festivals in several cities including Chicago and New York.  Is it worth seeing?  Read our review here...

The festival offers classes with live music for both students and teachers in a wide variety of Afro-Cuban dances such as: Yoruba dances, Rumba Guaguancó, Columbia, Yambú, Contemporary Afro, Congo: Makuta, Palo & Yuca, Timba, Afro-Rumba, Franco-Haitian, Abakuá, Arará, Rumba Casino, Folkloric songs, Rueda de Casino, Son and Cubatón.

There will also be dance performances and live music including the amazing line up of La Charanga Habanera Friday the 22nd and Tirso Duarte & La Mecánica Loca Sunday the 24th!

Check out the Guaguancó Festival 2012 promotional video below.

Charanga packed Yoshi's on Monday and is back tonight for more madness. Click here for Tom's gallery. Many more photos coming soon. After SF, the band returns to Miami for several last shows.

And Havana d'Primera tickets, including the great new "all night pass" (both shows for a big discount), are already on sale (and going fast) at Yoshi's box office.

Alexander Abreu & Habana D' Primera

After thrilling packed houses in New Jersey, Louisville, Las Vegas and LA, la CH rolls in to the Bay Area tonight and tomorrow (Mon. & Tues) at Yoshi's SF. Click here for tickets and video. See you there!

Live Issac: Click CONTINUE READING for three mind-bogglingly great versions of Issac's classic Por qué paró, which will be studied in the most minute detail in Volume 7 of Beyond Salsa Bass. [Kevin Moore]

There are some very exciting and innovative  new Jazz recording projects about to hit the streets including a phenomenal project by Manuel Valera's New Cuban Express, and we'll be saying more about those  in the near future.  But right here, right now, Yosvany Terry is releasing one of them, Today's Opinion,  with special live sets on Tuesday April 10 and Wednesday, April 11 at the Jazz Standard   in NYC. The CD absolutely knocked our socks off - you can read the review here.  

How will you celebrate International Timba Month? In the US you should catch one of the remaining concerts by La Charanga Habanera . In Europe you can find Los Van Van and here in Scandinavia we have the Viking Line Cuba cruises with Elito Revé y Su Charangón, La Charanga Forever and Yumurí y Sus Hermanos. I plan to celebrate with a few timba cruises assuming I can get free from work which has been unusually busy for me this spring.

So let's all look back with a bit of nostalgia on the band that started it all: NG La Banda with one of my favorite songs, "La Bruja" from back in 1992.

The film has 7 directors who each took one day of the week. The segments in order of appearance are: El Yuma by Benicio Del Toro, Jam Session by Pablo Trapero, La tentación de Cecilia by Julio Médem, Diary of a Beginner by Elia Suleiman, Ritual byGaspar Noé, Dulce amargo by Juan Carlos Tabío and La fuente by Laurent Cantet.

I don't know when it will be at theaters but the trailer looks great, although the girl-on-girl dancing action is a bit unrealistic for Cuba. Anyway, check out the trailer. If you look closely you cna see some of the other musicians from Havana D'Primera as well. Look for the movie at a theater near you!

Louisville, Kentucky has always been a cultural hub for that region of the United States, and it now provides us with another link in the Timba concert chain.   David Calzado y su Charanga Habanera have helped break the ice for what we hope will be a series of events in the future.  
Click here to read all about it and see photos from the Charanga Habanera concert. 

Registration: 212.493.4263 Conferences@Billboard.com
Sponsorship: 646.315.2961 Cebele.Marquez@Billboard.com
JW Marriott Marquis Reservations: Limited Discounts Available 888.717.8850 
(Use Group Code Billboard Latin Music)

PRESENTING SPONSOR = STATE FARM
CONFERENCE SPONSORS = PEPSI, 5GUM, NU LIFE ENTERTAINMENT, TELEMUNDO, MUN2, SPRINT, SENZARI, SESAC, AKELA FAMILY

Latest News about the 2012 Billboard Latin Music Conference & Awards:
- Daddy Yankee Confirmed for Being Social Panel 
- Regional Mexican leaders Gerardo Ortiz and 3Ball MTY share on their path to success - The Diva We Want to Know: Q&A With Jenni Rivera
- JUST ANNOUNCED!: Superstar Q&A with PITBULL

Cuban music WILL BE represented in a special promotional compilation CD that is only available inside all the conference bags given to each attandee. Sure to be the hippest Latin music sampler of the conference, this one-of-a-kind disc is made possible by Latin Music Mastering, a division of Latin Pulse Music. Click on the album cover below for more details and full track list.....

all colors CMYK - print ready - not optimized for computers screens (RGB)

Next is The Conga Room in LA on April 5th, offering a special discount.

And then two nights at Yoshi's SF, Monday & Tuesday, April 9 and 10.

Coming on May 18th - Manolín at Steven's Steakhouse in LA.

Master Percussionist Calixto Oviedo will be back in Boston June 18-20 for the Berklee Percussion Festival. Calixto will be teaching Masters Classes as well as performing in a concert. This is an invaluable opportunity to learn directly from one of Cuba's most important modern percussionists! You can apply now on-line to attend the workshops.

If you're not able to attend the Berklee classes, check out the Beyond Salsa Percussion series. In this series Calixto teaches drums and timbales, both basic patterns and timba gears. You can choose from books, videos and audio files.

Sierra Maestra gave two knockout performances at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago on March 24 2012, and the crowd came to dance.     Click here to read  about it and view photos of the concerts. 

So far, the only dates scheduled for the Charanga Habanera tour are Monday and Tuesday, April 9th and 10th at Yoshi's SF, and Friday, March 30th in Louisville, KY, but shows in other cities are being arranged we'll update the tours page when LA, NY and Miami shows are confirmed.

Due to popular demand, Yoshi's is selling a special "all-night" ticket, enabling you to go to both shows for a reduced price. See you there!

Click Continue Reading for more photos.

Click here for more Alain Pérez news.

Those of you within traveling distance of Louisville, KY can see Charanga Habanera on Friday, March 30 at the Coconut Beach Nightclub, now in a new location at 2787 South Floyd St., Louisville KY.   Advance tickets (cheaper than at the door) may be purchased at 
https://www.ticketriver.com/event/3218-charanga-habanera-2012-kentucky-tour

          If musical merit was the only ingredient necessary for mass popularity  in the United States, Timba would have quickly  taken the country by storm the same way that the Mambo did years earlier.  However, that  is not enough, as many Jazz musicians have also learned the hard way over the years.   An infrastructure to support the music is  also required for any genre to reach large numbers of listeners, and that was not in place for Timba when its sounds first reached the United States. In order to fully understand the reasons for this, we first need to briefly revisit the three decades prior to Timba’s emergence as a distinct style.           

          In the 1960s, there was no significant ongoing cultural exchange between the United States and  Cuba.  This does not mean that there was no exchange of ideas of any sort -  musicians both here and there were listening to each other by various means, and radio enthusiasts such as this writer were keeping up with what was happening in Cuban music via shortwave stations such as Radio Habana Cuba, Radio Rebelde etc.  However, most of the general American public remained....click "continue reading" below for the full article

Click on the image above to check out the video and for more details on the Alain video clips.....

Finally ! The first book of the Beyond Salsa Bass series has been released. Volume 6 of Beyond Salsa Bass begins our 4-volume study of the style of Alain Pérez, one of the most talented bassists, composers and arrangers of modern Cuban music. The bass series follows the piano series exactly, covering the same songs, now from the perspective of the bassist.  hardcopy 

Both the notes and the percussive sounds that he uses to create his funky style. Each musical example is provided in 16th note notation, 8th note notion and bass tablature. There are corresponding audio and video products for each volume.

Click here for the full story and details....   

Havana Live Music Listings are up - Click here to see the live music schedule for Havana.

Sierra Maestra upcoming US shows - This classic son band has shows coming up in ...... click here for the full story and details

Eddie Palmieri 75th Birthday celebration show is taking place at ....  click here for the full story and details

Charanga Habanera returns to Yoshi's SF on April 9th & 10th. More dates will be added here. It's not listed on the Yoshi's SF calendar as of this post, but has been confirmed. Come back later and click the link to reserve tickets. This is the third CH tour in the last year and a half. Things are looking up!

Meanwhile: The return of legendary timbalero Orestes Vilató to the John Santos Sextet continues at Yoshi's Oakland tonight after generating universal rave reviews Friday. He's Calixto Oviedo's favorite timbalero - that says a lot - but you simply have to see this guy in person. He plays the pailas like a Stradavarius - with indescribable finesse and swing. [Kevin Moore]

                                           photo by Tom Ehrlich (full gallery here)

Books and Videos Coming Wednesday:

Alain Pérez audio, eBook and hard-copy book for Beyond Salsa Bass, Vol. 6

Melón Lewis video for Beyond Salsa Piano, Vol. 6

Alain Pérez video Beyond Salsa Bass, Vol. 6

Timba in Chicago and the Midwest - check out Bill's slick new calendar.

Covering the final dance competition and the Timbalive concert - click here for the full gallery.

Book News: First Alain Pérez Bass book coming very soon.

The SF SalsaRueda Festival was really a great event - having 500+ great and enthusiastic dancers in the crowd really seemed to fire up the musicians. Here's Tom's gallery from Saturday - Part 2, covering Sunday, is still to come.

Rumor Central: As per DJ Melao, Arnaldo Jiménez (ex-Paulito, leader of la Cosmopólita) will be Los Van Van's new bassist.

A new homaje to the classic salsa sounds of the 1970's has been released by Miami-based pianist, Grammy winner and band director Marlow Rosado y la Riqueña. The current track on RADIO TIMBA features Cuban singer Marlon Fernández siging the hit "Señor Sereno".  This new album, called RETRO, is an all-star release that counts with the participation of singers Bobby Cruz, Ismael Miranda, Tony Vega, Luigi Texidor, Marlon Fernández, Kevin Ceballo, Sonora Ponceña pianist "Papo" Luca, Salvador Cuevas (bass with Ruben Blades), Tito Puente Jr., and Quique Dominich (cuatro).

The new single "Fuego A La Jicotea" featuring Tito Puente Jr. is available on iTunes here.

Pavel leaves LVV: Bassist Pavel Molina announced he has left Los Van Van, possibly over some controversy generated from facebook comments he posted in regards to the recent death of beloved LVV conguero Manolo Labarrera. (photo courtesy of SalsaMadrid). Pavel and Manolo were very close.

New Maykel Blanco photos: Timba.com photographer Peter Maiden has a new feature in an International Salsa Digital Magazine. Check out this veryslick gallery here.

Los Van Van with Mandy Cantero singing Este amor que se muere

After backing up Manolín on Saturday, Timbalive closed out the massive and extraordinary SF Salsa Rueda Festival with two burning sets, highlighted by these percussion solos from Los García: Leo, the leader of the band, Coky, his older brother, who played with the original NG La Banda, back when they were called Nueva Generación, as well as Emiliano Salvador, Opus 13, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Mamborama, their cousin Miguelito, who just arrived, having been a founding member of Havana d'Primera, and guest artist Carlos Caro, the subject of the soon to be released Beyond Salsa Bongó, a former member of Opus 13 and Paulito FG. Enjoy!

This is a really shocking and tragic development, which we delayed posting in the hope that it was only a rumor, but Manuel "Manolo" Labarrera, conguero of Los Van Van since 1980, has passed. He looked very young and very healthy when Tom took this video of him at Yoshi's SF last year.

Manolo "de la sonrisa amplia" (of the big grin) took over as Van Van's conguero for Joel Drigs, who played on only one album after the departure of founding conguero Raúl "El Yulo" Cárdenas, who, many years later, while a member of NG La Banda, himself died in a tragic car crash. By all accounts, Manolo was every bit as wonderful a person as a conguero and in the latter department he was legendary, playing a central role in the hellacious groove that resulted in Van Van's apodo, "el tren del Caribe" (the train). Manolo is survived by his son Rafael, who sang with Bamboleo and penned such classics at La tremenda and El protagonista. Rafael was residing in Perú when last we heard. R.I.P. Manolo - it will never be quite the same without you.

Click here for Peter Maiden's photos from Saturday, featuring various dance clinics, and Manolín, el Médico de la Salsa, backed by Timbalive.

Los Hermanos Arango are at the Berklee Performance Center at 8:15 pm Eastern Time on Tuesday, February 21.  Can't get there?  No worries, the performance will be carried by a live video stream! Here is this link for the live stream::
http://goo.gl/Yyp9V

Next up:  Habana Sax, which is scheduled to perform in Miami at the Art of Freedom/La Cueva Azul, 1388 SW 8th St., Miami FL on Friday, 24 February and Saturday, 25 February.  Call the venue for performance times at (305)-857-9848.

Finally, Interactivo is scheduled for a concert in Miami Beach on Sunday, 1 April at 7PM  at the North Beach Band Shell (Collins and 73rd St., Miami Beach.).  For more details, click continue reading to see the official flyer or see the Fundarte announcement a http://goo.gl/xtZjJ

This must be one of the biggest Cuban dance gatherings in the world - it's now spilled over into the hotel next door and had well over 500 passionately enthusiastic dancers running at full speed trying to pack in as many of the overlapping events as possible.

Tom Ehrlich and Peter Maiden were snapping photos all night. Tom has a gallery up from Thursday, with more coming. Click "continue reading" for more shots from both.

photo by Peter Maiden

photo by Tom Ehrlich

There are also no less than 36 dance performances from troupes who have come from as far away as Japan, Mexico City, Venezuela, Canada and the East Coast. See you there! [Kevin Moore]

Tirso Duarte "El Charanguero Mayor" and timbero de excelencia arrived in Miami on Monday and is preparing for his New York / New Jersey concerts, which begin on Friday February 17 with a concert at Chango in Astoria . He will perform at La casa de la timba in New Jersey on the 18th and the S.O.B.s date has now been confirmed for March 30 . Tirso has recently performed a number of concerts in Colombia where he had an overwhelming reception by his ecstatic fans, so much so that they sang every song from start to finish. Now his US fans can enjoy the energy of his live concerts during this, his first ever solo tour of the US! Keep checking Tirso's Tours page because we will update it as other concerts are confirmed during February/March.

To whet your appetite, here is a sample of what you can expect, filmed on August 5, 2011 at Teatro Jorge Isaacs in Cali, Colombia by Eventos Timpop. Con Tirso no hay casualidad!

Tirso Duarte - Dejala que corra - live in Colombia

Grammy 2012 winner for Best Latin Tropical Album "The Last Mambo" is Isreal "Cachao" Lopez's live and very enjoyable collection of danzones and descargas -- a sublime celebration of classic Cuban music.

Edwin Bonilla Conga (also a Grammy nominee for his own record in the same Tropical category)
Candido Camero Guest Appearance
Willy Chirino Guest Appearance
Anthony Columbie Vocals (Background)
Orestes Vilató Timbales 
Alfredo de la Fé Guest Appearance
Isaac Delgado Guest Appearance
Kiwzo Fumero Trumpet
Generoso Jiménez Composer
Alvaro León Bongos
Lisette Morales Guest Appearance (singer of the Miami's Celia Cruz All-Stars)
Lucrecia Guest Appearance
Rafael "Tata" Palau Saxophone
Gerardo Peña Flute
Ignacio Piñeiro Composer

Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor with Yordi - " Se acabo el amor"

But you don't have to wait until the summer to enjoy your timba en vivo! We have Bárbaro Fines y su Mayimbe on their first European Tour in March! We are still waiting for the final list of confirmed dates so check back with us.  Los Van Van are also touring Europe in March, starting with a couple of concerts in England before they move on to the Continent. Also in March - April, the Viking Line Cuba Cruises between Stockholm and Helsinki will take place featuring Elito Revé y su Charangón, Yumurí and Charanga Forever. There will also be a number of traditional groups as well as dance shows. So check out Viking Line and book yourself a cruise!

Nueva Trova Icon Sara González has died - Singer-songwriter Sara Gonzalez, one of the original voices of the New Cuban Song Movement, has died in Havana, official media reported. She was 60. Gonzalez produced music for film, television and radio as well as her solo albums, and she also participated in several album collections. She studied guitar and viola and began her professional career in the early 1970s as a member of the musical group Los Dimos and in an occasional duo with singer-songwriter Pedro Luis Ferrer. During the course of her career, Gonzalez shared the stage with artists such as Joan Manuel Serrat, Mercedes Sosa and Pete Seeger, among others. source

New Cuban music documentary "Cuba: Island of Music" - , Filmmaker Gary Keys' tribute to Afro-Cuban jazz, the film is a behind-the-scenes look at music's role in the daily life of Cubans. Filmmaker Gary Keys (Memories of Duke and Dizzy's Dream Band) brings the audience into the heart and soul of Havana, through a vibrant mosaic of street musicians, big bands, dancers, religious rituals, and classic cars. Keys shows us Afro-Cuban music in New York City, with the music and commentary of jazz legends Billy Taylor, Candido Camero, and Chico OFarrill. See the full 1:17 minute film here.

New timbatón video: Vampira Malvada Charanga Habanera feat Yulién Oviedo - courtesy of our Italian reporter extraordinaire Cuba Soy Yo. 

Meanwhile, Arango's current group, Los Hermanos Arango, will be "in residence" at Berklee School of Music for 10 days in late February and there are encouraging signs that they may play elsewhere (Chicago perhaps). Their visas are good until July, so if you have any suggested venues, please write in. [Kevin Moore]

Recently Harper's Magazine writer Daniel Alarcón wrote a feature about Perú's Lurigancho prison. "All Politics Are Local". Excerpt here = http://harpers.org/archive/2012/01/hbc-90008428

Michel Maza arrested in Lima - The famous ex-Charanga Habanera singer Michel Maza was arrested in Lima, Perú for an alleged hold-up of a taxi driver. Money, a cellphone and a radio were taken with a concealed weapon, a serious charge in Perú that can carry a sentence of up to 25 years. Other charges allege drug use. There is talk that he will be deported to Cuba. source

Live in Havana - The Havana weekly listing is up. Would be great to hear about the new Sello LA, Monica y su Máquina, and Tania Pantojas line-ups. 

Papo Angarica y Son Yoruba - New track Juégala is currently #1 on RADIO TIMBA. The version of "El Jonrón" we have features Tania Pantoja (ex-Bamboleo) but the a new live Azucar Negra version can be heard here = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ_E1a6hTcI

New single from Miami: Xavier Mili's "Ya Sé Lo Que Tu Quieres" - Grandson of Los Záfiros creator Nestor Mili, Xavier Mili has made Miami his home working with local bands, most notably El Pikete, and on regional television Channel 41. Check out his new single here.

New Habana D' Primera Video Premier (Al fin de la vida) heats up London - One of London's original salsa dance events - El Rumbón Cubano - is featuring HDP's new video of "Al fin de la vida" on February 9nth. Dance teacher Kerry Ribchester directed the video. In related news, the video screening aslo includes Bamboleo’s "La Que Manda (Mujeres)" and Los Van Van’s "Me Mantengo", which was nominated for Music Video of the Year in Cuba's Lukas Awards. 

Upcoming Cuba y Puerto Rico projects...
1- Tres legend Francisco "Pancho" Amat to record album with Andy Montañez - Cuban musician Francisco Amat, recognized as one of the most talented treseros in the world, plans to record in 2012 a CD with the Puerto Rican singer Andy Montañez. "It is a project we did together some time ago to reflect the musical relationship between the two countries. I expect to complete it before the end of the year", Amat told Prensa Latina. Amat also announced as part of his plans for 2012 the realization of a CD with the Cabildo del Son, a group he founded in the 1990s. source
2- Danny Rivera new documentary "La música es mi aliento" - Puerto Rican singer Danny Rivera and young Cuban instrumentalists make up the cast of documentary "La musica es mi aliento" (Music is my breath), dedicated to the Cuban singer Adriano Rodríguez and directed by local composer Edesio Alejandro. With this film, Rivera, who is also a guitarist and producer, will pay tribute to Adriano Rodriguez. Composer Edesio Alejandro is directing. source 
3- 20-time Latin Grammy winners Calle 13 filming a documentary in Cuba - Puerto Rican reggaetón duo Calle 13 is currently filming a documentary in Cuba, official media said Monday, citing band member René Pérez, a.k.a. "Residente." Pérez said that he traveled to Cuba on a motorboat and that it was "a great experience, a little dangerous but nice at the same time." The duo's new documentary is being directed by Puerto Rican filmmaker Lidy Paoli López. Residente and Visitante attended a concert offered by Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez last Thursday at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana.

(Photo by Tom Ehrlich)

     The genre called Timba, like Jazz, has been declared dead by some music critics more than once over the past several years.  Like Jazz, it is very much alive,  but our favorite tropical genre does face some of the same challenges for a variety of reasons.  These articles will examine those reasons in depth and discuss some possible ways that the community of musicians and supporters of the music might help address some of these.   We will be covering several topics over time, including the music press, radio, audience tastes, financial risks and other related issues.  
     The first thing that we need to do is point out that while  Timba was born in Cuba, and Cuba remains its epicenter, the genre has also  become a truly international  movement  for three reasons:  
• Over the last couple of decades, it has developed an international fan base.   In addition to Cuba, Timba music is now (thanks to both recordings and extensive live tours) popular throughout several Latin American countries, much of Europe, parts of Asia and Africa, and it has a fan base in North America as well. 
• Some Cuban musicians that play Timba reside all or part of the time in other countries, and they have introduced the music to both new musicians and new listeners.  
• Musical groups that play Timba have been formed in several countries.   In some cases, these groups play very high-quality music  music of high caliber at a very sophisticated level.  Just a few of the  examples are Mayimbe in Peru; Calle Real, La Tremenda, Gilito y su Clave, La Jugada and  Soneros All Stars in  Sweden; Monica y su M.P. in France; Pan Con Timba and Doble Jugada  in the Netherlands;  Contrabando in Belgium; Grupo Danson in Denmark; Jose Torres y Salsa Tropical in Poland,  and El Zorro in Switzerland.   Within the United States, Tiempo Libre, Timbalive and the Pedrito Martinez group play Timba.  Some bands such as Rumbankete now play both Timba and Salsa.    
     What does all of this mean? For openers, after almost two decades, we can safely say that Timba is an established genre rather than a passing fad, and it has a truly global listening audience, as well as a truly global musical community that plays and enjoys the material.   These are important points to remember as we examine the status of Timba within the United States. 

Next:  Timba’s Initial Reception in the United States

It's like the holidays all over again for bassists! Kevin is hard at work finishing the first book in the Beyond Salsa Bass series, and Feliciano Arango will be giving a clinic at the Berklee College of Music about the role of the bass in Cuban jazz/salsa/timba and his work with the group Los Hermanos Arango on February 22nd at 1:00pm. The night before the clinic, Los Hermanos Arango will perform (February 21st) at the Berklee Performance Center at 8:15pm.

Now as all timba fans know, there is no one better to talk about the role of the bass in contemporary Cuban music. But since there may be some readers who have recently discovered timba and who are not yet on a first name basis with all the major players, here is an excerpt from the announcement by the Bass Department, which is sponsoring the event as part of the Visiting Artists Series.

Feliciano Arango was born in the Guanabacoa section of Havana, Cuba where Yoruba, Abakua and other African traditions are preserved in their most authentic form in the Americas. He was mentored by seminal Cuban bassist Orlando 'Cachaito' Lopez and attended Escuela Nacional de Arte where he studied with the top musicians from around the island. Soon after graduating from ENA, Arango joined the group of legendary pianist/composer Emiliano Salvador who was a leading figure in Cuban jazz through the 1990s. After extensive touring and recording with Salvador, Arango went on to be the founding bassist for N.G. la Banda, whom he performed with for the next fifteen years. With N.G. la Banda, Arango developed a new style of Cuban dance music called 'timba'. He was responsible for leading Cuban bassists in a new approach to playing salsa that greatly enhanced the melodic, percussive sound of the bass. Since leaving N.G. la Banda, Arango has been the top call bassist for jazz, salsa, timba and other forms of Cuban music.

Feliciano Arango now leads Los Hermanos Arangos along with his two brothers Eugenio and Ignacio and sister Cristina. The Arangos are the only Cuban band to use completely unaltered Afrocuban ritual voice/hand drumming as the basis for a modern repertoire that integrates electric bass, keyboards, brass/winds (no drumset).

Music form the Cuba All Stars Festival in Perú - check some live tracks from the festival: Mandy Cantero with Los Van Van on Que Sorpresa and Alex Abreu y Habana D Primera with Cuando El Río Suena. Both on Radio Timba right now. 

Samuel Formell collaborates with Mexican guitar heroes Rodrigo y Gabriela - Ready to be released in the US this upcoming Tuesday, January 24th, Area 52 contains nine (9) of the duo's favorite songs from their own catalogue re-arranged and re-configured for a 13-piece Cuban orchestra comprised of some of Havana's finest young players, collectively known as C.U.B.A. This two-disc set includes a 30-minute 'making-of' documentary on DVD.  source

Area 52 was mixed by Rafa Sardina, one of the leading studio musicians in the Latin music world, and arranged by London-based pianist, composer and arranger Alex Wilson. Recording took place in the Miramar district of Havana, Cuba, at Abdala Studios, founded by the Cuban folk hero Silvio Rodriguez, as well as at Rodrigo & Gabriel's studio in Ixtapa, Mexico. Other players on the record include: bassist Carles Benavent (Paco De Lucia, Chick Corea, Miles Davis), drummer John Tempesta (The Cult, Testament, White Zombie), sitarist Anoushka Shankar and drummer Samuel Formell (Los Van Van). 

Radio Timba has an excerpt (with spoilers) of Samuel's killer solo (listen to track #1) of the album's first cut, entitled "Santo Domingo". Check out Rodrigo y Gabriela's iste at = http://rodgab.com/

CubaAntwerpen (title song for the festival), new video from Grupo Contrabando - Hey shameless plug, but it's always It's a great feeling to see and hear a song you mastered. I worked with leader and trombonist Andrés Fernández on this and the video blew me away. Check it out:

Felipe Lamoglia & Urban Beats in Miami - Cuban Timba All Star (Tomasito Cruz version) and ex-NG La Banda saxofonist Felipe Magnolia will be playing his special brand of Afro-Cuban jazz in Miami Beach tomorrow. Fellow CTAS drummer Reinier Guerra is also on the bill. 

Legendary, classical-style, afro-cuban "salsa suite" to be performed with 40 musicians - Pianist Larry Harlow's magnum opus "La Raza Latina" will be performed Friday night at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami as part of the Jazz and Roots series, with the composer conducting the local Mario Ortiz All-stars Band and a stellar lineup of musicians that includes the 90-year-old Cuban percussionist Candido Camero and Grammy-award winner and violinist Federico Britos. This will be only the second production of the show, first performed Aug. 14, 2011 at New York's Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival, with Blades, now a Hollywood actor and former cultural minister of Panama, in the lead role. In Miami, Blades' part will be sung by vocalists Emo Luciano and Luisito Rosario. source

It's time again for the Fiest del Tambor. Here is the introduction to the call to the 11th edition:

The Havana Rhythm and Dance Festival (Fiesta del Tambor) was born and developed giving posthumous recognition to Guillermo Barreto, one of the greatest percussionists of all time throughout the Americas.  Due to his importance, the event has had 10 editions with the participation of guests of international fame, the support of several of the most important percussion companies around the world and Cuba, and participation by the most important Cuban musicians as well as the principle dance companies, which join in the festival demonstrating the unbreakable relationship between the drum and dance.
 
The festival is a natural showcase for all percussionists, and we also celebrate the International Percussion Competition. The competition is totally open to all ages and nationalities and permits us to further and to stimulate Cuban Percussion in some of the principle instruments which identify us and that we inherit with special acknowledgement from musicians such as Chano Pozo, Tata Güines, Ricardo “Papín“ Abreu, Miguel Angá, among many other  musicians that have passed away.
 
This year it will be celebrated from March 6 to 11, 2012. The festival is organized by the Center for the Promotion of Traditional Music “Ignacio Piñeiro”.

We maintain all of the activities that have been a cultural success for Cuba in the previous editions among which are: masters classes, dance music concerts and jazz concerts, performances by the principle folkloric groups of Cuba, visits to the national Schools of the Arts and intercultural visits by alumni and professors of universities and schools of various countries, conferences and classes in Cuban percussion organized in advance, among other surprises that we continue to add.
 
We expect more than 30 000 people to attend the planned activities at different venues including some of Havana’s principle theaters (Karl Marx, Amadeo Roldán, Mella). Other venues that will host the festival are: “El Palacio de la Rumba”, El “Salón Rosado de La Tropical”, de la EGREM’s “Casas de la Música”, La Casa de la Cultura de Plaza, Hotel Occidental Miramar, Hotel Habana Libre, among other locations.

Click here for more information, including instructions to apply to participate in the drum competition (in Spanish).

The Canadian organization KoSA is organizing their annual trip to the Fiesta del Tambor, which includes hotel, meals, conferences, classes and local transportation. For more information about partcipating via KoSA click here .

On March 1st Los Van Van begin their Winter 2012 Tour of Europe featuring songs from their latest CD, La Maquinaría and providing Europeans with our first live experience of Mandy Cantero with Van Van. Yes, there are already a number of Mandy with Van Van videos, but there is really nothing that can match the live-in-person experience. Van Van's month-long tour includes England, Belgium, France, the Nordic countries, and an extensive tour of Germany as well as dates in Switzerland and Luxembourg. Click here to find a concert near you.

If you happen to be in Germany you can also take advantage of the Cubanízate Festival de Salsa Cubana offer of a discount on Van Van tickets when you purchase your festival ticket. This is the second year for the Cubanízate Festival,  a Cuban dance congreso that is held in Nuremberg, and DJ Tomba has promised timba, timba and timba! Tomba tells us: "The deal is that if you order both tickets you save 10 Euros. Related to the concert ticket you pay 20 instead of 30 Euro. And you can choose One of the cities Van Van plays in Germany." Check out the Cubanízate Festival website for more information about how to take advantage of the festival/Van Van offer and for a complete list of classes and instructors.

Immediately download the FREE, 46 page sample PDF

             order the hard copy book              order the eBook & audio (sold separately)

Once you taste TIMBA you can ask for the salsa on the side. Beyond Salsa for Ensemble Volume 1 is now THE STANDARD for instruction of modern tropical dance music styles. This new series is designed to teach modern Cuban rhythm section techniques to college and high school bands, and working professional bands. Each volume contains extensive exercises that systemically teach each of timba's many rhythmic and formal innovations and each contains a full chart of an important timba hit, ready to play at concerts and gigs.

The most frequent question I've heard people ask about Cuban music is: "What's the difference between timba and salsa? "

There are many answers to this question, most of them having to do with lyrics, dancing, melody and chord progressions, but if we limit ourselves strictly to the percussion instruments and the rhythms played by the bass and piano, there are still many key differences and that's what these books are about.   read the full details >>>

BEYOND SALSA for ENSEMBLE Volume 1
COMPLETE AUDIO TRACK LIST (465 tracks - 753 MB)

Cubanos in New Jersey - Prudential Hall, New Jersey Performing Arts Center Chucho Valdés, Cuban pianist and composer, and the Afro-Cuban Messengers, plus the jazz pianist Hiromi and her Trio Project, featuring Anthony Jackson and Simon Phillips. Jan. 22 at 3 p.m. $29 to $80. Prudential Hall, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center Street. (888) 466-5722. njpac.org

Also Cuban-born saxophonist and clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera, winner of two 2011 Latin Grammys, performs at the Mayo Performing Arts Center on Friday, Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $37-$67. D’Rivera’s most recent release, Panamericana, won two 2011 Grammys, for “Best Latin Jazz Album” and “Best Classical Contemporary Compostion.” The Mayo Performing Arts Center is located at 100 South St., Morristown. For ticket information, call 973-539-8008 or visit mayoarts.org

Cuban Music Experience @ University of Colorado Denver - 7th Annual Cuban Music Experience featuring Latin-jazz greats Brian Lynch, John Benitez, Michael Spiro, and Jesús Díaz as well as the amazing 10 piece dance band Timbalive from Miami. February 15-17, 2012. Auraria Campus. source

Rumba master Gregorio Hernández passes away - Dancer, singer and master percussionist Gregorio Hernández Ríos ‘El Goyo’, one of the best known performers of Afro-Cuban rumba, died in Havana on Sunday, January 8th, 2012. He was 75 years old. The Cuban Ministry of Culture and the Union of Artists and Writers of Cuba (UNEAC) expressed their grief by citing Gregorio Hernandez’s achievements and his contribution to Cuban culture. Gregorio Hernández Ríos was born in Havana on November 17th, 1936. He was the founder of the Conjunto Folclórico Nacional, which researched and recovered Afro-Cuban music of Yoruba and Bantu origin. source

Yoani Sánchez on Huffington Post - Famous Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez is now contributing to the Huffington Post (her current article reflects on Cuban music). Her book Havana Real: One Woman Fights to Tell the Truth about Cuba Today is now available on Amazon. 

Timba in Pittsburgh? - The rumor mill has it that a sensational timba group is forming in Pittsburg, PA and they are looking for a keyboard player. Anyone have a phone number to call? Hint: look on Craigslist.

Tiempo Libre with Cincinnati Pops Orchestra - "La fiesta más grande" is scheduled for January 20-21. Check out the enthusiastic video here = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJy0HO_W0i0

New program allows legal visitation to Cuba - Our government now allows visitation to Cuba under a program called People to People Exchange. With permission from the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Office of Foreign Asset Control, it is possible for Americans to visit there legally. U.S. tourism is sanctioned under this program for either humanitarian or educational purposes. So, many organizations are abiding by the strictures and planning trips along the lines of religious mission trips, contemporary art and music trips, architectural trips and history. source

The New Year is off to an auspicious start! La Letra del Año has confirmed that the world will not end in 2012, and even more importantly, Tirso Duarte will be making his first NYC appearance on March 2nd at S.O.B.s! Ladies and gentlemen, timberas y timberos, this is truly a magnificent event so don't miss it, or you will never forgive yourself! We will get back to you ASAP with more US tour dates.

Tirso is an infinitely talented pianist, composer and arranger, and for the younger generation he is the new voice of timba. During his brilliant career he has written and arranged many of the hits of the post-break-up Charanga Habanera before moving on to NG La Banda and Pupy y Los Que Son Son, finally making his mark on Cuban music as a solo artist. As you can tell I am a huge fan myself. Here is a small taste from the Sons of Cuba DVD which many of you have already seen, but it merits watching over and over again...Manos pa'rriba la gente de la noche y la luna llena .

Tirso Duarte sings "La Luna"

Eddie Palmieri tore it up at Yoshi's SF last month - here's Tom Ehrlich's extensive new gallery. Happy New Year to all!

Book News: I've been deep underwater working on Beyond Salsa for Ensemble, which will be about 350 pages long, with almost 500 audio files, 36 wild timba efectos (aka bloques) transcribed for the full rhythm section and a full note-for-note chart of a Pupy y los que Son Son song, ready for the gig. As soon as I get this done I'll be moving on to Beyond Salsa Bass, featuring one of the greatest figures of the entire timba era - Alain Pérez. [Kevin Moore]

** Click here to read the full article and view the full photo gallery **

Tom reports: "It's not always easy to find the hip Afro-Caribbean music events in New York City, but if you do its usually something special.  I was lucky to hear Andy González interviewed on the radio explaining that he and some friends were going to do a concert of Arseñio Rodríguez music at The Stone, a small non-profit club run by musician John Zorn in the Lower East Side of NYC the day after I was scheduled to arrive in NYC to visit family.  I knew I could not miss this one. "

 Tony Rosas and Andy

There is nothing quite like Timba live,  and Timbalive is quite an experience too.   When they performed in  Chicago, their first appearance in the area,  they played  like they had something to prove, and they were able to do just that.  There are reasons why this group is able  to perform with the likes of Mayito Rivera and Manolin, and we heard those reasons here.    
Click here to continue reading our concert review and view the photos from the performance. 

The Creole Choir of Cuba or Grupo Vocal Desandann as they are called in Cuba, formed in 1994.  Their ancesters are from Haiti and the group is from Camagüey, Cuba.  The Creole Choir sing and dance to traditional Haitian music, using only drums, percussion instruments and beautiful lush vocal harmonies.  Their first US tour began in September, 2011.  I caught them in San Francisco on November 3, 2011 - click here for the full gallery. [Tom Ehrlich]

El Zorro y Su Clan @ Moods

(CLICK HERE TO READ ALL ABOUT IT AND CHECK OUT OUR PHOTOS )

Young Cuban pianist makes jazz waves -- If you live in New York be sure to check out young Fabián Almazán. He's playing in heavywieght trumpeter and Spike Lee movie composer Terence Blanchard’s band, but hés also got his own jazz trio. Smoking. 9 and 10:30 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street, Greenwich Village, (212) 989-9319, corneliastreetcafe.com; $15 cover, with a $10 minimum. With bassist Linda Oh and the drummer Henry Cole.

Gloria Estefan & Ricky Martin on Glee? -- rumor has it Ricky will play a Spanish teacher and Gloria will take on the role of a mom. "Glee" is the most popular music-focused television show in the U.S. source

Italy-based "Timba EN Talla" releases new CD "Pa'l Mundo" --  anyone know who these musicians are? Well-versed in jazz, these guys certainly have the chops. Bomba's galore. Here's a new video below....

Cachao's "The Last Mambo" nominated for Best Tropical Latin Album --  no question this master deserves another Grammy nod. It's a celebration of post-revolution Cuban music and tradition....descargas, danzones, cha cha cha,  El Cuarto De Tula featuring Issac Delgado, etc. However it begs the question: When will people get motivated to support more modern projects? Also related: hey salseros...the 1970's was 40 years ago.  

Cuban Festival in New Zealand -- yeah that's right. There'll be rumba and Cuban cha-cha as the world's top salsa dancers take to the floor in New Zealand during the next three days. Salsa on the Awa is hosting the third annual New Zealand Cuban Festival, which opens tonight. Salsa workshops today are open to the public (7pm-10.30pm) followed by a salsa dance party, and tomorrow workshops start from 9.30am and run to 5pm, with others on Sunday (9.30am-1pm).source

Hoy nos llegan unas fotos de la orquesta femenina de Cuba -- Anacaona -- de su participación en los Premios Lucas 2011, este año presentado en el Teatro Karl Marx en la Habana. Gracias Ánika y Georgia.

Los Premios Lucas son premios otorgados en Cuba para los mejores video clip musicales. El premio surge por un programa de televisión que se comenzó a transmitir en Cuba alrededor del año 1995 el programa tuvo otros nombres como El patio de mi casa es... y Cáscara de mandarina pero finalmente pasó a llamarse simplemente Lucas y con él los Premios Lucas entregados a los mejores videos realizados en Cuba. En el año 2002 los premios amplían sus fronteras y pasan a ser Festival del videoclip cubano donde el evento ventral no son solo los premios en si, sino que viene acompañado de una serie de conciertos y presentaciones de las principales agrupaciones. A lo largo de los años, ha habido un incremento paulatino de la cantidad y calidad de los video clips presentados, lo cual ha sido un estímulo al desarrollo de los mismos. source

Los otros video nominados este año son: Si me besa tu boca (LEONI TORRES) - El cachito (KOLA LOKA) - Gente (RAUL PAZ) - Chupi-chupi (OSMANI GARCIA E INVITADOS) - A la my love (KOLA LOKA) - Llora si te duele (ANACAONA) - Pleistetion (BUENA FE) - Charanguero (CHARANGA HABANERA) - Mi televisor (MONEDA DURA ) y La suerte (CHARANGA HABANERA).

view the complete photo gallery here
fotos cortesía de Peter Cheyne y  Patricio Sobrado

In the first weeks of August 2011, Calle Real was invited to play in Japan on a tour named Vivela Salsa tour 2011 = http://www.vivela.jp/2011/info_en.html

Since I moved to Santiago, Chile in 2010, I had played with the band in Israel in April 2011, and now I looked forward to meet the boys again for a 10 days tour in Japan.

I had a vague idea of what Japan was! But mostly from movies and design, a modern high-tech society on top of a disciplined aged culture with a passion for rituals. It pretty much summed my impression of Japan before the tour.

Visiting Japan with Calle Real, it did not change my generalized view of Japan in its essence, but it made me view it from the inside and added soul and flesh to the picture already in place. But to be honest, Japan vastly exceeded my expectations!

I had the wrong impression that the disciplined part of the culture would not let the Japanese people enjoy themselves unless very rigid conditions were fulfilled. And I was astonished by the vivid and joyful spirit of the salseros and timberos from Japan when partying, listening or actively receiving our music into their hearts, or when showing us appreciation as the dedicated fans they were.

I got enchanted by the details of the rituals in normal Japanese life. When waiting for the elevator as an example.

Everybody entering an elevator respectfully agrees with their eyes communication and body language who is going to enter first, the children, followed by the women and the man last of course, and if you are already are in the elevator, the entering people do nicely great you. This is different from many other cultures where entering the elevator is almost a race. read more...

I did a short interview with Jonas where he answered questions about his background, the singles and the sello of the band, which is currently just going under his name. Click here to read the interview.

Click here to listen to the single “No Tiene Caso”

Bandmembers: 
Jonas Pomo, piano & coros
Cecilia Ferrer, lead vocals
Pablo Cepeda, coros
Whitney Hernandez, coros
Linus Svanberg, congas
Magnus Almqvist, drums & timbales
Viktor Nyberg, bass
Simon Monserrat, güiro
Johan Nordfeldt, trumpet
Rickard Lindgren, trumpet
Peter Fredriksson, trombone
Lisa Bodelius, trombone
photo right: Cecilia Ferrer

Official roster released !! 

"Cuba All Stars" se presentará en el Estadio de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos en el marco del  Cubaníssimo 2011, el sábado 17 de diciembre. 

Las entradas ya están a la venta en Teleticket de Supermercados Wong y Metro. Y ademas del descuento de pre venta se suma un descuento adicional del 20% si es que las entradas son compradas  con tarjeta de crédito Metro. 

Serán más de 40 músicos que se alternaran en escena e interpretarán los mejores temas que ellos ha popularizado, convirtiéndose realmente en una orquesta de lujo. A continuación esta es la nomina oficial  de los integrantes de "Cuba All Star" integrada por músicos cubanos de reconocida trayectoria.

Dirección Musical - Juan Formell / Adalberto Álvarez

Pianistas - Maykel Blanco - Lázaro Valdez (Bamboleo) - Roberto Cucurucho (Van Van) - Dorgeris Álvarez ( Orq Adalberto Álvarez) - Toni Rodríguez (Habana de Primera)

Tecladistas - Boris Luna  (Van Van) - Jusef Díaz ( Klimax) - Gretchem Reve  (Orq Reve) 

Bajistas - Yandy Martinez (Habana D' Primera) - Pavel Molina (Van Van)

Batería / Timbales - Samuel Formel (Van Van) - Giraldo Piloto (Klimax) - Rodnie Barreto (Habana D'Primera)

Guiro - Julio Noroña (Van Van )

Flautistas  - Jorge Leliebre (Van Van) - Jose Luis Cortes "El Tosco" (NG la Banda)

Congas - Guillermo del Toro ( Habana de Primera )

Bongó - Keisel Jimenez (Habana de Primera)

Trombonistas - Hugo Morejón (Van Van) - Amaury Pérez ( Habana de Primera) - Dheyane Rivera (Orq. Adalberto Álvarez )

Trompetistas - Orlando Vásquez (Habana de Primera) - Hyuni Martínez  (Habana de Primera) - Adán Gómez (Orq. Adalberto Álvarez)

Cantantes / Coros
Los Van Van  - Yenisel Valdez - Abdel Rasalp (Lele) - Roberto Guayacán Hernández (Roberton) - Mandy Cantero (el animal)
Orq. Adalberto Álvarez - Michael González - Walter Jusvir (Mantecado)
NG la Banda - Tony Calá
Maykel Blanco - Yordis Larrazabal (Maykel Blanco y su salsa Mayor ) - Yaser Ramos
Habana D' Primera  - Alexander Abreu
Grupo Klimax - Leonardo Garrido - Reiner Rojas - Noel Diaz
Bamboleo - Yuneisi Sastre - Ailyn Dallera - Ronnis López
Solistas - Emilio Frías "El Niño del Charangon" - Tania Pantoja (Ex bamboleo) - Leo Vera 

Also new this week from Los Van Van is "La Maquinaria". 

La Maquinaria - Los Van Van
1. La maquinaria
2. Recíbeme
3. Qué tiene ese guajiro
4. Mis santos son ustedes
5. La bobería
6. Eso que anda
7. Control
8. Un año después
9. Yo no le temo a la vida
10. Final

The new album by José Luis Cortés & NG. La Banda -- “Mis 22 años” --  a tribute to the 22 of existence for the project, one that was at the very forefront of the genre since the 90's, was recorded between February and June of last year at Egrem Studios in Havana. It's a 2 disco set. 

Listen to the song CALABAZA with Tirso Duarte on vocals now on Radio Timba

The album counts with more than 30 all-star guests -- Chucho Valdés, Juan Formell, Pedrito Calvo, Tirso Duarte, Tania Pantoja, Vania Borges, Elito Revé Lázarito Valdés,  Manolito Simonet, Lázaro Dagoberto González Jr., Rafaelito Lay, Mayito Rivera,  David Calzado, Adalberto Álvarez, Giraldo Piloto, Changuito, César Pupy Pedroso, Alain Daniel, Angelito Bonne, Ricardo Amaray, Cristian & Rey, Coco Freeman and Yeny Valdés.

Kings of Salsa dance & theater show - This collaboration between dancer Roclan Gonzalez Chavez of Cuban ballet fame and London producer Jon Lee is heating up the theater scene for those who enjoy live dance performances. The purely music and dance show (no dialogue) features all original music (anyone know who the composer is?) a company of nine dancers and the eight-member band Cuba Ashire plus two vocalists. source

Cuban born, Emmy & Grammy winning composer charged - Cuban born, Julliard School of Music graduate and Emmy & Grammy winning composer -- Fernando Rivas -- pleaded not guilty and was free on $300,000 bond for production, distribution and possession of child pornography in South Carolina. Mr. Rivas composed music for shows like Sesame Street, in which his songs featured singers Celia Cruz, Gloria Estefan and Cyndi Lauper. source

Tiempo Libre has a new website - Now it's easier to find tour dates and news on TL. source

Japan-based Cuban percussionist debuts first solo album - Escuela Nacional de Arte graduate Juan Carlos López debuts his first-ever solo album -- called Dale Coco --  in a night of salsa grooves at club Crocodile in Harajuku, Japan. The album features a track with leading Japanese salsa outfit and Universal Music recording artists Salsa Swingoza. source

Latin Grammy wrap-up - Exiled Cuban singer-songwriter Amaury Gutiérrez won a Latin Grammy this past November 10 and dedicated his award to The Ladies in White movement. Other Cubans henored with Latin Grammy wins were Paquito D’Rivera and Lena Burke, as well as a posthumous award to Israel "Cachao" López.  source

We observed that there is a case to be made for either creating a separate category for Timba (where does it really belong right now?  Salsa? Contemporary Tropical? Traditional Tropical? Urban?)  or combining it with some of its cousins for a new category.  Here are three bands - two from Cuba and one from the US - that don't quite fit the usual labels people try to apply to the music. 

First up is Sergio Valdes y Elevense, from Cuba, who were featured in some of the soundtrack of the recent film Juan de Los Muertos:

Next is Interactivo,  one of the best and musically diverse bands in Cuba that many Americans aren't familiar with:

Finally, from Miami,  Florida, here's a fairly new video from Palo! : 

So what is the point, you ask?   What do these have in common with each other or with Timba for that matter?  Two things:  1. This is all as "Latin" as it gets, but where does it all fit in the category structure of the Latin GRAMMY awards?  2. Like Timba, this  other music is underexposed in North American media markets. I'm not really sure that these bands belong in the same pot with Timba, but they are examples of an entire spectrum of the music that is intelligent, exciting, and relatively ignored compared to  more traditional and/or commercial recordings.  

The lack of media exposure is the more important issue of the two, and in the near future, we will begin an in-depth series on how Timba and other progressive Cuban music is received in the US,  how it is all treated by our media (especially radio), and how these things are all connected.    Stay tuned.  

LINKS: Physical Book - eBook - Audio Files

¡Timba en Serbia! Ya tu sabes. Can't get tired of saying timba is an international phenomenon. This three day Cuban music & dance festival open with a performance tomorrow from Manolito y su Trabuco on November 11, 2011. World-class dancers and instructors are featured throughout.

Finally! Cool videos from Maykel Blanco's US tour are surfacing on youtube. Maykel's band was TIGHT and very well rehearsed. Here's a take on Esto está from New York's packed S.O.B's show. 

Word on the street (pun intended) is that Washington D.C. has a new timba band called TIMBA STREET. They will be playing in New York at the Kennedy Center on November 21rst. A dance floor will be installed. Dance instruction will be provided at 5 p.m. by Casineros. Part of Swing, Swing, Swing. Haven't heard anything yet of quality from Timba Street, mostly partial live segments in need of a tune up. 

And this from La Timbera Mayor Michelle White - If you need a serious recalibration, turn up the volume (the audio level is pretty low) on this excellent documentary on the roots of Timba and the famous Team Cuba. For a complete report on the Team Cuba concerts, musicians, etc. see http://www.timba.com/artists/show/teamcuba

This documentary includes concert clips and interviews with Juan Formell, José Luis Cortés, Adalberto Álvarez, Issac Delgado, Manolín El Médico de La Salsa, Paulo FG, David Calzado, Mayito Rivera, Ralph Mercado, Julio Montalvo and José Loyola.

Special thanks to the following people: Richard Ortega López, Kevin Moore, Gabriel Wilder, Curtis Lanoue, Orlando Fiol, Magnus Lindgren and to the people at SF for inspiring me to subtitle this video and make the information available to a wider public and maybe help answer the question "what is Timba?". If you're already a fan, this documentary is an important historical document. If you're not into timba, maybe it will at least give you an idea of why the rest of us are so crazy about it .

Finally, the "advanced" section - for true masochists - explains "clave changes", including the really difficult ones like Sandunguera, Se acabó el querer, Todos vuelven and Llegó la música cubana.

There are also some really stunning clave photos by Tom Ehrlich throughout the 90 page book.

LINKS = PHYSICAL BOOK ($15)   -   eBOOK ($10)   -   AUDIO FILES (free)

Free Audio Files: With all the other Beyond Salsa books, the book and audio are separate products, but for this course, you have to have them both for it to make any sense, so the audio files are a free album download. If you are new to the LPM site be sure to check your spam folder so that you can click on the activation link, because you must either login or register to be able to download the free audio album. Let me know what you think! [Kevin Moore]

More book news: I'll be releasing the second Pupy book (Vol. 11) at 11:11 a.m. on 11/11/11 - more on that soon. Meanwhile, Curtis Lanoue's and José Eladio's excellent Afro-Cuban Percussion Workbook now has a companion DVD product which is so well-done that it's inspired me to add a DVD product for the Calixto Oviedo books. Also getting rave reviews is Roberto Vizcaíno's Método para la eseñanza de la Percusión Latina. Vizcaíno and Eladio taught side by side at la ENA (as did Pupy, actually) for many years and are among the most important Latin percussion players and teachers on the planet.

COWELL THEATRE, SAN FRANCISCO - OCTOBER 29, 2011
TOM EHRLICH reporting from San Francisco - view the full story & gallery here 
** Notice to the politically paranoid - this article contains this author's honest attempt
 at accurately reporting the background information and context for the story of the theater performance, any political biases or interpretations are your own. **

La Colmenita, a group of extremely talented actors/musicians (ages 5 to 15 years old) from Cuba performed in New York City, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco Bay Area.  I was fortunate to catch their last show in San Francisco.  La Colmenita is a Unicef Goodwill Ambassador.  Unicef is a branch of the United Nations which specializes in issues related to children.  While in New York, La Colmenita presented a special performance at the United Nations.

During their U.S. tour, they performed various plays which included Abracadabra, which was presented the night I attended.   Abracadabra is described as introducing Americans to the Cuban youth perspective on everything from the Beatles and well-loved fairy tales to the plight of the Cuban Five, a group of men who sacrificed their lives to protect the Cuban people from terrorism.  

The play is short skits which show interactions in classrooms between teachers and students, blending in musical interludes with the young actors singing, dancing and playing all instruments. The music was salsa and timba (mostly Adalberto Alvarez and Los Van Van songs).  These kids smoked (meaning they played at an extremely high and impressive level),  especially a young female drum set player who is ready to replace Samuel Formell any day now.   The show was a class act in every way - the acting and performing were top notch and the writing of the play and how it was put together were superb.

Abracadabra a sympathic protrayal of the Cuban 5.  In case you have not heard, the Cuban 5 are five Cubans who came to the United States and inflitrated some of the anti-Castro organizations in the Untied States which were planning and carrying out actions against Cuba, including attacks and bombings in an effort to topple the Cuban government.  

The Cuban 5's mission was to monitor these groups.....read the full story here. 

One of the youngest actors in La Colmenita is the grandson of the great Cuban band leader and composer, Adalberto Álvarez. What follows are some photos I took at the joy filled and emotional performance.

Back stage before performance - Kevin Lázaro Pérez Álvarez - grandson of Adalberto Álvarez

This young lady had some mean timba licks.

Pinch me I'm dreaming....our Perú connect Feri DJ reports on an upcoming concert event of historical proportions. For this great collaboration to happen, the Cuban music agencies held a meeting in Lima with local promoters discussing a hold on all timba tours -- a vision led by Juan Formell of Los Van Van. The lineup is so loaded that a really concentrated effort was needed to assure participation from all the band leaders. Are you READY FOR THIS....

The concert counts with the participation of up to 40 artists of top calibre, among them...

• Juan Formell y Los Van Van (most of the band is coming)
• Adalberto Álvarez, "El Caballero del Son", and his daughter Dorgeris (pianist)
• drummer Giraldo Piloto, leader of Klimax 
• Alexander Abreu (trumpet) director of Havana d' Primera
• Maykel Blanco, director of Salsa Mayor.
• singer Leo Vera  ex-Irakere & ex-Charanga Habanera, "Hombre casado" & "Mi estrella" 
  
• singer Emilio Frías, "El Niño",  from Orquesta Revé
• Lázaro Valdés,  pianist & director of Bamboleo
• José Luis Cortés “El Tosco"  (flute) director of NG la Banda
• singer of NG fame, Tony Calá 
  
• ex-Bamboleo singer Tania Pantoja
  
• among others...Can You Believe It!!

Here's the first official video of the event:

For tickets contact - Teleticket de Wong y Metro (http://www.teleticket.com.pe/ )
Facebook page = https://www.facebook.com/festivalcubanisimo

The official Los Van Van website is down = www.vanvandeformell.com = but after months of rumors that lead singer Mario "Mayito" Rivera left the iconic band (a press release was made on the Los Van Van website), no one has yet to report that they have seen them perform with the alleged new replacement Armando "Mandy" Cantero (formerly of Pupy y los que Son Son among others). Los Van Van performed in Mexico recently without Mayito but Mandy was not present, even though it was reported he was in Mexico at the time.  In related news Mayito has been singing with Monika (Mesa) y la Máquina Perfecta.  

Manolito y su Trabuco are in Hamburg, Germany today then covering Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Serbia and the Netherlands. Cuban music is truly international. Check out the tour page for all the official dates. 

Maykel Blanco's recent, independently produced US tour was well received and attended. The band was really TIGHT and executed consistently with tremendous energy. I really missed their recent hit "Un Kilo" which was not featured in any of the shows. I saw them in 2007 and this is by far the best group configuration, rhythm and horn sections. The pedal and bomba gears were in full, hard-hitting force. The singers delivered pure fun. Hoping they will be back next year for sure. Rumor has it Miami has 2 new singers and one smoking keyboard player. 

My Secret Radio

Vestido de Blanco by Havana Heavy Hitters.  This was released in the US for digital distribution before this writer began doing reviews of new recordings for Timba.com but within the eligibility window for the award. This unique all-star project includes many of the best musicians from the best of the bands from Cuba including (among many others) Michel Maza and Alexander Abreu, two of the most respected Timba artists on the island today.  (Read more about this recording and hear samples here.)  The combination of digital distribution only and release by an independent label admittedly makes for a dark horse candidate, but it deserves serious consideration for its musical merit alone. 
We could name a few other worthy candidates for consideration if we chose, the point is that there are recordings worthy of recognition in this eligibility cycle, and it would help promote the genre as a genre (one of the Academy's many missions, is it not?) if at least one Timba recording (or even two) found its way to at least an actual final five nomination this year.  It is our hope that the voting members of NARAS will examine the best of this year's output in the Timba genre as closely as it does the rest of the styles under the Tropical Latin umbrella.  If it truly does so, this writer is confident that at least one of the many fine recordings produced over the past year will prove to warrant consideration. 
We aren't going to put the case to NARAS for a separate Timba category for the simple reason that we acknowledge that domestic US output would probably not sustain a separate category over time. Longer-term, this is clearly a subject more properly tackled by LARAS, which has the ability to consider entries from across the globe.  Since many people belong to both academies, we hope that this essay provides some food for thought.  

As you all know, Timba is completely under the radar as far as terrestrial US radio goes so your support is crucial to the movement. We would love it if all the fans could reach out to their Recording Academy member friends and ask them for their consideration. If you are not a member of the Grammys and don't know anyone who is just check it out to hear what all the buzz is about. The collective hope is that this helps build the momentum to get Alexander Abreu and Habana D'Primera and other Cuban artists their first tour of the US.

Español: Con la esperanza de sacarle provecho al surgimiento de los conciertos de grupos musicales cubanos aquí en los EE.UU., el álbum Vestido de blanco de los Havana Heavy Hitters ha llegado a la primera ronda y papeleta de votación de los 54tos Premios Grammy bajo la categoría "Best Tropical Latin Album" (Mejor Disco Tropical Latino). Havana Heavy Hitters es un proyecto especial producido por hermanos Yosvel & Edduar Bernal Pina (fue el tecladista y co-director musical de Paulito FG por un tiempo) y el baterista Michael Gerald. La grabación incluye un reparto verdaderamente estelar de algunos de los mejores, y más conocidos mundialmente,

cantantes e instrumentistas cubanos del estilo bailable contemporaneo (timba). Cuenta con miembros de Habana D' Primera (Alexander Abreu), Los Van Van (Hugo Morejón), Irakere (Michael Antes), Charanga Habanera (Michel Maza & Osamni Collado), Bamboleo (Rafael Paceiro), Klimax (Papiosco Torres), and Issac Delgado & Paulito F.G. (Roberto Cucurucho Rodríguez) entre otros. Oprima aquí para la lista completa de participantes y créditos.

Como todos ustedes saben, la Timba como género está completamente bajo el radar de los medios emitivos de radio terrestre en los EE.UU., por lo tanto tu apoyo es crucial para el movimiento. Nos encantaría que todos los seguidores del género puedan hacerles llegar esta noticia sus amigos (y amigas) miembros de la Academia de Grabación y pedirles que por favor consideren este álbum para la nominación. Si no eres miembro de los Grammys y no conoces a nadie que sea sólo échale una oída al álbum para que sepas de qué se trata toda la buya. La esperanza colectiva es que esto ayude a crear el impulso para conseguir que Alexander Abreu and Habana D Primera y otros artistas cubanos puedan llegar de primera gira acá a los EE.UU.

Click Here for Peter Maiden's Gallery

Click Here for Tom Ehrlich's Gallery

Click here for Tom's first gallery, from Moe's Alley in Santa Cruz. Still to come are galleries from both Tom and Peter Maiden from Café Cócomo in San Francisco.

Book News: The second Pupy Pedroso book is about a week or two away. It's the longest one yet and in the process of writing it, I came across so many clave changes that I decided to add an appendix explaining clave using dancing, singing and clapping exercises. For those who don't want the whole piano book I'm going to release the clave course as a special stand-alone product with a PDF and audio files for one low price. That should be coming out within a couple days. Stay tuned! [Kevin Moore]

Last night produced another torrid show from Salsa Mayor - this time at SF Cócomo. We'll have scads of great photos from Peter Maiden and Tom Ehrlich soon. Those crazy enough to go to both shows reported that Aragón at Yoshi's Oakland was nearly sold out and had absolutely exquisite, tear-inducingly beautiful sound. No such claims were made about Cócomo's sound system, but Oakland's trickles of nostalgic tears were countered by a raging river of testoserone across the Bay. Aragón continues tonight and tomorrow. Meanwhile Salsa Mayor heads to Bellingham tonight and Seattle  Sunday, then back to SF Monday night for a clinic and a new show added Wednesday Night at Oakland's House of Music, and then on to The Reef  in Long Beach (Los Angeles) Thursday. (Click "continue reading" for 2 more photos). [Kevin Moore]

Okay - these guys are really hot! This was one of the two bands I had never seen live so I'm still pretty bowled over, learning people's names, etc. Fortunately, Michelle White has built a truly EPIC Salsa Mayor section over the last few years - with monstrous quantities of lyrics, concert reports, video, photos et al., so check that out for details and I'll just give you my first impressions. 

So, yeah, really hot. The rhythm section is incredibly disciplined, well rehearsed, and just plain fierce - even by Havana standards. They have 14 members: bass, two keyboards, drums/timbales, congas, güiro, 2 trumpets, 2 bones, and 4 singers. All four singers are very strong and one guy is just off the hook - and as dancers, the whole band is the best to come through here - probably ever. They have this amazing, rippling, wave-like set of moves that they all do (even the bassist while he's playing). These guys have perfected every visual and musical detail and their rapid ascendance to the top tiers of the Havana scene now makes perfect sense. More veteran SM fans than I have also pointed out that this particular incarnation of the band is probably the best they've had. More photos coming soon. In the meantime, get your fix here ... and here ... or check out one of our six video interviews or twelve concert videos.

Bay Area: Tonight, Friday, at Cócomo: There's some stiff competition, but to be honest, if you miss this band, you're going to be very sorry when your friends come to you drooling about it. The Cócomo show is unlikely to start before 10:00, so if you're rich (haha) you can probably catch Aragón's first show and not miss any of Salsa Mayor. Aragón also plays Saturday and Sunday. Salsa Mayor returns for a lecture at Mission Cultural Center on Oct. 17th.

Washington State: Tomorrow, Saturday in Bellingham's Blue Horse Gallery, and Sunday in Seattle at Club Sur.

Los Angeles: Thursday October 20 at The Reef in Long Beach.

Miami: Club Aché on Saturday, October 22.

more ticket links

Full tour, including five dates/cities in France in November. [Kevin Moore]

Here is a little taste of something new by El Trabuco, a song written by Alexander Abreu and sung by Mayami that has Gabriel from Yemayá's verse raving! Check her blog for more estrenos direct from Havana. Now that she's back, she starting to upload.

Tiempo Libre really tore it up in Santa Cruz last night! Ultra-agressive timba in the extreme. Pututi III is incredible and the whole club, even by Kuumbwa standards, was absolutely on fire. The bassist Tebelio was also insanely good tonight. Make it to the clinic on Saturday and the concert on Sunday if you can. It's not obvious from this photo, but from a straight-on view, the new trumpet player, (who was also the founding trumpet player), Raúl Rodríguez, is a dead ringer for Paul Shaffer.

Click here for Tom's gallery - more coming.

Track List:
La mala de la película
Qué risa me da
Identidad
Así somos
Lo tuyo no tiene nombre
La pasamos bien
Amor por Internet
Mi barrio

Like Arsenio's or Chappottín's conjuntos, the only metal percussion is the bongosero's bell, so the overall volume level is much lower, allowing the nuances of the exquisite vocal harmonies and hand percussion to come through much more clearly, but without sacrificing any of the intensity. The music and arrangements are pure, creative, original timba - ALL timba - no smorgasbord of danzón, reguetón and chachachá filler tracks - every single song has gear changes, melodic cuerpos, great coros and mambos, funky, song-specific piano tumbaos, world-class lead vocals by Pedrito and Ariacne, and the best 3- and 4-part coros I've heard from any timba band.

Pedrito says they're going into the studio in October. Go see this band at Guantanamera if you're in New York and ask your local clubs to book them - this is the most excited I've been about a new timba band since HdP. [Kevin Moore]

Jazztimes.com, the free online extension of Jazztimes magazine, is now carrying an interesting section dedicated to Cuba.  The most recent article by Lee Mergner about the Horns to Havana program, in which jazz artists from up here are going down to the island to donate instruments and do workshops, is an especially interesting read.  The link is http://jazztimes.com/sections/cuba/articles  But we mention this for another reason as well.  Those of you working with jazz groups should consider joining the online community if you haven't already done so.  It's another place with a focused jazz audience that you can talk about the group, any recordings etc.   As anyone involved with jazz these days knows, there's no such thing as too much promotion...

Item II:  Omar Sosa's Recordings Recognized

Earlier this year in the Report From Chicago section, we did a piece on Omar Sosa and a capsule review of three of his recent recordings, Afreecanos, Ceremony and Calma.  Since that time, Ceremony won an Echo, a prestigious European jazz award, and Calma has been nominated for a Latin Grammy in the Instrumental department. Congratulations Omar.  He's doing a short tour of the US in late October-early November, and we'll have those details soon.  Here's a short video about Ceremony...

....click here to read the full article with Maraca's interview >>

En Exclusiva - Reportando Feri DJ desde Lima, Perú - Quién diría que en tan poco tiempo la orquesta dirigida por Bárbaro Fines Fortes lograría colarse tan profundamente en la popularidad, no sólo en el Perú, país que actualmente los alberga, sino también en otras latitudes mundiales, especialmente por el continente europeo. Esta travesía empezó para ser exactos un 29 de Mayo de 2010, hace poco más de un año en los barrios populares de este país al sur de América, fueron innumerables los percances acontecidos desde ese entonces, pero el esfuerzo y la perseverancia ven por fin rendir sus frutos.

Les continuo reportando al confirmar las ciudades exáctas en estos paises (nombres en inglés): France, Italia, Spain, Germany, Switzlerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal and Finland.

La orquesta acaba de anunciar a través de su departamento de prensa su primera gira europea, haciendo hincapié en que la gira inicia y cierra en la “ciudad luz”, Paris. Aún hay fechas disponibles y otras por confirmar, de requerir algún mayor detalle acerca de las condiciones por show pueden dirigirse al correo mayimbe.europa2012@gmail.com .

La primera producción discográfica de la banda destaca por su original y genuino sonido, el mismo que ha logrado cautivar a públicos de todas partes del mundo, entre los éxitos más resaltantes de esta banda cubano y peruana están, “El Diablo”, “El Cuchi Cuchi”, “De La Habana a Perú” (título que da nombre a esta producción), “Intro del Mayimbe”, “La Fiera” y otros tantos mas; está producción puede ser adquirida a través de Latin Pulse Music, siguiendo el presente enlace http://www.latinpulsemusic.com/artists/show/182 , es una producción muy recomendable para los amantes del género musical cubano en general, dado que esta agrupación sienta su base sonora en la música popular, matizada a su vez por géneros como el songo y el son. Otro punto a resaltar es que la banda cuenta con apenas 4 integrantes cubanos en su formación, el resto son todos músicos peruanos, a los cuales Barbarito ha sabido imprimir la sonoridad que este buscaba para su banda.

(The Creole Choir of Cuba - view the rest of the photos here)

     This mighty chorus of ten singers, dancers and percussionists from Camagüey is one of the most distinctive groups from Cuba that we've heard in years.  We saw their opening concert in Chicago, and you can read our full review here.   You don't speak Creole, you say?  They really are good enough that you  won't care.  The always-industrious Timbera Mayor has posted their tour schedule here.  Cuba's Creoles originally came from Haiti a couple of centuries back, both the language and the music are distinct, and this group represents and preserves an aspect of Cuba's cultural mosaic that most North Americans haven't been exposed to before.  Catch them if you can.  

UPDATE : The Louisville, KY. concert seems to have been cancelled.

Current Tour Schedule:
Saturday October 8 - S.O.B's - New York City, New York
Thursday October 13 - Moe's Alley - Santa Cruz, California
Friday October 14 - Café Cócomo - San Francisco, California
Friday October 15 - Blue Horse Gallery - Bellingham, Washington
Friday October 16 - Club Sur - Seattle,  Washington
Monday October 17 - Mission Cultural Center (Lecture) - San Francisco, California
Thursday October 20 - The Reef - Los Angeles, California
Saturday October 22 - Aché Supper Club - Miami, Florida [Mike Lazarus]

Best Salsa Album
Best Cumbia / Vallenato Album
Best Contemporary Tropical Album 
Best Tropical Song

Click here to see the offical list of all TROPICAL Latin Grammy 2011 nominees
http://latingrammy.com/nominados/6-tropical

Best Traditional Tropical Album
Toda Una Vida (Cuban Masterworks)
Albita [Angels' Dawn Records]

El Son De Altura
Adalberto Álvarez y Su Son [Bis Music]

The Last Mambo
Cachao [Latinum/Eventus]

Con La Fuerza De Un Tren
Esencia [Esencia]

Oye Mi Son Santiaguero
Septeto Santiaguero [Picap]

Ok so the Cumbia / Vallenato category we can understand the lack of Cuban music groups, but if you look at the other categories outside of "Traditional", well, Timba is completely off of the radar. We see:

- Cuban music groups only appear in the traditional category (pre-revolution genres)
- Salsa is dominated by the PR / NY sound
- Timba does not appear anywhere, especially in the Contemporary Tropical category
Timba by definición is contemporary tropical music.

All politics aside, one simple reason for this is that for the most part, and full disclosure here as I am a voting & engineering memebe rof the Grammys / Latin Grammys / P& E Wing, the members who work on a musical project, as well as their extended professional circle and individual fan base, are the ones who most vote and spearhead the support for the nomination of an album oir song. In stark contrast to the Recording Academy Grammy Awards,  which focuses on products released in the U.S. (in the period of eligibility) and its members are located in the United States, this is NOT SO for the Latin Grammys. The Latin Recording Academy recognizes recordings released anywhere in the world with the only condition being that they were recorded in Spanish or Portuguese. This means that you can be a Latin Grammy member if you live OUTSIDE of the United States (and of couse meet the necessary professional requirements). So if you are like me, and you very well know that "Haciendo Historia" and "Cuando Suena el Río" by Alexander Abreu y Habana D'Primera is fully deserving of Latin Grammy album and song awards, as well as many TImba artists that are consistently overlooked, be aware that you can absolutely do something about it. Write them = http://latingrammy.com/en/pages/contact and/or join.

In other news, today I found an excellent tool for Promoters and Producer of Live TIMBA and Latin Music events (more timba please)....

BROWN PAPER TICKETS LAUNCHES SPANISH LANGUAGE TICKETING SERVICES

Brown Paper Tickets announces the launch of new Spanish-language ticketing services and Spanish-language website (es.brownpapertickets.com). This launch marks the first time the company's full ticketing service suite has been offered in Spanish to event producers. In honor of National Hispanic Heritage month, the company is offering free English to Spanish translations of event descriptions for the first week of the new launch. Rather than simply publishing a translated website, Brown Paper Tickets has dedicated great resources to serve and support Spanish-speaking communities, estimated at over 45 million people strong in the US alone by the last census.
* Disclosure = I have no personal interest, connection or business arrangement with Brown Paper Tickets. It's just a way to sell tickets online in spanish. [Mike Lazarus]

Meanwhile, an explosion of concerts and clinics is about to hit the Bay Area, including Santa Cruz (home of timba.com's worldwide corporate headquarters).

In book news, I'm getting ever closer on the second Pupy book, about to start the first volume of Beyond Salsa Bass featuring Alain Pérez!, and about to release a stand-alone course on clave changes. And speaking of Pupy - watch for Siempre Pupy, which sounds fantastic and should be available soon. [Kevin Moore]

Top-tier TV show music departments looking for Latin music will be invited, including Charlie’s Angels, Dexter, Burn Notice, The Glades, CSI: Miami, Bad Mom, The River and Apartment 23.  Plus, connect with a who’s who of Latin music publishers who control *synch and master rights* for everything from crucial alternative and mainstream Latin releases, to perennial classics like Tito Puente, Celia Cruz and Willie Colón.  

oprima aquí para boletos - BUY TICKETS - click here for tickets 
get a 20% discount by using latinpulsemedia as your discount code

Easy $5 lot parking on 2nd street Tickets and info: www.artofmusicla.com
For additional info, media passes and interviews contact:
Peter Petro / peter@mandevillestudios.com / 310.430.5096

The Art of Music is a groundbreaking series that presents criminally overlooked specialty music for film and TV -- giving music supervisors, film composers, film directors and other professionals a unique chance to explore niche music styles, learn about upcoming projects and forge new relationships in a collaborative environment.

Join us Sept. 25 for “Cuban B-sides” featuring Cuban masters Son Mayor performing changui (similar to the son that made Buena Vista Social Club famous, but with a more haunting, percolating texture). Orquesta Charangoa rounds out the night with their lively charanga -- unique with its earthy wooden flute and violins, yet extremely useful for all-purpose “Latin” score cues.

This event is a MUST for anyone with an interest in Latin music for audio and video production, clearances, original scores or broadcast.

Beyond the performances, all attendees get a copy of the Latin Music Resources handbook and a chance to win raffle prizes including a set of handcrafted Cuban bongos, a free mastering session from Michael Lazarus (Burn Notice, Little Girl Lost), two full album downloads from Timba.com, albums from Smithsonian Folkways renowned Latin collection, a copy of My Seductive Cuba (a newly released 328-page travel guide to Cuban arts and culture) and more. Handmade Cuban instruments will also be for sale at wholesale prices. 

Peter Petro / peter@mandevillestudios.com / 310.430.5096

In book news, I'm almost done with the second Pupy Pedroso book and will move on to Alain Pérez and Beyond Salsa Bass after that. Also on the bass front, Cherina Mastrotones is working on her second book on Feliciano Arango, who should be making it to Boston sometime this year, knock on wood. [Kevin Moore]

Although they were billed at a number of sites, including here, as performing at the Beantown Jazz Festival in Boston this month, Feliciano Arango informs us that due to a great enthusiasm for Los Hermanos Arango in Boston, their trip has been delayed in order to arrange a larger event. With any luck Los Hermanos Arango will be in the US for a full-fledged tour. If you happen to know any promoters in your area, drop them a line and tell them you want to see Los Hermanos Arango live in your city!

Photographer Patrick Bonnard visited the Arangos this spring and told us about how the collaboration between Los Hermanos Arango and Berklee came about. "Professor and saxophonist Neil Leonard brought his students to Cuba last December and visited the homes of Chucho Valdés and Los Hermanos Arango. They returned in May and gave a concert, this time together with Los Hermanos Arango in La Casa de Las Americas." The Vice-President of Berklee College was in attendance and invited Los Hermanos Arango to Boston, which culminated in the current discussions about bringing the band to El Yuma. Here is an article written by Frank-John Hadley in Downbeat magazine about the visit to Cuba.

Although it would have been great to see them this month in Boston, we can console ourselves with hopes of a larger tour  to come. Feliciano also informs us that Los Hermanos Arango will soon release a new DVD featuring a collaboration with the stars of Cuban folkloric music. For this recording they invited five founders of Conjunto Folklorico Nacional who range from 80 - 90 years old. This is the beginning of what they are calling the Guanabacoa Social Rumba, where they will be performing all of the Cuban folkloric genres with the greatest exponents of each genre. This sounds like an amazing and brilliant project and I can hardly wait to see the first fruits!

For a taste of their music check out the Los Hermanos Arango channel at YouTube. Here is a little teaser: a song for Oyá including a bass solo by Feliciano Arango winner of the Timba.com Best Timba Bassist Award. And if you are inspired to delve more deeply into the bass style of Feliciano Arango, check out the book "CUBAN TIMBA: A Contemporary Bass Technique" by Feliciano Arango and Cherina Mastrantones. It is available in both Spanish and English.

Currently on the roster are:
1) Bárbara y el Vaivén Cubano
2) Contrabando featuring Jesús Alemañy (Cubanismo)
3) DJ Rubio, DJ Samurai & DJ Pepe

The festival is currently accepting submissions from Cuban music groups and urban music artists (cubatón, timbatón, reguesón). For more information please email your press kit to Andrés Fernández Ordóñez at afopaisa2 [at] hotmail [dot] com. 

Current Tour Schedule:
Thursday October 13 - Moe's Alley - Santa Cruz, California
Friday October 14 - Café Cócomo - San Francisco, California
Monday October 17 - Mission Cultural Center (Lecture) - San Francisco, California
Thursday October 20 - The Reef - Los Angeles, California
Friday October 21 - S.O.B's - New York City, New York
Saturday October 22 - Aché Supper Club - Miami, Florida

Listen to Maykel on RADIO TIMBA - Track #10 - "Un Kilo"
First Performance in the United States! - Direct from Cuba - Visas Approved
Musician / Staff List for the Maykel Blanco U.S. Tour 2011 

First Performance in the United States!

También hoy, en mi visita a youtube investigando las recomendaciones de La Timbera Mayor, he tenido el placer de ver bailar a una pareja de Oakland, California que espera a Maykel Bkanco, disfrutando el tema "Anda y Pégate", que estrenará su primeros conciertos aquí en el Yuma en Octubre. Anda y Pégate tu también con la gira de Maykel que viene con su orquesta completa. Unsaludos fuerte a los peruanos de la bahía que son unos leales timberos y timberas!

It's author, Chen Lizra, started traveling to Cuba in 2005 in order to train with the island’s best professional dancers.  Each year she finds more excuses to visit Cuba, discovering the culture from within and hanging out with her close friends. Chen grew up in Israel and later moved to Canada. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a major in marketing, which allowed her to turn her passion — Cuban dance and music — into an inspiring lifestyle for others through her company, Latidos Productions®. 

Regarding the development of her labor of love, Chen comments: "I’ve seen many people travel to Cuba and miss the best parts of this captivating culture. It’s not easy to enter a system that is so different than your own. Yet, Cuba offers something that no other country even comes close to. I’ve decided to write this book to help travelers get a smoother traveling experience as if your local best friend met you and showed you around. I want to intrigue those who spend time in resorts to venture out, and to help those who cannot travel get to know Cuba intimately, from the comfort of their own seat."

"The book is deeply personal with my own experiences in this fun loving culture, sharing stories of possessed people, seduction, scams and much more. And yet it is a practical travel guide. The book fuses history and politics with real-life experiences among the people of this often-visited but little-understood island – Cuba on the verge of historic change.

"I've always felt the need to make a difference in the world, and this is my way of doing it. What I want you to walk away with is reflecting on what is important in life. I will be truly happy if by the end of reading this book your heart will be moved. I love Cuba like home. I hope that this book will make you fall in love with it as I did."

For more info on My Seductive Cuba = My Seductive Cuba on Amazon.com
For more info about Chen = www.chenlizra.com

"Labor of Love" is a term that I'm somewhat familiar with, but this amazing book had been a labor of love in progress well before my first trip to Cuba in 1999. Afro-Cuban Percussion Workbook is written by my first timba guru, Curtis Lanoue, about one of the greatest and least-publicized percussion masters of Cuba, José Eladio. It covers all the main folkloric and popular rhythms thoroughly and systematically. Here's the link.

Bamboleo with Ailyn Dalleras singing La historia de mi prima

The Charanga Havana All Stars are on their way to the US. The confirmed tours dates are all along the East Coast with concerts in Florida, Boston, New Jersey and New York. More dates are expected to be confirmed soon. Click here for the complete list of concerts and check back with us, because we will update as more concerts are confirmed.

The Havana All Stars are a traditional charanga with a playlist that includes son, guaracha, danzón, cha-cha-chá, changúí and even songo. They also have a dance couple with them, which adds an extra visual aspect to the show and is a great way to help the audience gain a better understanding of the connection between the music and the dances.

Bandmembers:
Julio Iznaga - Musical Director -Timbal
Julio Pulido - General Director
Alberto Alejandro Gonzalez - Congas
Angel Abreu - Güiro
Felix del Pilar ( Samy ) - Vocals
Gregorio Ernesto Laza - Vocals
Reineiro Proenza - Vocals
Angel Aristides Santos - Dancer
Yaimara Rodríguez - Dancer
Roxana de las Mercedes - Violin
Edel Lazaga - Violin
Rene Luis Herrera - Flute
Norberto Shand - Piano
Michel Armesto - Bass

Tom has posted some new photo collages to announce this weekend's San José Jazz Festival. See the Bay Area Report for more photos and more details.

2011 may be a bad year for the economy but it is turning out to be a great year for timba! At Festival Caliente in Rome, Ricardo Amaray announced that the band will be releasing a Live CD at the end of December. They played no fewer than five estrenos in Rome and they are all brilliant ! Esto es Trabuco! We have Manolito's masterful tumbaos, Miguelito "Pan con Salsa" with his teclado sabroso, Eutemio and Caldarón sweetening the mix with their strings, El Chino slapping and sliding on the electric bass during the bombas with the stellar percussion section pounding out an irresistible beat, the metales are tighter than ever with Robin Martinez, and both Robin and David Bencomo give extra power to the coros when they aren't playing. Ladies and gentlemen, this CD will be on every timbero's hoilday gift list!

So what are the estrenos? La cuenta no da - a reggaeton influenced song with Amaray on lead and the great hook ¿Dónde está la plata? ¿Dónde está el billete? , A la medida - a romantic son with Mayami on lead, and already a favorite of mine but it is not among the Rome videos, Callejero - fast-paced timba with Pepitín on lead, a guaranteed dance floor hit. There were three more estrenos that I don't know the names of performed in Rome, but I can at least tell you that they are all serious timba, lo que más te gusta .

Thanks to Benini Digital you can check them out yourselves at YouTube. Here is one to get you started, I'm going to hazard a guess and give it the working title Déjala . Enjoy!

Amaray sings an estreno from the upcoming live CD @ Festival Caliente in Rome

On July 22, 2011 timberos around the world rejoiced at the release of a new timba single by Issac Delgado. The song, Salsa, Timba y Amor, was only available in Europe. Just one week later an entire CD, Supercubano, was released at iTunes in Europe and the US. The album is a mix of timba, salsa, cubatón, rumba and even one bachata. Issac collabrorated on the album with a number of artists such as Alain Pérez, Manolín El Médico de la Salsa, La India, El Micha, Baby Lores, Gente D'Zona, Baby Lores and Los Generales. If you're in Madrid tomorrow you can catch some of the new songs, as well as any number of classic Issac hits, at the concert at Florida Park.

Track list:
El negro vuelve a La Habana - with El Micha
Perdona
Salsa, timba y amor
Somos Cuba (Mira como vengo) - with Gente D'Zona
Que no se te olvide - with La India
Mienteme
Pa'l Bailador
Mala cabeza
Que no se te olvide (bachata version)
Somos Cuba (extended version) - Baby Lores, El Micha, Gente D'Zona, Manolín, Los Generales, Alain Perez

We received notice from Fuego Entertainment that the upcoming Los Van Van US Tour has been postponed due to a visa provessing delay. Other sources confirm the visa in question belongs to Samuel Formell, the drummer, timbalero and son of the band's director and founder Juán Formell. The group feels uncomfortable going forward without its main pecussionist so the dates have been postponed to September. We will report on any specific dates and venues as soon as we recieve these confirmations.

Los Van Van will be at the Conga Room in LA on Aug. 4, at Yoshi's Oakland Aug. 5-6-7, and at SOB's in NY on Aug. 10-11-12. Check here for tour updates. Don't miss this chance to see the world's greatest dance band up close with state-of-the-art sound in an intimate setting.

On June 11th I posted an interview with Calle Real where they mentioned that they had an upcoming tour of Japan in August. The dates and venues of the five-concert promotional tour have recently been released and I have updated the Calle Real tours page . Among other events the callejeros will be performing two days at the Isla de la Salsa festival in Fukuoka. Continue reading to see the promotional video that has been uploaded to YouTube for the tour...

Eliades Ochoa had already hatched the idea for the Afro-Cubism project when the Buena Vista Social Club phenomenon swept him onto the world stage in 1997. Now, 15 years later, his original vision has finally been realized: master musicians from Cuba playing son with master musicians from the African country of Mali playing traditional Malian music. I was thrilled to photograph the historic collaboration on a magical afternoon of music at Stern Grove Park in San Francisco. Click here the full gallery. [Tom Ehrlich]

Giraldo Piloto & Klímax begin a 5-concert visit in Lima tonight with concerts at Son D'Cuba and Persepolis. The full schedule for the Lima gigs can be found on the Klímax Tours page. The band is as popular as ever with the new hit "La Pelirroja". If you haven't heard it yet do yourself a favor and check it out on Timba.com radio . It has the classic Klímax sound with hardcore vocals by Noel Díaz who is also the song's composer. It is one of the top éxitos of Summer 2011!

But this is not the same song. It's a completely new song with a masterful, classic Klímax arrangement.  The harmonies Piloto uses are unmistakable. I highly recommend this song to DJs!  Disfruten ahora a La Pelirroja ! (Currently #2 on RADIO TIMBA ). 

Klímax - La Pelirroja

Sierra Maestra 's followup at the Mayne Stage was a high-energy Cuban dance party with Son, Guaracha and  other rhythms that ended with a Conga line (we're saving  that Conga line  for a future post). Now then, there's really no substitute for catching a band like this live, so Timba.com's own Michelle White has posted their tour schedule here , but for those of you who live on another planet or just can't get to a live concert for some other reason, there is some relief available:
click here to read the full story about Sierra Maestra in Chicago and more concert photos

1.  Chicago's radio station WFMT (98.7 FM) is broadcasting its recording of  the Millennium Park concert on Friday July 22 at 11pm Central time, and they stream on the web!
2.  You can always buy (you should really do that anyway) their recent CD, Sonando Ya, which was nominated for a Latin Grammy last year and which we reviewed here a few posts ago.  
3.  We have posted a few photos from the Chicago concerts.  We also sat down with some of them for a fascinating video interview last Friday, and we'll be posting that in the future after we add in an English translation. For now, Click here for photos of Sierra Maestra's Chicago concerts

Item Two:  Maraca Tour Continues

     We caught Maraca 's performances in Milwaukee and Chicago and can't say enough good things about the current incarnation of his 13-piece band from Havana.  In fact, we're going to help you see what the crowds thought:  We have a gallery from Chicago and Milwaukee (and Colorado thanks to Celine's help) that includes, in addition to the usual shots of the musicians,  some pictures with a "band's eye" view of the crowds.  This group is throwing down some serious dance music (including some killer Timba), and the crowds are responding accordingly. click here to read the full story about Maraca and for more photos from Colorado, Wisconsin and Illinois

Item Three:  ¡Que Palo, Palo!

When the music is good enough, we have a special place in our heart for musicians and bands that defy labels if they really do have the music to go along with the posture.  Palo! is based in Miami, and its highly-talented members include Ed Calle, whose sax work alone is worth a listen, along with a vibrant singer, Leslie Cartaya, mad musical scientist Steve Roitstein (the leader), and two killer percussionists originally  from Cuba,  Philbert Armenteros and Raymer Olalde. Click here to read the full story and for more photos from Palo's recent Chicago concert.

Having finally seen the current lineup thanks to muchoswing.com and Cubavision, I am very pleased to say that they sound fantastic! The band has great energy, arrangements that call you to the dance floor and as always Limonta's lyrics are creative and intelligent, and the coros are infectious. Stay tuned for our full report on the CD, coming soon. In the meantime, here are a few words from Limonta himself and a look at Ingrid singing lead on "Perrita Fina", also known as "Sacúdate que tienes arena".

Dice Leonel Limonta a los fanes: "Como se acabó el pescao se acabó el abuso Azúcar Negra está dando que hablar con sus nuevos cantantes y nuevo CD , es el suceso de la Habana y toda Cuba."

Azúcar Negra "Perrita Fina"- cantante Ingrid Leyva

If he used both hands it just wouldn't be fair.

Pedrito Calvo Jr. has literally spent his life among Havana's musical elite. In addition to his academic music training, he has witnessed firsthand the life and work of one of Cuba's most poular and charismatic singers, his father Pedrito Calvo, ex-Van Van lead singer and now director of Pedrito Calvo y La Justicia. In 2009 after a 13-year career during which he shared the stage with musicians such as Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo, Pio Leyva, Los Van Van, Amadito Valdés and Barbarito Torres, PC Jr. formed his own orchestra, based in Italy. In 2 short years the band has released a number of singles as well as the album Mi Fiesta Latina . They have also performed in France, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia, Mexico, Venezuela, Poland, Denmark, Austria and in Cuba. For more infomation about the band including photos and videos, check out the new Timba.com section for Pedrito Calvo Jr y Su Orquesta .

They were nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2010, and we'll be doing a review of their 2010 CD, Sonando Ya  in the near future. (Photo by Bart Madjeski supplied by City of Chicago)

          Michelle White has posted their tour schedule in the Giras/Tours   section, and we hope to be able to do a live interview with them once they hit town.

     We are also doing some serious listening to a sneak preview of Maraca's new jazz CD Reencuentros,  recorded recently  by Maraca and his Latin Jazz All Stars (and there really is an interesting collection of heavy hitters in the lineup).    We dig it, and in the near future, we'll be telling you all about why.    Stay tuned.  In fact, you should do that literally - Maraca also has a dance CD in the works, and we have a sneak preview of that as well, Preguntale A Mi Mujer , in Timba.com's Radio   section. Check it out, and if you can, catch them live on tour.     

          Kevin Moore turned us on to this review of Maraca's show at the Napa Valley Opera House:
Napa Valley Register review of Maraca

Yikes - this guy is really amazing. His plane arrived just in time to get him there for the second set at Yoshi's SF, which began with a long exchange of solos between José and Maraca that electrified the crowd and the band. And he also sings in a soaring high tenor with great phrasing, intonation and stage presence - unbelievable. One more night at Yoshi's tonight - then a whole string of concerts across the US. See you there! There's another foto if you click "continue reading".

Click here for Tom Ehrlich's First Gallery (more coming soon) 

The airline lost their bags but even in street clothes Otra Visión brought down the house, with encores demanded for each set. It was a thrill to finally hear El Nene live - he has a soaring voice that reminds me of Kalunga, writes great songs, and is also an excellent improviser. In fact, every member of this band is a brilliant improviser, from ISA-graduate piano phenom Andy Rubal, to Irakere alumnus Alfred Thompson, to Maraca himself. Check timba.com radio for a new timba track recorded by the group only days before the tour for their upcoming CD, Suspendan los comentarios. Maraca also has a new all-star jazz CD/DVD coming for which we'll have a review and interview from Bill Tilford when the Maraca show hits Chicago.

Great New Photographer - The latest luminary to grace our Photography section is Bohdan Kiszczuk of BWK Photography. His pages are under construction but so far there are great galleries of Los Van Van, Klímax and Charanga Habanera in Montreal.

José Miguel Watch - José's visa came through and he'll be at the 2nd show tonight.

Julio 17 2011 marca la fecha del lanzamiento oficial de La Habana Tiene Su Meneo, el nuevo sencillo de Soneros All-Stars. Escúchalo aquí exclusivamente en Radio Timba . La composición, arreglo y producción del tema fue ejecutada por Jan Bogdan, el tresero, bajista y director del proyecto de música cubana basado en Suecia. 

Créditos y músicos participantes:

Role - Instrument	Name
Baby Bass, Tres, Director	Jan Bogdan "Yanesito
Piano	Oldrich González
Percussion	Calixto Oviedo
Trumpets	Oslén Ceballo Brian
Trombone	Christine Karlsson "Titti"
Lead Vocals	Lésmer Solensar
Vocals	Enrique Castellanos Cuesta
Vocals	Pascual Matos Aguirre "El Sinsonte"
Recording Engineer	Luis Guillermo "Gogo"
Recording Engineer	Mijail Artiaga "Micha"
Mix Engineer	Jan Bogdan
Pro Tools Assistant	Kai Sandstrom
Production Assistant	Marieal Moreno
Production Assistant	Pascual Matos Aguirre
Mastering Engineer	Michael Lázarus

Además encontrarán temas nuevos de La Combinacíon de La Habana (una colaboración con Tirso Duarte llamada "Ajústate el cinturón") y de Maraca, que nos trea su tema "Preguntale a mi mujer", del compositor y cantante Alexei "El Nene" Sánchez que estará en gira con Maraca.

Interview with Calle Real by Michelle White, Stockholm 25-05-2011
English Subtitles

Orlando "Maraca" Valle, ex-flautist of Irakere and, as the leader of Otra Vision, has chalked up a Grammy nomination, 5 Cubadisco awards and dozens of wildly successful tours.

With dual-residency in Cuba and Europe, Maraca was able to keep touring the US throughout the dismal 2000s by using all-star groups of expatriates, but the more enlightened post-Bush era has allowed him to return to his Havana roots and put together an actual working band of top Havana musicians that's been able to play gigs, rehearse, and develop unique original material.

Click "continue reading" below for a full list, but the two names that leap off the page are monster timbalero (and singer) José Miguel (ex-Irakere, ex-Issac, and the leader of Balanza), and Alexei "El Nené" Sánchez, who sang and wrote some of Revé's greatest hits of the 2000s, including No te doy más na' and La madrugada. El Nené wrote and sang several songs on Maraca's soon-to-be-released album, including this killer timba track, Pregúntale a mi mujer , an exclusive preview on timba.com. Nené packs more excitement into one syllable ("je!") than many singers can muster in a whole night.

The tour begins at the Napa Valley Opera House on Tuesday, June 14th . Then three nights at Yoshi's San Francisco (Wed-Fri) , then Seattle (21-22) , Boulder (24) , Salt Lake City (25) , Albuquerque (26) , Jazz Glenwood Springs (29) , Aspen (30, 7-1) , Minneapolis (7-6) , Madison (7-9), Chicago (7-10), Portland Indiana (7-14), Detroit (7-15), Sioux Falls (7-16) and Washington DC (7-25). 

IN OTHER NEWS: Team Bahía, with Carlos Caro and the incredible young singer Sulkary, will celebrate their first anniversary this Saturday in Oakland at Club Antón , and Ana Pérez and Luis Cancino of Los Muñequitos, along with Ana's son Sandy Pérez, of AfroCuba de Matanzas, will be giving classes in Santa Cruz on June 17, 18, 24 and 25. Click here for more details .

Elito Revé y Su Charagón @ Cubadisco 2011 - photo ©Patrick Bonnard used by permission

I was able to attend both the rehearsal and the Gala night of Cubadisco Awards at Karl Marx  Theater. 

Los Van Van opened the show and were performing live. The show was recorded in  the Karl Marx Theater in Havana (a second award ceremony was taking place simultaneously in Santiago, host of Cubadisco Fair this year) and broadcast on TV the next day. Manolito performed with his Trabuco. Elito Revé closed the show with a beautiful performance of dancers, Yemayá rising in the air (you must  already have seen that on youtube!). Elito won the award for the best album of  popular dance music, and the "Gran Premio", awarded for first time in Cubadisco history to a timba band.

Elito Revé played at La Tropical on Sunday the 22nd of May and the concert was filmed and recorded for a DVD. Then he lauched his national tour in Oriente before leaving for Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela. He'll be touring in Europe end of July and August.
-Patrick Bonnard

I can only agree with the Cubadisco decion to award these two prizes to Orquesta Revé for their latest CD ¿De qué estamos hablando? . They faced some tough competion from Adalberto Álvarez y su son (El son de altura ), Paulo FG (Sin etiqueta ), Manolito Simonet y su Trabuco (Trabuco una vez más ) and Bamboleo (¿Quién manda? ). However, ¿De qué estamos hablando? is a truly outstanding album, demonstrating Orquesta Revé standing firmly at the top of the first line. If you haven't heard it yet, click here for my review.

For those of us not fortunate enough to attend Cubadisco, here is the video that Patrick was referring to where we see the beautiful grand finale of Cubadisco 2011, with Clave y Guaguancó and the Cuban Televison Ballet performing Agua pa' Yemayá with Elito Revé y Su Charangón. Enjoy and stay tuned for more reports on Cubadisco 2011!

Revé perform Agua pa' Yemayá @ Cubadisco with Clave y Guaguancó & the TVC Ballet

Click here for the full review and a track listing.

NG La Banda amalgamated the innovations of the groups that came before it with many of its own to create a type of music that wasn't Son, Songo or Rumba - nor was it Rock, Jazz or Funk. It had ample amounts of each blended in, but its most potent component was something entirely new - something that was born in the streets and barrios of Havana in the late 1980's as the Berlin Wall crumbled. Cortés called it "Timba". illustrates, NG began as an all-star group which drew members from the most important pre-Timba bands.

Los Muñequitos de Matanzas
Folkloric Cuban Music Videos - courtesy of Congahead

Participating Musicians & Staff:
Orlando “Maraca” Valle bandleader, flute, composer, arranger 
Josiel Pérez  trumpet 
Eduardo Martínez  trumpet 
Ariel Pérez  trombone 
Alfred Thompson  tenor saxophone 
Andrés Pérez  baritone saxophone 
Lester Ciarreta  vocal 
Alexei “El Nene” Sánchez  vocal 
José Miguel Meléndez  vocal, percussion 
Iván Llanes  drums, timbales 
Yosmel Montejo  bass 
Rafael Valiente  congas, background vocals 
Andy Rubal  piano 
Céline Chauveau  manager 

Exploding onto the Cuban music scene in Lima, Perú, Bárbaro Fines y su Mayimbe deliver hard core timba that has reached international acclaim. An ex-Charanga Forever, Salsa Mayor, Banda Meteoro and Alaín Daniel pianist, Bárbarito delivers his original vision and sound with his first release..."De La Habana A Perú", also the title track of the record. La descarga incluye el librito complete del disco.

Here's a video salute to all their fans and a short "making of" this new record:

El grupo nace oficialmente como orquesta un 29 de Mayo del año 2010, previo a este lanzamiento oficial fueron aproximadamente 4 meses de constante ensayo hasta que Barbarito logro plasmar en la banda el sonido que él quería para la misma. Rápidamente el ensamble y el sonido del Mayimbe cautivaron al público, colocando así los temas de la orquesta en el hit parade nacional y calando fuertemente en la preferencia de los timberos peruanos. Cabe señalar que el común denominador de las orquestas del medio era hacer covers de las más importantes orquestas de música popular cubana del momento, otorgándole esto un merito especial al éxito de la orquesta Mayimbe.

DE LA HABANA A PERÚ - videoclip (cojones, este disco está en candela):

Tour season is upon us and we are starting to update the tour section for more and more groups, so keep a close eye on the tours section and send an e-mail if you know about any concerts we are missing. Currently Havana D'Primera are in Quebec where they will give two presentations,  Tiempo Libre is on tour in the US in support of their new release "My Secret Radio", and the defenders of son, Sierra Maestra are touring Europe. They will be stopping here in my hometown of Stockholm on May 7th. There is nothing as tasty as a good son, so check their full tour schedule to find a concert near you!

Calixto Oviedo's concert with the CSULA AfroCuban big band went very well. Calixto gave private and group lessons to the various student percussionists and played different instruments on different songs. He also played an electrifying percussion duet with conductor Robert Fernández. And to top it all off, he took the microphone on the last song and sang lead quite brilliantly - who knew? We'll have video in our new Clinics section soon.

Various LA illuminati were on hand, including George Balmaseda (singer of The Latin Giants of Jazz), pianists Gustavo Ramírez, Alberto Salas, Paul de Castro and Scott Oakley, leading drummer and Ritmologist Victor Barrientos, bassist/arranger/author Edgar Hernández (who will soon be opening an educational section in the timba.com escuelas section), Kay Torres of Curuye, and Gloria Herrera.

The May 2nd San Francisco clinic was cancelled, but now a new clinic and concert have been booked for May 7 with Edgardo Gambón and his group Candela. It's an all-day event called the Island Arts Festival, with the following schedule:

11:00 AM -1:00 PM: Percussion Workshop with Calixto and Edgardo  (drop-ins welcome)
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Special Family Percussion Workshop with Calixto and Edgardo (drop-ins welcome)
8:00 PM: Salsa Lesson
9:00 PM: Candela (Edgardo's full 9-piece band, with guest artist Calixto Oviedo)

Sliding scale $15-25, includes the workshops.
Free parking at the Paint Company nearby.

On May 9th Calixto returns to STOCKHOLM for several more clinics and gigs with the sizzling new timba band La Jugada. Meanwhile, another Afro-Cuban All Star percussionist, Pepe Espinosa (ex-Bamboleo, Azúcar Negra, Danny Lozada y su Timba Cubana, Klímax, Cubanismo etc.) has moved from Sweden to Miami.

Finally, Tom Ehrlich hits the road for two weeks in New York where he'll photograph Omar Sosa's concert and recording session, Los Muñequitos, and other events.

***  click here for Tom's New Muñequitos Gallery   *** 

UPDATES: The LA clinic was great - we'll have video in our new CLINICS section soon. The concert is tomorrow, Thursday, at the Music Hall (near the Luckman Complex) at CSULA. It's free - 8:00 p.m.

Bay Area Clinic Cancelled - Sadly, there will be no Bay Area clinic or concert.

The first Calixto Oviedo clinic (Tuesday) and concert (Thursday) are in Los Angeles, at the CAL-STATE campus (full website here) and they are FREE (GRATIS). These are almost always FULL so get there EARLY because seating is limited.

TUESDAY, APRIL 26  Beyond Salsa Percussion Clinic
7pm @ the 150 Band Room at the Music Department Cal-State
Featuring Questions and Answer Session with Calixto Oviedo and Keivn Moore & the Cal-State LA Afro-Latin Ensemble.

THURSDAY, APRIL 28  Cal-State LA Afro-Latin Ensemble Concert featuring Calixto Oviedo
8pm @ the Music Hall at the Music Department Cal-State
Cal-State LA Afro-Latin Ensemble Concert featuring Calixto Oviedo
Also Los Jovenes del Son Septet (Cal-State LA Latin Combo)

Then Calixto returns to the Bay Area for the filming of an educational video for congamasterclass.com. 

Tiempo Libre's My Secret Radio is very hot, take-no-prisoners timba, laced with all sorts of great bloques, gear changes and slick arranging. The new member (2nd from the right, standing) is Pututi III, and he's an amazing drummer who lives up to the reputations of his two older brothers (who recorded all the classic Manolín records) and his cult legend father (who should be Pututi I, and everybody else should have one number added, but ...). Anyway, the album is mostly pure timba dura, with one clever Earth Wind & Fire cover (it works well in Spanish) and a guest appearance from Albita.

Here's the latest tour info. They're in Oregon now and will play Montana and New York.

This just in: TL was just confirmed for an October date at the SF Jazz Festival!

Note: Two other TL CDs can be bought at LPM.

The clinics on the 26 & 28 of APRIL are in Los Angeles, at the CAL-STATE campus (full website here) and they are FREE (GRATIS). These are almost FULL so get there EARLY because seating is limited.

APRIL 26  Beyond Salsa Percussion Clinic
7pm @ the 150 Band Room at the Music Department Cal-State
Featuring Questions and Answer Session with Calixto Oviedo and Keivn Moore & the Cal-State LA Afro-Latin Ensemble.

APRIL 28  Beyond Salsa Percussion Clinic
8pm @ the Music Hall at the Music Department Cal-State
Cal-State LA Afro-Latin Ensemble Concert featuring Calixto Oviedo
Also Los Jovenes del Son Septet (Cal-State LA Altin Combo)

First come first server seating is limited for these FREE Los Angeles clinics. Shout out to Robert Fernández...send us a pic Robert. 

Klímax - Cannes 2010 - photo ©Patrick Bonnard, used by permission

Canadians will be happy to hear that Klímax will be performing there soon, June 3-5. All details will be posted as soon as we are fully updated.

For now let me leave you with a video from the album "Solo tú y yo"
the hit "La Permuta" sung by Leo Garrido.

Paulito and Yoshi herself burning up the dance floor at his recent Oakland tour. Click here for Tom Ehrlich's full gallery. [Kevin Moore]

APRIL 6 - Beyond Salsa Percussion
Timba Drumming Clinic
Seattle Pacific University - http://www.spu.edu - 9:30 AM
3307 3rd Ave W, Seattle, WA 98119-1997
Phone: 206-281-2142 / Dan Adams Percussion Studies

APRIL 7 - Beyond Salsa Percussion
Timba Drumming Clinic
University of Washington 
http://www.music.washington.edu - 1:00 PM
1100 Ne Campus Parkway, Seattle, WA 98105
Phone: 206-543-121 / Richard Karpen Director


Calixto's clinics coincide with his performances with the AFRO-CUBAN ALL STARS tour. Seattle shows include April 5-6-7 at the JAZZ ALLEY (http://jazzalley.com). 

Jazz Alley - jazzalley [at] jazzalley [dot] com
2033 6th Avenue, Seattle WA 98121
Phone 206.441.9729

photo by Tom Ehrlich - click here to view more

The music, the dancing and the crowd were all amazing. Tonight was the formal show with one set of Afro-Cuban music and one of rumba. Tonight, Tuesday, will be a much more informal setting, at the Mission Language and Vocation Center with Los MdM's crack dancing troupe squaring off against the "the locals", who of course, in this town, include plenty of transplanted Cuban masters like Sandy Pérez, José Francisco Barroso and Rosita Villamil who played with major folkloric groups in Havana and Matanzas. Next stop is Savannah, Georgia, then Atlanta, then Florida and the buzz is that the three New York shows are already almost sold out. CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL TOUR.

Pepito performing to a full house in New York last week

They say that Cuba and Puerto Rico are "two wings of a bird" and the latest collaboration between Cuba and Puerto Rico is the new single "No me saques de tu vida" lyrics and music by José Gómez "Pepito", José Lugo & Juan José Hernández  "Juanchi". Pepito needs no introduction to timba fans. His brilliant tenor voice is unmistakable and his iconic interpretations have left an indelible mark on contemporary Cuban dance music. Also a composer, Pepito contributed the mega-hit "Un poquito al revés", including the coro that gave the name to the award-winning CD "Tranquilo que yo controlo" by Pupy y Los Que Son Son. Since his arrival in the US in 2008 Pepito has performed  to rave reviews and recorded with a number of artists, and he is now part of José Lugo's latest project in the Guasábara series as composer and lead vocalist on the single "No me saques de tu vida", which premiers on Puerto Rican radio tomorrow!

José Lugo is one of the most important Latin producers with many Grammy nominations and eight wins under his belt. Lugo produced, arranged and played piano on the single, and you will recognize his style with some interesting and unexpected harmonic changes and even a bit of a timba teaser at 3:30. Juanchi is the director of the group San Juan Habana. An ex-singer for Adalberto Álvarez, he is the composer of such hits as El Gran Combo's "Arroz con habichuela" and Gilberto Santa Rosa's "El conteo regresivo", as well as "Ella menea" by NG2. This is truly a stellar combination.

So how did Los Joséses begin this collaboration? Pepito tells us:
José Lugo and I met through Issac Delgado who referred him to me. José Lugo invited me to sing on a production that he was doing for Pablo Aubia, bassist and director of the group Batambo. Mr. Aubia is Argentinean and living in Geneva. I went to Puerto Rico and we met, and after that we stayed in contact and formed a good friendship. José Lugo had now finished the first production of his CD "Guasábara". It was a project with a big orchestra where singers such as Gilberto Santa Rosa, Cano Estremera, Víctor Manuel, Issac Delgado and Herman Olivera participated and it was nominated for an American Grammy. With the passage of time our friendship led us to work together. He proposed that I do two songs to start with for the project "Guasábara 2"  with a 7-musician format and the possibility of doing live performances. We recorded two songs, this one and another that is in the mixing process called "Si te quiere sola regresa" . The lyrics and music are mine, and the arrangement, production and piano are by José Lugo.

"No me saques de tu vida" was recorded in Puerto Rico at José Lugo's Guasábara Records and will be available at iTunes next week. These are the two first songs prepared for the CD Guasábara Combo.

(after Paulo grabs some air, and water......)
Las cubanas, con su gozadera
Se le puede dar un deo, se coje la mano entera
A esas cubanas, que son abusadoras
Tu no te ves muy dafne, y yo tengo mi señora

crowd: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

No me metas en compromiso, no me metas en eso
Que ya bastante tengo, que andan diciendo
Dicen que yo, por aquí, dicen que yo, por allá
Me cojen los paparazi y después, y me van a ripiar

Ahí está la gente de TIMBA, punto com
Y después dicen que Paulito es un puto, puto, puto, punto com
Y no puede ser, yo estoy tranquilo
Por que la cojen conmigo, si yo le dije a Michael pa' rriba

Pero lo que pasa es que la gente
No se da cuenta y quiere ponermela dura
Sobre todo cuando tu llegas, cuando estás pegao
Cuando eres figura, se te arriman por al lao y te rayan la pintura 

NEW CORO
Cuando estas pegao, cuando eres figura
Se te arriman por al lao, y te rayan la pintura

(When your hot on the charts, when you are a public figure
They rub up against you and scrape your paint)

HELL YEAH! Boooommmmbbbaaaaa. Te la comiste Paulo con ese coro.
Thank you delaa24 whoever you are for this great video. Aché pa' tí.

In the future, Sin Clave No Hay Na will have interviews, reviews of CD releases, major concert reviews and other items of interest.  Stay tuned.

Attention Timba Lovers in New York! A free screening of the Los Van Van concert documentary Eso Que Anda / Van Van Fever is happening on Friday, April 1rst, 6:00 pm at the Bronx Museum of the Arts (presented by Havana Film Festival New York). 

Cuban Ian Padrón follows Los Van Van, the most popular band in Cuba since 1969, during their last tour in Cuba attended by more than 1 million people and examines the band’s history and future plans. In addition, The Pedrito Martínez Project will be playing with an unique interpretation of Caribbean-tinged Afrobeat rhythms. So, cool Timba movie + live Cuban music....can't be beat on a Friday night in NYC! Please snd pics if you go.

In the US Paulo FG has just completed a series of concerts in San Francisco that have Kevin waxing lyrical. Hopefully he will post a full report later, but I will say that Paulo and his band were in top form and made quite an impression on the fans in California.

Calixto Oviedo also stopped by to see Paulo the other night. They played together in Adalberto's band lo those many years ago. Calixto is in the US now with Afro-Cuban All Stars for the North American leg of their spring tour . Calixto will also be holding some percussion clinics : April 6 and 7th in Seattle at Pacific Seattle University and Washington University, respectively and April 26 in LA, and April 28 at Cal State U in LA. If you can\t make those clinics, check out his books in the Beyond Salsa Percussion series.

And get ready for the summer tour season! It will be here before you know it.

Tuvimos el gusto de tener en los estudios de Radio Planicie y en nuestro programa a los integrantes de la Orquesta Mayimbe, Bárbaro Fines Fortes,  pianista y Director del grupo, llegó acompañado del lider vocal de la agrupación Angel Ramirez Ballesteros y del bajista Reynier Pérez Rodriguez. Nos comentaron acerca del trabajo que vienen llevando adelante. Tocando temas propios, con letras frescas y bailables.

Bárbaro Fines es el autor de la mayoría de los temas; es oriundo de La Habana (Cuba). Estudió música en el Conservatorio Teresa García Caturla además de otros centros de formación académica. Participó en uno de los proyectos primigenios de Maykel Blanco, tambien estuvo ligado a Bakuleyé. Llegó a Perú como integrante de la orquesta Los Conquistadores, luego volvió a Cuba y retornaría nuevamente a Perú con La Caroband. Después de algun tiempo retorna por propia iniciativa a Perú. Por un tiempo trabajó con A1 Band, luego ya iniciaría su periplo musical con su propio ensamble, Mayimbe.

Angel Ramirez Ballesteros, natural de Lima. Cantante que ha integrado otras agrupaciones nacionales (Los Trabucos, D'Farandula, etc), lleva el sabor en la piel, a veces parco para la charla, pero desenvuelto en la tarima. Admirador de Michel Maza Marquez. Considera que Mayimbe, marcará una nueva etapa musical en el país. Esta es la  primera vez que Angel, graba, él se siente satisfecho con lo ofrecido en la interpretación de los temas de la agrupación.

Reynier Pérez Rodriguez, Nacido en Cuba. Contrabajista. Amante de la música tradicional cubana. En la isla trabajó con agrupaciones del género. Talento puro y exquisitez musical, así puedo definir a Reynier, un tipo bueno y que aporta con ideas y musicalidad a Mayimbe.

La charla fue amena y matizada con conceptos musicales valederos. Entre los principales está el que toda agrupación tiene que pegar con lo suyo, además tener su propio sonido o sello.

Hay que señalar que dentro de muy poco Mayimbe, pondrá a la venta su primera producción "De La Habana a Perú". Los temas tienen el sonido característico de Mayimbe (fusión rítmica de Songo, Son, Sonido Campesino, etc). Es toda una mezcla sabrosa de ritmos con fusión vocal cubano - peruana.

Tracks = 1- Intro del Mayimbe, 2- El diablo, 3- La fiera, 4- Acuérdate, 5- De La Habana a Perú, 6- Congo Lucumí, 7- La sartén, 8- Tren bala, 9- El cuchi cuchi

César Pupy Pedroso - Photo by Tom Ehrlich

The tenth volume in the Beyond Salsa Piano series focuses on César "Pupy" Pedroso, the founding pianist and one of the principal composers of Cuba's most popular band, Los Van Van, and now the leader of Los Que Son Son, the most successful new Cuban group of the 2000s. Doubling as a history and music appreciation course, the book contains extensive music notation examples of Pedroso's piano tumbaos, or "montunos", as well as transcriptions of solo and head arrangements. 

Illustrated in detail is Pupy Pedroso's trademark "contrary motion" montuno style, which, while very easy to execute produce much richer sounding harmonies than the standard salsa approach. The book also includes "sidebar" sections on the importance of rumba in salsa, rhythm section "gears", controlled improvisation and the evolution of bass tumbaos in Cuban music.

Bass tumbaos are included for each of the 54 piano transcriptions and some also include string section guajeos and second keyboard parts. Volume 10 also includes a detailed biography with rare photos from Pupy's private collection and information about his extensive musical family. The discgraphy section lists Pupy's work in two ways: by album, and by song, as many of his compositions were recorded by various artists.

Finally, this is the first volume to include a fully transcribed solo - in this case La rumba no está completa. You can get the hard-copy book here, and the audio files and eBooks will be available soon and will be announced here, in Pa' ponerte en talla. NOTE: The eBook is only for PC - not for Mac.

Foto: Lázaro Jesús Piña Portuondo

Paulito FG returns for the first time since 2001, sporting a new album which can be auditioned here. The tracks sound quite good to me and Paulito live is always incredible. He'll be at Yoshi's Oakland on March 18, 19 and 20 .

Los Muñequitos de Matanzas  will return to Mission High School Auditorium on April 4   for the first time since the 1990s.

Juan de Marcos and The Afro-Cuban All-Stars,  with Calixto Oviedo on timbales, will return to Zellerbach on April 19th . The rest of the tour, including, New York, Nashville and Oregon, among others, can be found here .

This year the Billboard Latin Music Conference and Awards is taking place April 26-27-28 in Miami Beach. The conference unites the most active market movers in the world of Latin music and entertainment - including the industry’s hottest artists, major record label execs, cutting-edge brand marketers, national radio programmers, world-renowned producers, and revolutionary digital music execs. Its the networking event of the year for this sector. Recognizing the most popular Latin music acts on the charts, the Billboard Latin Music Awards features top solo performers & Latin groups vying for top honors across all genres of Latin Music, produced and broadcast by Telemundo. 

In partnership with Billboard, TIMBA.com is extending a SPECIAL ARTIST ONLY RATE of $400 for all three days (conference & awards). Check the current rates here. Only latin music artists with at least one release (Latinpulsemusic.com, iTunes, CD Baby) can apply. For more info write to us at timba [at] timba [dot] com with *artist rate billboard* in the subject line.

En asociación con Billboard, TIMBA.com está ofreciendo una TARIFA ESPECIAL PARA ARTISTAS  de $400 para los tres días (conferencia y premios). Revisa los precios actuales aquí.  Solo artista con mínimo un lanzamiento (Latinpulsemusic.com, iTunes, CD Baby) pueden aplicar. Para más información escríbenos a timba [arroba] timba [punto] com con *tarifa especial de artista billboard* en el sujeto.

SBS, agrupación formada por el cantante Abel Bosmenier (Abel Namá) y distinguidos por ventas de “SIGUE AL LÍDER” Acapulco (México) han obtenido disco de oro por las 75.000 copias vendidas, su experiencia tras estos años hacen que el cantante y compositor continúe su proyecto en solitario, como SBS Abel Namá, manteniendo su dinámica fusionando el Hip Hop ( Rap) con géneros cubanos, son, guaracha y cha cha cha -GUARACHANDO, su nueva propuesta discográfica. El Grupo S. B. S. de Hip Hop es oriundo de La Habana, Cuba; surgió en 1995 cuando un grupo de jóvenes con inquietudes musicales decidieron unirse en un proyecto singular que en poco tiempo fueron capaces de crear su sello identitario con un repertorio propio fusionando el Hip-Hop (Rap) con géneros cubanos como el Son, la Guaracha y el Cha Cha Cha. 

NG La Banda - Picadillo de soya - Tokyo 31 July 1994 - Caribbean Heat Festival

It is time again for Cuba's biggest percussion festival and competition in memory of the legendary Guillermo Barreto. This year's festival will take place from March 8 - 13. As always it is a huge project with events taking place across the city from morning to night. The percussion competition is open to Cubans and non-Cubans and there is no age limit for participants. Categories include drums, timbales, congas, bongo and batá. Winners may participate in one or two categories. The winner of each category will receive an instrument and special prizes will be awarded for the best woman and child participants. See the full details in Spanish.

In addition to six days of exciting competitions, there will be  symposiums and musical performances throughout the city. The Inauguration Gala will take place on March 8 from 8:30pm - 10.30pm at Teatro Mella where the 10th anniversary of the Grammy for "La Rumba Soy Yo" will be celebrated by Muñequitos de Matanzas, Conjunto Folkórico Nacional, Compañía JJ, Compañía de Roclan, Klímax Amadito Valdés and Luis Carbonell.

Throughout the week you can see the best percussionists in Cuba together on a single stage, jazz concerts, dance performances, documentaries and of course timba! The finals and award ceremony for the percussion competition will take place at Teatro Astral  on March 11th and feature artists ¨Jorge Reyes y sus Amigos¨ (Tribute to Barreto); with Changuito, Yaroldy Abreu, among others. There will also be a presentation of the DVD by Rodney Barreto and Oliver Valdés: Drums  La Habana¨.

Saturday the 12th from 10:00pm - 02:30am at Salón Rosado de La Tropical you can see Klimax, Manolito Simonet y su Trabuco, Yuly y Habana C, Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor. And the event will be closed on the Sunday the 13th at La Tropical with concerts by Carbe Girl, Alexander Abreu y Habana de Primera, Yoruba Andabo, Pupy y los que Son and guests Haila, Vania  and Tania Pantoja.

Click here for the complete festival schedule and all details about the competition (in Spanish).

Click here for HDP Interview in English - Oprima aquí para la entrevista de HDP en Español

Alexander Abreu & Havana D'Primera at Casa de la Música Miramar
Photo courtesy of Gabriel Wilder

Today Maykel Blanco & Salsa Mayor finish their short tour of Peru with a concert at Havana Latin Disco. The band has had a successful stay in Lima and fans are enjoying the powerful show, although the front line seems to only include Yasser and Yordi. Maykel & the band have a full schedule returning to Havana tomorrow where they have a Valentine's Day concert at Casa de la Música Galiano. The European Winter Tour 2011 begins on March 16 so stay tuned, because we will be posting the concert dates as soon as they are all confirmed. 

Update: Chico Timba Peru has uploaded some video from the concert on Friday. It always warms my heart to see the excitement and joy when fans get to see a band for the first time. The Peruanos love la nueva máquina de Cuba!

In the meantime Gabriel from Yemayá's Verse is recently returned from Havana and has provided us with this picture of the new singers, including Michel Pérez and Liuban who seem not to have gone to Lima.Check her blog for all kinds of photos, video and updates from Havana.

Salsa Mayor Singers 2011 - photo courtesy of Gabriel Wilder

This year the festival includes:
*   50 Intermediate and Advanced Workshops in Rueda, Casino, Son, Afro-Cuban Folkloric and more
*   4 nights of parties with 3 Live Timba Bands, 3 DJ's, Dance Performances, and social dancing.
*   A Beginners Track in a full ballroom with two hour classes with the same teacher.
*    Instructors Track. A seperate class for the teachers and the T.A.s in the Casino community. 
*   4-5 classes to choose from every hour. Beginners Track, 2 Int level ballrooms, 1 Advanced level
*   After-Party Space with DJ. Party till 5 in the morning!!
*   Private Lesson Area. Book with your favorite instructor

Say hello to Nick & Serena from Salsa Vale Todo and thank them for their support of Cuban music.

Tom Ehrlich has posted another great gallery from Los Van Van's recent engagement at Yoshi's SF. Van Van in performance and backstage with Bay Area luminaries Carlos Aldama, Walfredo de los Reyes, John Calloway and Rebeca Mauleón.

Check this track out! This is apparently from a 45 from the very early 1970s. The earliest recording I'd ever heard of this was on the 1989 LP Crónicas, and of course LVV still uses it to close every set, but this may in fact be the missing link in the many conflicting stories about Van Van's name originally coming from a political slogan. If you have any information or insights about this track, please add them to the comments section and/or email me at kevin [at] timba [dot] com.

Pupy Pedroso Books

Meanwhile, I've been working around the clock on the Pupy Pedroso volumes of Beyond Salsa Piano. I'm going through the songs chronologically and finding myself amazed at how many classic tracks LVV pumped out in the 80s. They did an album a year for the entire decade. The CD compilations tend to have the same hits over and over: Sandunguera, La Titimanía, Qué palo, etc. These are great, but there are dozens of classics that are just as good that few people are familiar with.

Welcome to Bill Tilford and the Chicago Report

We have a new addition to our Reports Section, covering Chicago and its surrounding areas. It will be hosted by Bill Tilford, a fascinating and extremely knowledgeable Cuban music expert who has been researching for many years. While the section is about the Chicago scene, Bill's blogging will no doubt cover many subjects, past and present, which will be equally interesting to those of us who can't make it to the Windy City on a regular basis.

Melón and Calixto Clinics Coming

Melón will be in Los Angeles Feb. 28th, March 1st and March 2nd giving clinics, concerts and private lessons at Cal State LA and various other schools.  Calixto will be in LA in late April and also in SF, Seattle and Berklee. Stay tuned for more info.

Click here for the full gallery.

The advertisement at the website is in Swedish but I have posted the schedule below. You can book in English and German. Tell them Timba.com sent you. This is an opportunity you can't afford to miss!

Adalberto Álvarez y su Son
January 16 – 24,Cinderella (Stockholm–Mariehamn)
January 25 – 26, Gabriella (Stockholm–Helsinki)
January 27 – February 5, Cinderella (Stockholm–Mariehamn)
February 6 – 7, Gabriella (Stockholm–Helsinki)
February 8 – 9, Cinderella (Stockholm–Mariehamn)
February 11–13 Cinderella (Stockholm–Mariehamn)

Tumbao Habana
January 16 – 24, Gabriella (Stockholm–Helsinki)
January 25 – 26, Cinderella (Stockholm–Mariehamn)
January 27 – February 5, Gabriella (Stockholm–Helsinki)
February 8 – 13, Gabriella (Stockholm–Helsinki)

Yumurí y sus Hermanos
January 16 – February 13, Mariella (Stockholm–Helsinki)

Osdalgia
January 16 – February 13, Amorella (Stockholm–Åbo)

La Charanga Forever
January 16 – February 13, Isabella (Stockholm–Åbo)

An accomplished singer and composer, Iris Sandra was a member of the award winning Havana based music group Arte Mixto (see video below), a project she joined after classical training at the National School of the Arts in Cuba. After relocating to the US, she recorded on (the late) Israel “Cachao” Lopez and Andy Garcia’s CD releases “Cuba Linda” and “Ahora Si”, the latter of which won 2 Grammy Awards. Her film credits include vocals on the soundtrack for “Original Sin” (starring Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie), and the motion picture “The Lost City”. In 2007 Irisandra appeared on the T.V. show ‘Cane’ performing the song “Veinte Años”. She is presently active with the internationally touring Cineson Allstars -led by Andy Garcia- and Rumbankete, Los Angeles’ premier Cuban dance music orchestra. 

Timba al Sur del Mundo - A todos los leyentes les quiero introducir a Erick Ceballos, ingeniero de acústica y sonido y nuevo reportero de Timba.com. Su reporte "Timba al Sur del Mundo" nos brinda noticias de la música cubana desde Santiago de Chile. Aquí un as fotos de Erick con Yeni de los Van Van y los tromboneros de la Orquesta TimbaLatina. Vaya Erick!

Los Van Van en el Conga Room - Emocionado y conmovido con la visita de la estelar orquesta, nuestro amigo corpulento David "Mango" González nos reporta desde Los Angeles sobre el concierto de Los Van Van hace unas semanas.....

Tuesday night's Van Van concert was amazing! It had been almost eight years since I attended a Van Van Concert. Way too long. The band opened the show with "Arrasando" which in my opinion was one of the best tunes of the evening! The vibe was amazing inside the Conga Room as Van Van performed to a SOLD OUT crowd. (Although, I still feel strongly that the Van Van long awaited Los Angeles concert should of been at a much larger venue such as the Greek Theatre or the Hollywood Bowl). The people inside were of all ages and ethnicity's. I would also applaud the Conga Room for the exceptional sound that they provided. This is a major factor in the shows success. The sound quality can either hinder or enhance the overall experience of any concert goer.

Van Van performed many of their hits which included "Soy Todo", "Voy a publicar tu foto", "Después de todo" and "Me Mantengo." Although my favorite tune of the night was "El  toque del año" sung by "El Lele". Some of the band members looked a bit worn and tired, especially Robertón. He is definitely out of shape and just seemed out of it. The band closed the show with an encore performance of "Cabeza mala" which I personally don't really care for. I hear they have been closing with this same tune throughout their tour. This seems a bit disappointing and way too choreographed and rehearsed. Not much improvising which I think the fans would expect and appreciate from Van Van. Everyone in the audience at the end of their last song just before the "Cabeza mala" encore was requesting "Que Cosas tiene la vida" AKA: "Fuera de liga, but Robertón said no that they would play it on Wednesday night which I learned that they didn't. That is too bad. Nonethless, the event was great! Awesome performance although I definitely missed one of the most dynamic and beloved Van Van members -Pedrito Calvo. 

Bamboleo will also be performing at the New Year's Eve party in Mexico City at Mama Rumba de la Roma. You can get your tickets in advance for 200 pesos.

Other upcoming 2011 tours include Issac Delgado in Europe in February and July and Los Van Van in February/March. Stay tuned as we can give you the actual dates and look for more exciting tours in the US in 2011. Melao has info about plans in the works for Paulo FG y La Élite and Havana D'Primera as well as plans to set up a Cuban music festival in the US.

And CUBAN WOODSTOCK? If this thing happens, I'll definitely be on a plane for Miami.

Our LA correspondent, Kay Torres, who flew up for one of the SF shows, has logged her first Van Van report from LA. Van Van will play the famous Conga Room tonight, Tuesday and tomorrow, Wednesday.

Van Van demolished the Bay Area for 4 straight nights, and Tom Ehrlich  took time off from his still shots to capture two great videos. Geek that I am, I had to start with Manolo and Samuel, but the upcoming Yeni video is truly the bomb. Wait for it! jajajajaja

video courtesy of Fuego Entertainment

And speaking of Fuego Entertainment, the big rumor is ... wait for it again  ... CUBAN WOODSTOCK ... 21 Cuban bands from both sides of El Puente ... I know ... don't hold your breath, but if it actually happened it could be Team Cuba II. Hope springs eternal!

Here's Tom's Gallery. Van Van was off the hook. See you tonight! 

y mañana ... LOS VAN VAN!

Tom Ehrlich has posted a new photo gallery from Melón's recent solo concert and master class at Piedmont Piano Company.  Also, here's a video of a complete song from the same concert.

Van Van at Yoshi's SF tomorrow!
Click here's some photos on Los Van Van in Houston

email: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

write: 
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

call: 202-456-1111

Thursday, December 2nd date postponed
Los Van Van Visa for Band Leader Juan Formell Not Issued 

Due to the last minute failure of the US State Department to provide three Visas, including one to band leader Juan Formell, the kickoff night for the Los Van Van tour at the Conga Room, will be postponed. The anticipated makeup date for ticket buyers to tonight's concert is expected to Wednesday December 15th, which have been committed to the Conga Room as part of the U.S. tour. 

The Conga Room has always looked to support Cuban music and culture, and unfortunately we are at the mercy of politics in this case. 

For ticket holders, your ticket will be valid for the new concert date and we will notify you in the next few days with confirmation of the exact date. If you wish to get a refund of your ticket at this point, please contact Sasha Ortega at Sasha@CongaRoom.com. Please note that if you seek reimbursement for your ticket, we will not be able to guarantee you access to the new show and it will be on a first-come, first-serve basis, as the show is expected to sell out. 

Feel free to consult our website for further updates and we will attempt to notify you directly via email. The Conga Room will be open tonight and will feature a Cuban band and a DJ. We will offer you complimentary admission with proof of your ticket purchase. We apologize for the inconvenience and are deeply committed to presenting the US Los Van Van concert at the Conga Room. It promises to be an historic event. 

Abrazos,
The Conga Room 

On December 17th & 18th the dark Stockholm night will shine with a glittering, hot Havana-style dance extravaganza by the dance troupe Tropicana Stockholm. The show entitled "Del Afro-Jazz a la Salsa" gives the audience a taste of the broad spectrum of Cuban dance and music from the early Afro-Cuban roots right up to the salsa of today. Accompanying the dancers with live music is Richard Ortega y La Jugada, bringing the authenticity of a night in Havana. But that's not all! When the show ends an afterparty begins with a timba concert by La Jugada and a DJ after the concert. The show will take place at Teater Replica at Hantverkargatan 78 where an art expo will also be held in foyer. It begins at 7:00pm and ends at 2:00am. That's 7 hours of Cuban dance and music! Tickets are only 250 SEK, so give yourself and all the timberos/Cubanophiles you love an early Christmas present. Don't miss this celebration of Cuban culture! For more information see Tropicana Stockholm's facebook event .

This project, as requested, is the approach used in the piano books, but for percussionists, but with one major enhancement. The piano books have audio, still don't have video - that will come in 2011, with Melón making the videos from the books, but with the percussion series, we did it the other way around. We started with three days of filming Calixto, with the Bay Area brain trust egging him on and requesting specific rhythms and approaches. We added several hours of interviews, and then I spent five months writing the books from the videos. The approach is to take a bona fide master of Cuban music and let him do thing, then break it down into bite-size pieces so that jazz and pop drummers can learn Latin, salsa drummers can learn timba, timba drummers can learn Calixto timba, and beginners (and non-drummer arrangers such as myself) can get a clearly-presented dose of "the big picture". As before there are hard-copy and eBook versions, fast and slow audio loops, and this time ... a wild video-looping component that's - if I say so myself - is amazingly cool. All of this is explained in the tutorials and Question & Answer sections of the home page, timba.com/percussion. 

VOL. 2 CALIXTO OVIEDO           •         VOL. 3 CALIXTO OVIEDO
BASIC RHYTHMS                                      TIMBA GEARS

Purchase Bound Paperback Book           |           Purchase Bound Paperback Book

Purchase eBook                         |                         Purchase eBook

Purchase Audio Files                      |                      Purchase Audio Files

Purchase Video Files                     |                     Purchase Video Files

Download Free Promo                    |                    Download Free Promo

SELAM

Here is a little taste of what you will get, "Timbeando" from Gilito's album "Al César lo que es del César". See you there!

While other genres and styles impose themselves on the current market, this HHH project arrives just in time to demonstrate the quality and grandeur of the way popular music was created in Cuba during its stellar days of the 1990s, a time for which many musicians -including myself- share strong feelings of nostalgia. -- Edduar Bernal Pina

Hoy en el 2010, nuevos géneros y estilos se imponen pero el proyecto Havana Heavy Hitters llega en el momento justo para demostrar al mundo la calidad y grandeza de una forma de hacer música popular en Cuba que por los años 90 tuvo su mayor esplendor y por la que muchos músicos en la actualidad, al igual que Yosvel y Edduar, sienten nostalgia. -- Edduar Bernal Pina

>> Read the full story here - Lea el desarollo completo escrito por Edduar Bernal Pina

Los Van Van 2010 USA Tour Participants
Juan Formell	Samuel Formell
Yaimara González	Yenisel Valdés
Mario Rivera	Roberto Hernández
Abdel Rasalps	Juio Noroña
Américo Miranda	Paloma Formell
Francisco Formell Marques	Francisco Formell Cortina
Álvaro Collado	Hugo Morejón
Pedro Fajardo	Jorge Leliebre
Irving Frontela	Pavel Molina
Roberto Carlos Rodríguez	Boris Luna
Ernesto Nodarse	Javier León
Manuel Labarrera	Edmundo Pina

This festival is well worth making a timba trip. Pupy is simply not to be missed and this may well be the first time that Manolín has performed in Scandinavia, at least I think it's the first time since I got into timba back in 2003. So hitchhike if you have to but get yourself to Copnehagen this weekend! You can book your tickets in advance so you don't get left out in the cold. Just look at some of what you have to look forward to!

Pupy y los que son son - Calla Calla

Manolín - Somos lo que hay

Band manager Americo Mirando Ortiz also was named as a defendant in the breach of contract suit filed Oct. 21 in Miami federal court by NYK Productions. The lawsuit alleges NYK was the band’s booking agent when the musicians engaged another company, Fuego Entertainment, to book a U.S. tour, violating a February agreement making it the exclusive booking agent for Los Van Van. The band has scheduled dates in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City in December.

The 14-piece band won a Grammy in 2000 for its salsa-infused music that Formell calls "timba". The band has spurred demonstrations in Miami. About 400 Cuban-Americans protested the band’s concert at the Knight Center last February, saying it was an extension of Cuba’s communist government. --source Law.com / Daily Business Review

NYK Productions is a Hallandale, Florida based production company led by Mr. Arie Kaduri (pictured right). Fuego Entertainment is a Miami based company led by Mr. Hugo Cancio (pictured left).

Tonight should be a very interesting night. Piedmont Piano Company holds only about 90 to 100 people, and has what may be the best piano currently available in the world, a 9-foot Fazioli concert grand. The concert is only $20 and the ticket is free if you buy the $170,000 piano. (Delivery is free!).

I'll be on hand with all 9 volumes of Beyond Salsa Piano, which you can have Melón personally autograph. There's also a discount for the full set, and a separate discount for the full set of Melón's volumes. Last but not least, I've completed two of the Calixto Oviedo Beyond Salsa Percussion volumes. They're not published just yet, but I've printed up mock copies of each for people to check out (and find typos if you can!) Tom Ehrlich will also be on hand and you might be able to convince him to take a shot of you with the maestro. Also a great opportunity to meet Bay Area luminaries such as Walfredo de los Reyes and other special guests.

Monday, Nov. 8 - 8:00 p.m.

Piedmont Piano Company 

call 510-547-8188 to reserve tickets

Timbalive at their Release Party for the CD "From Miami to La Habana"

Timba.com is thrilled to welcome reporter Allen Bush who will be hosting the Latin Music at Berklee College of Music report. His maiden post announces a concert on Nov. 18th by the legendary Larry Harlow. 

In other news, don't forget "An Intimate Evening with Melón Lewis" at Piedmont Piano Company in Oakland, Monday night at 8:00.

Meanwhile,  I've been working since July on the first two volumes of Beyond Salsa Percussion, featuring the unbeliievably talented Calixto Oviedo.

We're still waiting for Melón to submit the long-awaited video files for Beyond Salsa Piano, but with this new series we started  with the video, so we'll be release hard-copy books, eBooks, audio files and video all at once, and the video will come with pre-programmed files for users of the amazing Transcribe program, which allows you to watch slow-motion, looped video with audio at normal pitch. The first Calixto volume covers his roots: danzón, chachachá, mozambique, pilón etc. but the second takes a new and exciting approach of dividing his NG La Banda drumming style into 6 modes or "gears" and devoting an extensive chapter to each, filled with some truly amazing drumming by the master. All of this will be publish in November , so stay tuned.

Grupo Danson in Oslo 2010

Elito Revé y Su Charangón will be performing this Thursday Oct. 28th at Club Mambo and I am heartbroken that I can't make it to the concert. I'm crazy about their new CD "De qué estamos hablando" and dying to hear the new songs live. Be sure you don't suffer my fate. Find a concert near you!

Orquesta Revé en vivo "Agua pa' Yemayá"

As the Autumn moves on Copenhagen will host the Latinfestival with three days/nights of dance classes shows and live music with Jorge Egües y Su Cuban Beat, Pupy y Los Que Son Son, La Empresa and Manolín "El médico de la salsa" . This is another must-participate event. Personally I have never seen Manolín live so it is very exciting and Pupy is as always on my very short list of favorite bands .

And stay tuned for an update about what has been going on and what is to come here in Sweden!

Juan Kemell & La Barriada are back in Europe as of today and will kick their tour off this Friday at Cuba Café in Malmö, Sweden. On Saturday you can catch them at Musikens Hus in Gothenburg. Check all the dates in the Barriada tour section . And here's a little reminder of why you don't want to miss them.

Sigue con la rumba

Después de este concierto empieza Van Van con su gira en Canadá y los EE.UU .

The contest will be held from 7:00pm at Parque de Céspedes. After the competitions, local stars will also perform such as singers Yeline Lafargue and Leodalis Sánchez, the rumba group Oba Tuké, and the rueda groups Salseros de Calle - dir. Yanek Revilla and Rueda de Casino All Stars - dir. Jorge Luna. It may be of interest for those of you who have been following Cuban dance competitions to see that Yanek Revilla is now a judge for this competition!

Santiago de Cuba is hosting the event in tandem with UNEAC's Festival for the Felix B. Caignet Award and Cuban Culture Day. Also supporting the event are the Centro Provincial de Casas de Cultura and Direcciones Municipales y Provincial de Cultura and the Amigos del Danzòn y el Son. The contest provides a great reason for you to take a trip to Santiago this weekend to catch some top-notch, genuine Cuban dancing!

Just for fun, here's another look at Yanek's award winning rueda from A Bailar Casino

The Marsalis family includes patriarch Ellis, a pianist and educator, and his four sons: trumpeter Wynton, saxophonist Branford, trombonist Delfeayo and percussionist Jason.

Chucho Valdes said Marsalis' visit was an important moment for Cuba and its music. “It's the first time we've had a visit from a band of this quality with such important musicians,” he said. “It is a historic event.” -article by the Associated Press

Finally the long awaited new release by Elito Revé y Su Charangón is available on-line! We've seen some great CDs come out this year, but for me "De que estamos hablando" is so far in the lead as best CD of 2010. You really do not want to miss this CD. It has been a grueling and long wait, but in the end it is well worth it. So get yourself the CD today and start preparing for the upcoming European Fall Tour!

Lazarito Valdés and Bamboleo have been on tour in the US with shows in Florida, New York and Virginia. The exceptional combination of Lázaro's music, Ronnys' charisma and Tania's complete domination of the stage, backed up by a stellar group of musicians is not to be missed. Bamboleo has remained at the top of the hit parade since Lázaro founded the group in 1995 and is still the epitome of hardcore timba. You can catch them at their final engagement of the US tour at S.O.Bs in New York on October 9th. Do yourself a favor and don't miss this last chance to see the band live before they head back to Havana.

Elito Revé y Su Charangón have had a busy year of touring. After the US tour in July they did a couple of shows together with Los Van Van in Peru. This Friday, October 1st they will play the Courthouse in Toronto, Ontario and on October 12 the Charangón starts it's Autumn European Tour with a concert at Back-up in Paris. New dates are still being added so keep checking the Revé Tours page to find your closest venue.

In preparation for the tour, a promotional video has been put together. This video is a little unusual because it focuses on dancers rather than being clips of the band. I really like the approach of focusing on the dance in order to promote the music. It is a fun video where you can see fans dancing casino and rueda to music by Orquesta Revé. The audio track was edited by timba photographer and DJ Tom Bauer. So check out the video below, and see if you can pick up some new moves. It will get you in the mood for a night of dancing with La Revé.

Promotional video for "De qué estamos hablando" tour

And if you find yourself a little closer to southwest than northeast stop by Mama Rumba at Plaza Loreto in Mexico City tonight to see Los Van Van. They played at the University of Veracruz in Xalapa last night and the tickets were being given away for free by the library! Tonight's show isn't free but Van Van is always worth paying for. El tren siempre se mantiene .

For more info about concerts and tours check out the Tours section. It is updated frequently. And if you know of concert dates that we are missing, send me an e-mail .

Lead singer on "Limpia mi son" is "El Nene", Pedro Lugo. With the vocal power of a canon, El Nene delivers his guías as a consummate sonero. On coro we have Sinsonte (Revé) and Enrique Castellanos (Bamboleo). "Mi son tiene su tumbao, ven bailalo pega'o", "baila mi changüí, ay ven y gózalo" and that is exactly what you will do when you hear this song, bailar y gozar. Yanesito is giving us precisely what we want. Son con bomba y manana, "Limpia mi son" is available at iTunes, AmazonMP3, Spotify and ReverbNation. Check it out! And if this is any indication of what we can expect from his next complete CD...ay papá!

La ligazón musical radica en Juan Formell, pues el lider de Van Van, fue integrante del Charangón; el otro punto de encuentro es la cuerda de metales; la cual en ambas agrupaciones está conformada por trombones. Esta es la muestra de la herencia de Revé en Van Van. (Cronológicamente el Charangón, es mayor a Van Van)

Son estas carácteristicas las que merecen relevarse, además del buen ensamble de los coros de Van Van. En donde la flauta, tiene un papel algo decorativo, La flauta en la música tipica cubana, tenía espacios en los cuales flotaba o soleaba sobre la línea musical. Otorgando con ello un color y ritmo muy peculiar. La flauta y el violín, son instrumentos asociados a la música típica cubana, ambos están presentes en el ensamble de Van Van. La agrupación de Juan Formell, es una muestra de lo sabroso que resulta la fusión para los oidos, usando buenos arreglos y letras alegres. 

Revé, llegó con el sonido actual, menciono esto pues entre los oyentes y bailadores de Perú, existe la idea equivocada que este es el sonido clásico de la troupe de Elito Revé. El Changui, es uno de los ritmos asociados a la rumba (al igual que la Columbia y el Guaguancó) y es sindicado como uno de los precedentes del son. El sonido que tiene actualmente la banda de Elito Revé, dista mucho del sonido tipico de las agrupaciones de Changui. Mantiene instrumentos fundamentales como el tres y el bongó, pero ahora tiene un marco orquestal y la presencia de los drums. Esto le da un toque de modernidad y sonido fusionado a la orquesta, ahí radica el sabor y riqueza que percibe el bailador.

Lima estuvo afortunada de tener a estás 2 agrupaciones; revalidantes que en base a la fusión y creatividad (sin copiar a nadie y manteniendo identidad), el bailador y el amante de la música continua gozando. 

The album begins with a "guaguancó-funk" and songs range from ballads, to reggae, to mambo, to timbaton and timba-funk. The lyrics are a combination of his own as well as songs written by singer Roberto Pulido and collaborations between El Zorro and Roberto. El Zorro's  musical fusions are really powerful. For example the title track is listed as timba-funk and it is heavily funky. A very dancable tune, it even has a "Guitar Hero" moment. I expect that this album easily crosses over in clubs that play Latin as well as other genres. It has something for everyone.

El Zorro continues his collaboration with excellent musicians. In addition to Roberto, lead vocalists are El Zorro, Ángel Bonne,  Luis Fernando Borjas and Leonardo Columbie. The female coristas Yudelkis Lafuente Acea, Arlety Valdés Cana and Sarah “La Pescadora” Fischer give the CD a unique sound in this male-dominated genre. El Zorro himself plays trombone, sings coro and plays piano and keyboard on all but three of the songs. He is truly a complete musician.

"Sin Compromiso" was released by CME music last month and is also available at iTunes.  For El Zorro's own comments see his website .

Del cd Regalo:  Dos preguntas de un Dia,  El largo camino de Santiago, Matinal,  La libertad,  Diario de Mauricio.  ...Y de las populares:  Yolanda,  El breve espacio en que no está,  Para vivir,  Años,  Yo no te pido,  De que callada manera,  Yo pisaré las calles nuevamente,  Vengo Naciendo. 

Los distinguidos músicos del sexteto acompañando a Pablo son: 

Escríbenos un saludos en la página de visitas. No te olvides incluír tu dirección de email. Los mensajes 20 al 24 y 30 al 34 recibirán los boletos. Un par de boletos por persona solamente.

TIMBA.com is giving away 4 pairs of tickets for....
- the 10pm Issac Delgado with Freddy Cole show at Yoshi's Oakland (tomorrow Septiember 10). 
- the 10pm  Septeto Nacional show at Yoshi's San Francisco (Septiembre 15). 

Post something in our guestbook. Don't forget to include your email address! The 20th through 24th and 30th through 34th messages will receive a pair of tickets. One pair per individual only.

Issac, Freddy Cole (brother of Nat King Cole) and an all-star band featuring the great Reinier Guerra on drums, will be holding court at Yoshi's Oakland Friday, Saturday and Sunday promoting their new album L-O-V-E. 

And after the Saturday show, you can get your timba dancing fix right around the corner at Club Antón, Team Bahía is the brainchild of DJ Walt Digz and features an all-star band of the Bay Area's top timberos playing an exciting collection of classic timba charts. 

Click here for Tom Ehrlich's review of Alfredo Rodríguez' amazing new album Sounds of Space. 

If you've never seen Adalberto live you are in for a treat. The music is perfectly suited to the dancer and the band sounds as good live as on CD. Plus you get the excitement of the interaction with the bandmembers. You will be surprised just how hardcore well-played son can be!  On my last visit to Cuba I went to see Adalberto every week. This band keeps you coming back for more.

They have a new CD, "El Son de Altura", on the way...any minute now it should be released. As usual it is on my must-buy list. Here s a little sample from the CD, the hit "El Melón".

Adalberto Álvarez y Su Son con su nuevo éxito "El Melon" del disco "El son de Altura"

La música es parte elemental del ser humano, ya que desde su proceso evolutivo la ha practicado. Desde los albores de la humanidad data el inicio de esta faceta que tantas alegrías nos ofrece. Pero que siempre es asociada al lucro o simple distracción. Eso queda de lado cuando los músicos e integrantes del medio se unen para apoyar con su talento a nobles causas. La 1era muestra palmaria fue el proyecto We Are The World, mediante el cual se buscó paliar el hambre en Africa, un continente golpeado por situaciones climáticas y politicas. También se generó una cruzada luego del sismo en Haití.

Ahora llega La Gota De La Vida, un proyecto mediante el cual los músicos e integrantes del gremio, donan su talento para beneficiar los protectos de investigación y tratamiento en la Ciudad de la Esperanza (Cityof Hope). Un centro de educación, investigación y tratamiento del cáncer, la diabetes y otras enfermedades que amenazan la vida.

Oprima aquí para que oigas la pirmera muestra musical de La Gota de la Vida. 

La Premicia del video y de la canción, se llevará a cabo el martes 7 de septiembre a las 7 PM en el Club Nokia del L.A. Live! ubicado en el Downtown de Los Ángeles. En este evento los artistas de la música más destacados de Estados Unidos, Latinoamérica y España asistirán y presentarán una versión "en vivo" de "La Gota de La Vida," bajo la dirección del exitoso pianista, compositor, arreglista y celebridad del mundo latino: Arthur Hanlon.

Sitio web oficial = http://uneteconlagotadelavida.com

Tenemos la seguridad que este proyecto contará con el apoyo y aceptación de todas las personas del mundo, pues nadie está libre de contraer alguna enfermedad degenerativa.

We also got a message from Calixto Oviedo that really blew us away....singer Lily Hernández tearing it up with La Jugada in Sweden. That's Calixto on drums & timbales. Is that La Timbara Mayor Michelle White with the black top and miniskirt taking video? Could be... That guiro is really cutting thorugh...excellent chambo all around. "El Congo Francisco" from the Soneros All Stars CD. "La Timba Soy Yo".  Believe it or not that is El Sonero himself from Soneros All Stars,  Janne "Yanesito" Bogdan tocándlo a lo cubano on bass. There is a highly anticipated percussion method from Kevin and Calixto in the works. Enjoy.

Kafri, Tomas & Michel

Calle Real performed last Thursday night, August 12, 2010 at the Stockholm Kulturfestival on the big stage at Gustav Adolfs Square. They put on a great show and the audience loved every minute of it even insisting on a encore, which isn't always possible witrh the tight schedule of a festival. Bandleader and tresero Patricio Sobrado is still in Chile so it was a little unusual to see them without him. As always Calle Real bridges the gap between Latino and mainstream music and I'm sure they made many new fans that night and probably opened up more hearts to timba as well. Click here to check out the full concert report including 3 videos.

Here is a sample video to get you started: "Me lo gané", the title track from their latest CD.

Me lo gané

The track list for the new CD is:
1) Santiaguera
2) La Falta de Ortografía
3) Vete
4) El Melon
5) Quien será mi amor
6) La Tropical en la Habana
7) Canción para ti
8) No soy el mismo
9) Dos Mujeres
10) Entre la rumba y el son (with Rumbatá)
11) Bonus track: Concierto del Karl Marx

Orquesta Aragón are celebrating their 70th anniversary with a concert at Zellerbach Hall at UC Berkeley this Friday August 13 at 8pm. The band is currently touring the US and has a number of To Be Determined concerts but this is the last confirmed date as far as I know so don't miss them! No they don't play timba but they swing, or as Gabriel of Yemayá's verse said "they rock".

Gabriel prepares for Van Van in Sydney

And speaking of Gabriel, her interview with Samuel Formell and Yeni Valdés has been published in the Sydney Morning Herald in preparation for the impending Los Van Van concert Sunday August 15 at the Opera House in Sydney.

  
Oscar D'Leon & Los Van Van photos © Patrick Bonnard used by permission

Le Zénith i s one of the main indoor locations for rock and pop gigs in Paris. As we all know, Elito Revé's participation for that long-awaited night was unfortunately cancelled. Expectations were still high and the fans had travelled to Paris from all across the country to be at these shows. Los Van Van opened at 20 p.m with "Arrasando". Show highlights included a thrilling performance of "Muevete" with participation of Juan Formell. Lele was loose and in infectious good spirits all night long, sh ining on "Me Mantengo". Yeni sang "Tu a Lo Tuyo , Yo a Lo Mio". Mayito certainly would have enjo yed to si ng more than a single "Si No Te Quieres Tú" but they wrapped up with the perfect show closer "Esto Te Pone La Cabeza Mala". Click here to read the full report and see the photos he sent us.

Tom Ehrlich has added another gallery from Pupy y Los Que Son Son's recent Bay Area tour.

Coming soon - photos from Revé, Los Terry, and the Afro-Cuban All-Stars. You can also see a lot of photos by Tom and Gimena Berenguer in BSP 9.

Pre-sale is today July 29 from 10am to 10pm only. Click here for tickets and use the code word "venue" to get first dibs on tickets. Pre-venta de los bolétos para Silvio es HOY de las 10am a las 10pm. Tienes que usar el código "venue " para completar tu pre-venta. 

Cuban singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Pablo Milanés Arias returns to the US after many years beginning with a show October 10, 2010 at the Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles. Pablo is considered one of the founders of the Cuban "nueva trova" (new troubadour movement) along with Silvio Rodríguez and Noel Nicola. He is a pianist and guitarist whose Brazilian-like melodies set him apart from the raw style of Silvio Rodríguez. 

Beyond Salsa Piano - Volume 9 - Available Now!

Click to download the sample pdf. Beyond Salsa Piano Volume 9 is the fourth of four volumes featuring note-for-note transcriptions of one of the greatest timba pianists, Iván "Melón" Lewis and featuring extensive analysis and multiple tumbaos for the hits "Catalina" (I-IV-V variations) and "Se te fué la mano", "Con la punta del pié", "La tématica", "La soga" and "La competencia". Volume 9 also includes the cuerpo (verse) piano parts for each song. Beyond Salsa Piano is an instructional (eBook + audio), play-along history and anthology of the role of the piano in the Cuban rhythm section –from its first appearance to the present. This is the ninth book in a instructional series set to become the new standard for contemporary Latin piano styles. 130 pages (130 páginas) with 120 audio tracks (120 pistas).

There are also extensive chapters on Melón's playing on two Issac masterpieces which were only played live: La competencia (Hit Parade), and my all-time favorite piano tumbao, the legendary La temática.

The most dramatic difference between this volume and the eight that preceded it is the inclusion of cuerpos, mambos and transitions. On three songs, Se te fue la mano, Con la punta del pie, and La soga, we provide a full written part for everything Melón plays up to the improvisational open montuno section.

I'm already deeply embroiled in writing Volumes 10, 11 and 12 on Pupy Pedroso , and Volumes 1, 2 and 3 of Inside Cuban Percussion, featuring the amazing Calixto Oviedo . The long-awaited video product of Melón is still on the back burner, but the video has already been shot for Calixto - and it's amazing -- so the video will be part of the initial launch of the Calixto project. Drummers have been bugging me to do something like this ever since the first Tomás Cruz Conga Method came out in 2005. The wait will soon be over, guys, but start practicing your perididdles and 7-stroke rolls, because Calixto is going to rock your worlds!

Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor are back with another hot timba album. Maykel is a prolific composer and the band has been churning out one CD every other year to their fans' delight. Maykel consistently composes solid, catchy lyrics and combines them with irresistible dancefloor-ready arrangements that make  Maykel’s songs favorites among DJs and dancers. Click here to read the full review .

For all of you who have been asking for instructional material for musicians other than pianists and congueros, your prayers will soon be answered, with Calixto Oviedo playing the role of God. After three days of filming I have enough material for at least  three mind-bending volumes to launch the Inside Cuban Percussion series. We also planned the NG La Banda Reunion Tour (someone needs to tell El Tosco!).

Calixto with Carlos Caro and Jesús Díaz

It took about 10 seconds for word of Calixto's presence to reach every percussionist in the Bay Area and the filming was attended by such luminaries as Carlos Caro, Jesús Díaz and the legendary Walfredo de los Reyes, all of whom were as knocked out as I was. (Click "continue reading" for much more).

Elito y Su Charangón have two more concerts on their US tour before heading back to Cuba: Miami and Tampa. Don't miss your last chance to catch them live in the US! But the Charangón is not stopping long to rest, in September they have two very special concerts in Lima, Peru together with Los Van Van ! Then on October 1st they play in Toronto and in mid-October they begin the long-awaited European tour . Check here for the current list of 2010 concert dates for the Charangón and send me an e-mail if you know of any dates that are missing!

Se dará a cabo un concierto de lanzamiento del CD ELEGANCE de Yorgis Goiricelaya el jueves 22 de julio 2010, en la localidad de THE PLACE OF MIAMI. Se harán los principales temas en vivo del CD y a la vez se va a grabar disco y DVD en vivo donde van a participar selectos músicos cubanos de Miami, Costa Rica y New York. Issac Delgado estará participando y Luis Enrique (aún por confirmar), va a ser un evento el cual será promocionado por Radio WDNA jazz, y Canal 41 Miami, respectívamente días antes del concierto, y contando con el apoyo de ustedes 

Elegance es un proyecto sexteto de jazz latino con fusiones de música cubana y "world music". En la grabación participaron músicos como Isaac Delgado, Paquito D´Rivera, Osmany Paredes y muchos mas, grandes exponentes del género viviendo en USA. 

Bass / Director: Yorgis Goiricleaya
Piano: Osmany Paredes, Liván Mesa  -- Drums: Hilario Bell
Conga: Robert Vilera, Ramses Araya  --  Trompeta: Cheito Quiñones
Sax: Aldo Salvent  --  Trombon: William Paredes

Invitados: Voz: Issac Delgado -- Voz y percusion: Luis Enrique (por confirmar)

ACAS had a capacity crowd of North Coast Yuppies dancing their asses off. This concludes their short 12-stop tour. More soon, and more photos from Tom Ehrlich coming.

Congratulations Aisar from everyone at Timba.com!

Tonight is a unique opportunity for Cuban music fans to see what is  in my opinion the most hardcore of all the bands today: Elito Revé y Su Charangón and to celebrate the birthday of one of the most talented young musicians in Cuba today: Aisar Hernández, bassist and musical director of the Charangón. His brilliant arrangements and amazing bass style are a huge asset to the band. Like Elio Revé Matos, Elito Revé has a rare talent for finding the best and the brightest musicians and forming them into the monsters of Cuban music.

So here is my recommendation to the people of New York and anyone who lives close enough. Take a plane, a train, an automobile or even a bike to SOBs tonight. The concert will blow your mind and afterwards you can buy Aisar a drink and wish him well on his birthday...and no, I don't know how old he is. Oh, and someone send me a better picture of Aisar for his page at Timba.com please.

One of the classic lineups for one of the classic bands of all time, one night only in New York City. It's rare that for any band -- even Revé over it's 55 year history -- to achieve the level of chemistry that the current incarnation of el Charangón has achieved. It's truly hitting on all cylinders. If you miss this you'll be kicking yourself for years. They're doing at least 5 songs from the new album, De qué estamos hablando, which is easily among the best of the 2000s thus far and a brilliant cross-section of the very best of the previous two albums and the previous 5 decades.

I've created a special section for tour news .

Here's Peter Maiden's gallery from the first SF show - more coming from Tom Ehrlich in due time.

This Saturday, July 17th, Revé takes their unbelievably great show to SOB's.

The songs from the new album, De que estamos hablando are instant classics and had San Francisco singing along on the first hearing. With his third classic masterpiece in succession (Se sigue comentando, Fresquecito, De que estamos hablando), Elito Revé has proven once and for all that he's inherited his father's genius for putting together historically great groups. This current incarnation of the band can stand up beside any of its illustrious predecessors - one of the best rhythms sections ever, possibly the best horn section ever, and four great singers who work perfectly together, while presenting four very different and compelling personalities. All perfectly in sync with a genius musical director in the person of Aisar Hernández. Don't miss the chance to hear this group.

And hey, New York - I'm talkin' to you! Get off your butts. San Francisco sold out three nights straight - you should be able to sell out one on a Saturday night, eh? It's no wonder the Giants and Dodgers moved out here.

After New York, it's on to Miami and Tampa .

07/12/2010 Mon  Santa Cruz, CA Kuumbwa Jazz Club
07/14/2010 Wed  Oakland, CA Yoshis Jazz Club
07/16/2010 Fri  Winston, OR Riverbend Park
07/17/2010 Sat  Los Angeles, CA MacArthur Park 
07/23/2010 Fri  Lowell, MA Lowell Folk Festival
07/24/2010 Sat  Providence, RI Sound Sessions Festival
07/25/2010 Sun  Lowell, MA Lowell Folk Festival
07/28/2010 Wed  New York, NY River to River Festival, Wagner Park
07/29/2010 Thu  Huntington, NY Huntington Summer Arts Festival
08/01/2010 Sun  Rochester, NY NY Puerto Rican Parade Fest

The masters of Puerto Rican plena, Plena Libre will be touring the United States in July and August of 2010. Captivating and moving audiences over the course of a fifteen-year, thirteen-album career, this fine-tuned 12-piece Puerto Rican-based ensemble of virtuoso musicians has only gotten better with age, as evidenced by their four recent Grammy nominations. And now, for the 2010-2011 touring season, Plena Libre has created an all-new exciting repertoire along with new choreography and compelling new stories told from the stage between songs. 

Unlike salsa bands, who usually only have two singers, Plena Libre features five vocalists singing in lush three and four part harmonies; a musical representation of a traditional community gathering. Further giving their live performances a memorable standout quality, occasionally, the entire band will vocalize the percussion parts of the plena, creating an a cappella polyphonic polyrhythm. These artistic choices drive home the core of the tradition in an aesthetic that appeals to broad audiences and aficionados alike.

Along with providing exhilarating entertainment, Plena Libre-which has performed in fifteen countries, from Morocco to Malaysia-has a deep commitment to educating their audiences about the traditional culture of Puerto Rico. Since the founding of the group, the ensemble has offered three levels of workshops tailored to the needs of particular demographics. For young audiences, the band has conducted hands-on demonstrations, taking an interactive approach to helping kids play Caribbean rhythms and learn various dance steps.

Giraldo Piloto in Cannes - Photo ©Patrick Bonnard

While Elito Revé y Su Charangón are blowing minds in the US, the European Tour Season is also underway. Pepitín sent us a message yesterday saying that the Trabuco was back in Europe. Check here for Manolito's complete list of tour dates. And Giraldo Piloto & Klímax are already touring, but you still have time to catch them at Festival Bayamo in Seyne-sur-Mer on July 18 and Latinoamericando in Milan on July 19th.

Patrick Bonnard saw them in Cannes on July 2nd and has shared some of his outstanding photos with us. He promises a full report later but in brief he said:
I send you photos of Klimax 1st european show in Cannes at "Palais du Festival", you know where the movie stars...:) It's been 13 years since they had a concert here in France. The show was explosive, one of the best of this year. i'll try to send you later a little report...photos from Paris concert to follow. Elpidio Chapottin and German Velazco are joining the whole tour. Maraca was in the audience in Paris as they rehearse here for their Monterey All Stars project (Rotterdam 11th of July concert). Try to catch Klimax if you can, they sound wonderful.

Take Patrick's advice and don't miss this chance to see Klímax. Click here to see the Cannes photogallery.

Click Continue Reading Below for More Photos by Peter Maiden

Where has THIS band been all my life? I waited a long to finally hear them (a whole lot of people in the crowd said those exact words), and it was well worth it. Everyone was in heaven.

They're back tonight Saturday (8:00 and 10:00) and tomorrow Sunday (matinee at 5:00, 2nd show at 7:00) Yoshi's San Francisco. Don't even THINK about missing this people. The second Friday show sold out, so don't wait too long.

We'll never know how Elio Revé would have responded to the timba revolution of the late 90s because his live was cut tragically short by a car crash. The band was taken over by his son Elito, who inherited both his father's gruff voice and his astounding ear for talent. Elito is a graduate of the music schools but also owes much of his musical education to his father. He began at the age of 20 as pianist for the charangón and also worked as arranger for many of the band's hit songs. Elito has employed many extraordinary singers, such as El Gallo, Lele Rasalps and El Nene, and several brilliant musical directors, but none greater than the present one, bassist Aisar Hernández, whose work on Fresquecito made it one of the best ten albums of the 2000s.

See you at Yoshi's tonight.

Vissión Latina's new album "Sonando Como Un Cañon" (thundering like a canon) highlights the talents of the Bay Area's top Salsa and Afro-Cuban talent, among them vocalists Félix Samuel and Eduardo Herrera, and blind percussionist Julio Pérez. 

Founded by CARLOS CARO (percussion - born in Guanajay, in the Havana province of Cuba), SAUL SIERRA (bass - born in Mexico City) and MARCO DIAZ (trumpet, piano - a San Francisco native), and known as the top rhythm section in the Bay Area, VISSIÓN LATINA is a unique musical project that features the trio's original compositions.

VL has backed up top artists like Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez, Jimmy Bosch, Israel Cachao López, Herman Olivera, Nino Segarra, Anthony Cruz, Ska Cubano, Bobi Céspedes, John Santos, QBA, Candela, Tito Nieves, and Eddie Santiago. Be sure to catch VL at their upcoming CD release concert party.

Here's a great video clip from Spain . There's footage of Melón's group, of Melón with Buika, and an interview where he talks about the new CD, which can be bought, with a bonus DVD, here . 

Meanwhile, my fourth and final book on Melón, Volume 9 of Beyond Salsa Piano is at 125 pages and growing, promising to be the mother of all timba piano books. In addition to the usual tumbaos, it will also include extensive transcriptions of the rest of the arrangements. Stay tuned. I hope to go live with it in about a week. It will have La temática, La competencia, Se te fue la mano, Pa' que te salves, Por la naturaleza, Tú tranquilo, Movimiento, Me falta La Habana, Catalina, and a special study of Melón's approach to the good old I-IV-V-IV progression.

But that's not all! Adalberto is celebrating 35 years with a DVD/CD set called "Que suena el son" that was just released on July 1st. The CD contains 15 songs including collaborations with a number of guest artists such as Omara Portuondo, Frank Fernandez and María Victoria, Orquesta Aragón and Grupo Rumbatá. The DVD includes a concert in Karl Marx Theatre, the documentary "Son para un sonero", a photo gallery, sheet music for Adalberto's songs (a treasure trove for musicians) and even a karaoke of Adalberto's hits for your Cuban parties and much more!

Adalberto Álvarez y Su Son will be touring Europe in November, so have a little patience if you live here in Europe. Buy the DVD and the new CD when it is released and that should tide you over until the band arrives.

Tom's photos of Pupy y Los Que Son Son in San Francisco are up. You can also see his photos from Cócomo here. The Oakland photos are still coming.

Meanwhile, Gabriel of Yemayá's Verse is going wild on the island, with many posts since the last time I linked to her site.

And of course, don't forget REVÉ AT YOSHI'S all weekend.

Get ready for the New Explosion! Elito Reve arrives in the US on Sunday followed by su Charangón on Thursday July 8th. The band will hold its first concert on July 9. And all you charangoneros will be thrilled to hear that the tour will be extended to one month! This information comes directly from Elito Revé himself! We are obviously lacking most of the concert dates so send me an e-mail with any missing dates you know about and I will update their tour page.

The band is in the process of releasing their new CD "¿De que estamos hablando?". I have heard the entire CD and it is likely to be the best of 2010. The band is already performing several of the songs live. For the latest scoop on what you can expect in concert see Gabriel's post at Yemayá's Verse about her carnaval trip with the Charangón.

The charangón has a few new members since I saw them last. Among the singers we now have Emilio who you know from Tumbao Habana and Suzel who was with Sello L.A. Additionally there is now a full-time keyboardist, Gretchen Revé. On the new album Emilio sings lead om "Niña relájate", "La Nueva Explosión", "A Matanzas" (a tasty guaguancó), and the hit "Agua pa' Yemayá". Suzel sings lead on the son montuno remake of "Ya sé bailar, ya sé cantar". Sinsonte interprets the funny song "Open the door" and there is a real changüí with invitados Pipi de Yateras y sus Estrellas Campesinas, Chucho Valdés and Cotó. The rest of the album is expertly handled by veteran vocalist Dagoberto. You have a lot to look forward to at the upcoming US concerts. For Cuban music fans and salseros this is another must not miss tour! 

¿De que estamos hablando? Ya tú verás!!

MP3s killed the CD.

DJs killed live music.

But then again, there's DJ Walt Digz - the DJ musicians love because he always plays the tracks they didn't even know they needed to hear yet ... the DJ who's put together a LIVE, real, timba band with the very cream of the cream of the real musicians of the Bay Area scene - Carlos Caro, Colin Douglas, Marco Díaz, Ayla Dávila, Jason Möen, Erick Barbería, Orlando Torriente ... the list goes on ... the best person in every chair. We'll have a section for them soon, but their first big show is this Saturday, at Jelly's, Saturday, July 3rd.

Philly, NY and Pittsburgh next. Here's the full schedule. Tom and I will cover the Napa gig on July 17th. Among the many luminaries will be Calixto Oviedo on timbales and Gabriel Hernández on piano.

Melón celebrates the long-awaited release of Travesía, a fresh new take on Latin jazz featuring sax luminary Román Filiú and ex-Pupy bassist "El Negrón" Elizarde. Negrón is out of the country, but not to worry, Melón's old partner from the Issac band, genius bassist Alain Pérez, will be playing at Clamores .

Melón is also coming to the US in fall with Buika and will hopefully fit in some solo gigs and clinics. Meanwhile, Volume 9 of Beyond Salsa Piano , the fourth and final volume on Melón, will be done soon. It will include the songs from Exclusivo para Cuba as well as various unreleased masterpieces like La temática and La competencia, as well as some of his work with Manolín and some of the tumbaos from his Latin jazz originals. Stay tuned.

If you are a Facebook user you know that the word has been out since Mirco's post yesterday, Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor's latest album, "Soy lo que te hala", has been released at iTunes and the hardcopy is at latinmusicstore and will certainly hit other on-line stores soon. I am a hardcopy fan myself  and decided to wait for the CD to appear at local stores, but after previewing the songs at iTunes, I couldn't resist buying it. I'll pick up the hardcopy later but I just had to have the songs now !

This album is packed with hits! The songs you have probably already heard if your local DJ is up-to-date are "Que tu crees?", "Se acabó el amor", "Pa' cualquiera", "La cara de salir pa' andar" and "Soy lo que te hala". If you caught them on their March tour of Europe or back in Havana you have also heard several other songs from the new album. A full review will be coming shortly. In the meatime here's the short review: great album, dancers will love it, you should buy it.

Track list:

title	lead singer
Que Tú Crees? (A La Ñaqui)	Pavel “La Figura”
Se Acabo’ El Amor (Ya Tú No Estás En El Bombo)	Yordi Larrazaba
Arriba De Lo Mal Hecho	Yordi Larrazaba
Pari Parara	Yasser Ramos
Publícalo	Yordi Larrazaba
Reposa	Yasser Ramos
Pa’ Cualquiera	Yordi Larrazaba
La Cara De Salir Pa’ Andar	Pavel “La Figura”
Pacotillera	Pavel “La Figura”
Soy Lo Que Te Hala	Yasser Ramos

If you're going, please contact me at kevin@timba.com. I need pictures and a concert report for Volume 9 of Beyond Salsa Piano, which is nearing completion.

Tonight they play one night only at The Salsa Room in Arlington Virginia.  Don't miss it - Obama and Michelle Bachman are both scheduled to sit in on congas.

Tomorrow, Sunday, Pupy returns for another show in New York at SOBs.

Tuesday they'll be at Boston's Wilbur Theater. 

It gets hotter every night. I've seen every Bay Area show and will definitely be at Yoshi's Oakland for the grand climax tonight. Los Que Son Son has always had one of the most torrid grooves of any timba band but their new style is a quantum leap forward, featuring the pedales and bombas of bassist Daymar Calvario ("the cavalry is coming!"), Miguelito Escuriola, Duniesky Barreto and founding member Bombón Reyes, who of course also played in the legendary 2000 Issac band.

When the bass starts to pedal, slide or thump, the energy level simply goes through the roof and it happens repeatedly on every song. In my geeky opinion, this is the factor that was missing in both Pupy and Van Van - they made up for it with a relentless basic groove and masterpiece songs, but adding the "gear" factor is the pièce de resistance.

Percussion solos are a regular part of the show and Pupy's solo on La bomba soy yo  has brought the house down nightly. There was even a baby bass solo one night in SF. Many Bay stars have sat in, highlighted by Fito Reinoso, Rebeca Mauleón, John Santos and Carol Steele. Members of the Terry family are supposedly still in town and we're hoping for a last-minute guest appearance from the world's greatest chékere player.

See you tonight! Next tour stops are Washington DC and Boston. The band returns to Havana on July 2.

Septeto Santiaguero with "Esa niña, qué cintura!"

click here to listen to samples

Pitit's (aka Limpia Timpanos) new album CONFRONTACIÓN draws from his artistic experience to deliver a hard hitting Latino hip hop album. Intended to reach a more commercial audience, the record embeds deep lyrics with the driving beats and arrangements from producers Jhon Po and Jean DC.

Yaimir Jiménez aka "PITIT" aka "LIMPIA TIMPANOS" was born and raised in Havana, Cuba. Now living in Sweden, Limpiatimpanos is known for his work in the 2004 release Seres Humanos with the group Alianza, a unique mixture of Latin Hip Hop, Caribbean rhythms and traditional Cuban music. Before forming ALIANZA and creating the album 'Seres Humanos', PITIT was the director of the hip hop group Grandes Ligas and he also participated in two of the most highly regarded Hip Hop projects in Cuba: Cuban Hip Hop All-Stars and Cuban Rap Ligas (Delabel Editions, France).

photos by Tom Ehrlich

MORE PHOTOS JUST ADDED

Saturday's Cócomo show was sublime. I could watch this rhythm section night after night -- in fact, that's exactly what I intend to do and six nights won't be nearly enough to satisfy me. Their approach, originally architected by Changuito himself, is unlike any other timba band. Along with güirero Julito Noroña (the son of Van Van founder Julio Noroña) the timbalero, Miguelito Escuriola holds down the fort by covering both bell parts, as Samuell or Riverón would do, while also working in the jamblock, freeing the magnificent drummer/arranger Bombón Reyes to orchestrate the arrangement with his inimitable left-handed combination of kick, snare, hihat and toms. Bay Area fans will remember conguero Duniesky Barreto from Bamboleo's many tours in the late 90s. Pupy uses a lot more gears than he used to, giving Duniesky a lot of space to shine. This band's groove grabs ahold of you and won't let go, and Pupy's songs are all timeless classics, from 1970s Van Van masterpieces to fresh-out-of-the-oven estrenos from the upcoming album.

The concert kept building and building to an extraordinary climax on a new arrangement of Pupy's Van Van classic, Ni bombones ni caramelos. Bay Area sonero Fito Reinoso sat in and delivered one of the most inspired vocal performances I've ever heard. Fito can always be counted on to rise to the occasion with his Cándido Fabré-inspired improvisations, but this time he really outdid himself. Seconds after he took the mike, the energy level, already high, went off the scale. Pupy himself was grinning from ear to ear and shaking his head. The standard Cándido approach is to find a catchy melodic phrase and repeat it with minor variations, improvising words to fit the occasion, but Fito transcended this completely, fluidly responding to the band's every accent and changing rhythm and melody as well as words in myriad brilliant and completely spontaneous ways. When the rhythm section locked into an extended bomba behind him the groove was almost unbearable. Next, they seamlessly broke way down to a short 3-part coro with minimal accompaniment and Fito slid right into it, keeping the same rhythmic intensity at a fraction of the volume.

It's been a long, painful decade of musical drought, but the floodgates have opened and it's catch-up time for the city by the bay. Wherever you're reading this from, catch a boat, plane or train and get yourself out here.

NY Times Review   --  Central Park Video Clip

Pupy & Los Que Son Son are just at the beginning of their US tour . They have already played in Florida and at Summer Stage in New York, and you can catch them again on the East Coast tonight at S.O.B.s before they head out for 12 concerts in California . If you can't make tonight's concert, don't worry they will be back east again with a concert the 19th at the Salsa Room in Arlington, VA. , back at S.O.B.s on the 20th and the final concert is Boston on the 22nd. I tell you quite seriously, you don't want to let this opportunity pass you by, so find a way to make it to at least one of the concerts on this historic first tour! Click here for a full list of remaining gigs.

For La Unteresita's exploits in greater detail, check Yemayá's Verse daily for the next month or so - it's the next best thing to being there.

Actually -- and I have to pinch myself as I type this -- this time,  the next best thing to being there just might be ... gasp ... being in San Francisco! We Have:

June 12 - Los Terry at Yerba Buena (free!) 
June 12 - Silvio Rodríguez at the Paramount in Oakland
June 12 - Pupy y Los Que Son Son at Cócomo in SF

(and yes ... Tom Ehrlich plans to be at all 3 ... I'm skipping "Cuba's Bob Dylan" (don't worry - I'll listen to Blonde on Blonde to console myself).

June 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 - Pupy y Los Que Son Son at each Yoshi's venue.

July 9, 10, 11 - Elito Revé, por fin!

And last but not least, in book news, we're planning another series - "Inside Cuban Percussion" - with the first featured artist being none other than Calixto Oviedo. Stay tuned.

Internacionalmente han viajado por más de 20 países de Europa, Asia, África, América y el Caribe actuando en importantes festivales y múltiples escenarios entre los que más se destacan: La gira por 34 ciudades de la República Popular China; su participación en la obra teatral “El Burgués Tropical” bajo la dirección de Gerome Sabarí, inspirada en el clásico de Molière, “El Burgués Gentilhombre”; la gira realizada en agosto de 1999 por algunas ciudades de los Estados Unidos en la que también sostuvieron un encuentro muy emotivo con Graciela Pérez, cantante y fundadora de Anacaona y el show “Sabor de la Habana” que abrió la temporada de espectáculos cubanos en el Cabaret del Gran Casino Montecarlo del Principado de Mónaco.

Georgia Aguirre González	Bajo, Coros y Dirección
Dora Aguirre González	Cantante y saxofonista
Bárbara A. Zamora Vargas	Cantante
Yoanna Alvarez Peña	Cantante
Yanet C. Rodríguez Boza	Cantante
Ana Maria Vila Martínez (Anika)	Piano y Teclado
Yissy García Calzadilla	Batería, Timbal y Bongo
Ursula Madelainne Gómez Matos	Tumbadoras
Yarima Blanco Ramos	Guitarras, Tres y Coro
Vivian Jiménez Valdez	Flauta y percusión
Martha I. Torres González	Trompeta
Massiel Milán Pérez	Saxo Alto
Dayamí Acosta Rodríguez	Trombón y Coros

"The Cuban Agency Musicalia reports that the orchestra Elito Revè y su Charangón  will not make Summer Tour 2010 scheduled for Europe because it canceled the contract for breach, with the company that represented him in that continent. The next tour to Europe was made in the month of October-November 2010, with the launch of his new album De que estamos hablando ".

Our loss is the US fans' gain. But at least we know that the Charangón will be back in Europe this fall following the release of the new album which is hot, hot,hot!

Here are the trailers for the full song videos (aquí les va las muestras de los video clips de las canciones completas).

 click here to visit the free download page 

Tickets to Pupy's first show in San Francisco available here. Handheld recording will be allowed at this show! Oprima aquí para boletos para Pupy en San Francisco. Se permitirán grabadoras de mano en este show.

  oprima aquí para visitar la página de la descarga gratis

My Cuban landlord Pablo Menéndez returns to California with his full Cuban band, featuring Octavio Rodríguez, for the first time since the dark ages of the Bush Administration. You can pay homage at:

Kuumbwa Jazz Center - Santa Cruz - TONIGHT - Monday, May 24

Yoshi's Oakland - Thursday, May 27

Click "Continue Reading La Última" for more photos by Tom Ehrlich

Pupy y Los Que Son Son 
June 20, 2010 - New York City, NY - S.O.B.s 
June 22, 2010 - Boston, MA. - Wilbur Theater

Manolito y Su Trabuco 
May 29, 2010 - Arlington, VA - Yorktown Bistro

We are also beginning to get in tour dates for Europe Summer 2010 so start checking the Tours Section to plan your summer vacation.

Update = Silvio has secured his visa and his shows are highly anticipated. Here's a new video:

Update = this Combinación de la Habana video is TIGHT. Un abrazo para Gersón y compañía.... están echando candela. Quémala.

UPDATE: I added two more dates, June 3 in Tampa at Whiskey North and June 5 at Aché in Miami. Stay tuned as the updates keep coming in.

Manolito y su Trabuco will be in New York at SOBs on Thursday (May 20) and in Chicago at 6:00 p.m. at Park West on Friday (May 21). Support Timba in La Yuma!

And click here for Tom Ehrlich's gallery from last week's show in San Francisco.

Meanwhile, the Pupy Pedroso tour is looking solid, with:

June 11 - Los Angeles - Sportsmen's Lodge
June 12 - San Francisco - Cócomo
June 14 & 15 - San Francisco - Yoshi's
June 16, 17, & 18 - Oakland - Yoshi's

Closest to my own heart is the winner of the Ópera Prima category (first work). Havana D'Primera's "Haciendo Historia" was my personal favorite from 2009 so I am happy that the judges saw fit to award Los Primeros with the Best First Work award. The band has taken Havana and now the world by storm with their combination of poetic lyrics and serious timba. And on stage there is no harder working singer than Alexander Abreu who gives everything at each performance as if it were his last.

In honor of their award, Patrick Bonnard has shared a few of his pictures from the "Haciendo Historia" tour 2009/2010. Click here or on the picture below to see more.  The complete gallery is at Patrick's website .

Alexander Abreu & Havana D'Primera - winners Ópera Prima Cubadisco 2010
Photo ©Patrick Bonnard used by permission

Congratulations to all the Cubadisco winners and hasta la próxima .

The new album "A Time for Love" was released on May 11th and can be ordered from Amazon. I have only heard one song so far but the album is described as follows: "The album features classical compositions for orchestra and jazz trio by Grammy-winning arranger Jorge Calandrelli along with a sprinkling of American jazz standards by composers including Gershwin and Chaplin.  Also featured on the album are Chris Botti, Monica Mancini, Shelly Berg, and Kenny Barron. "

Here is a sample you can listen to and enjoy yourselves: Paven pour une infante defunte . It features guest artist trumpeter Chris Botti.

On February 26, 1993, after spending at least six years as musical director of Maravilla de Florida, pianist Manolito Simonet departed along with most of the group's members, added a horn section, synthesizer and kick drum, and started playing timba under the name Manolito y su Trabuco.

El Trabuco is one of the largest timba bands - a "super-charangón" if you will - with violin, cello, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, flute, and synthesizer in addition to the standard piano, bass, drums, congas and güiro.

Manolito is one of Cuba's most meticulous and prolific arrangers, making excellent use of the vast timbral resources at his disposal and frequently finding time to produce side projects such as his recent Tributo a Lilí Martínez. As of 2009, the group has released 8 studio albums, toured the world countless times, and risen to the top tier of the Havana club scene.

El Trabuco other main composer is singer Ricardo Amaray whose R&B influences are perfectly balanced by Simonet's encylopedic mastery of all the traditional forms of Cuban music.

Pupy will blow you away....read a concert report from Michelle La Timbera Mayor....click here.

César "Pupy" Pedroso (aka, "Pupi Pedroso") is one of the key figures not only in Timba, but in the last 40 years of Cuban pop music. As well as being one Cuba's best and most prolific composers, he played a seminal role in revolutionizing the art of salsa piano playing.

He started with Orquesta Revé and then became a founding member of Los Van Van. In the summer of 2001, he left to form his own group, "Pupy y Los Que Son Son", which has now released four of the best CD's of the decade.  

Also, Pupy Pedroso has apparently cleared the visa hurdle and will follow Manolito's pattern of back to back shows in LA (June 11 - Sportsmen's Lodge) and SF (June 12 - Café Cócomo).

Meanwhile, Maraca has put together what may be his most aggressively timbafied band to date with El Nene on vocals and a great new pianist named Andy Rubal. Check it out:

A true percussion master and music celebrity Francisco Aguabella passed away yesterday in Los Angeles after a battle with cancer. Aguabella emigrated from Cuba in the 1950's and played with jazz greats Dizzy Gillespie and Tito Puente. Later he broke into celebrity status by playing with Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Paul Simon, Santana and the Doors. 

From his distinct, clear, sharp tone to his enigmatic, quinto-driven phrasing, Francisco, though a staple of the New York scene for many decades, never left Havana. Producer Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez, a Latin jazz headliner himself, managed to capture the raw, no-frills energy of Aguabella's style on Francisco's album H2O beautifully. Sonically, the record has the closeness and intensity of first-row seats in a small, smoky club. 

Francisco is a recipient of awards such as the National Heritage Fellowship of the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and received a fellowship for the Durfee Foundation. Rest in peace.

Click here. Online only ticket pre-sales available now. Oprima aquí. 
for more info call - 408.241.0000 - llame para más información

IMPORTANT = When you get to the special ticketmaster page use the word "tango" in the left hand box titled TANGO PRESALE. Cuando veas la página especial de ticketmaster pones la palabra "tango" en la cajita (a mano izquierda) que dice TANGO PRESALE. 

Manolito y su Trabuco at Cócomo was the most fun I've had since 2001. Click CONTINUE READING LA ÚLTIMA for my review, more photos, news, and - most importantly - to add your own reviews in the comments section.

Esta noche en el Café Cócomo de San Francisco hay boletos disponibles en la puerta.

MANOLITO Y SU TRABUCO - EN VIVO - DIRECTO DE CUBA
Mayo 8 2010 - Puertas abren a las 8pm
Café Cócomo - (415) 824-6910
@ Mariposa and 19th St., near hwy 280
650 Indiana St., San Francisco, CA 94107

Fotos por David González reportando desde Los Angeles

Yoshi's SF also reports that Elio Revé and his Orquesta Revé is slated to perform at Yoshi's SF July 29 through August 1.

Press Release from Monterey International - Thu, May 6, 2010 at 11:06 AM

LOS VAN VAN TOUR POSTPONED 

The coordinators of the tour of Los Van Van regret to announce that, due to an unresolved business matter between the group and a third party and circumstances beyond their control, the U.S. tour of Los Van Van must be postponed.  This decision had nothing to do with U.S.-Cuba relations or any visa issues. Their I-129 visa petitions were approved.  

We hope to bring Los Van Van to the United States soon after resolution of the factors that prevented us from realizing this tour at this time.  

For more information, please call Bill Martinez, (415) 974-6485, bill@billmartinez.com 

Manolito Simonet y su Trabuco replace La Charanga Habanera on their USA tour May 7 @ Sportsmen's Lounge in Los Angeles and May 8 at Café Cócomo in San Francisco. These concerts are presented by Albert Torres and he confirms that Manolito is already here in the USA (but we already knew that as reported by La Timbera Mayor Michelle White). All other concerts by this artist announced in SF by other venues have been cancelled. All tickets purchased for the Charanga Habanera concerts will be honored. 

For May 7 tickets at The Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City (Los Angeles) click HERE.
For directions call 818-755-5000 or for ticket info call 310-445-9705.

For May 8 tickets at Café Cócomo in San Francisco click HERE.
For directions call 415-305-9265 or for ticket info call 310-445-9705.

Great news from, Miami. Manolito y Su Trabuco have arrived in the US. With all the changes to the concert schedule I only know of 3 concerts. The first two are May 7 & 8 in LA and San Francisco, respectively and the third is May 14 in Miami. I hope they set up a few more because the people of the United States have a right to More Trabuco! If you know about any concert that is missing from out list please send me an e-mail.

Update: Make that 4 concerts. I found one for May 20th at SOBs. But according to Mirco's information at TimbaPorSiempre, Manolito said that they will be playing in 14 states, so we must be missing a lot of dates!

If you're having trouble seeing La Charanga Habanera in California, take a summer vacation to Europe and catch them July 13 -  August 8. Havana D'Primera will be back in Europe from May 29 -  June 29th and they already seem to be scheduled for a concert  at the Musicport Festival in England in October, so I guess they'll be back in the fall. Giraldo Piloto & Klímax will be here from  July 6 - August 7. Monika Mesa will be touring with her Maquina Perfecta from June 27 - August 29. Reggeaton fans can see Los Cuatro (Los salvajes)  during July 22 - August 29th. Stay tuned for more updates as they become available.

Here's the latest:

1) No Charanga Habanera - May 7 in LA (Sportsmen's Lodge) and May 8 in SF (Cócomo) are both cancelled.

2) Manolito y su Trabuco - who have their visas in hand will play BOTH of those gigs. If you have tickets, you can either use them to see Trabuco or get a refund at the point of purchase.

3) Yoshi's has cancelled Manolito for May 5 and May 6

On a more positive note I strongly agree with Michelle on those Revé tracks - the rhythm section sounds measurably hotter than Fresquecito, which was easily one of the best albums of the 2000s.

Also, the Ned Sublette Lecture at MoAD in SF is still on for Thursday night, April 29.

The band has some exciting additions this year. While young soneros seem to be an endangered species, Maraca has added both Alexei Sánchez "El Nene", and Lester Ciarreta to the group. You know Alexei "El Nene" from Azúcar Negra and Elito Revé, where he both composed and sang several of the hits on the "Se sigue comentando" CD. When El Nene left Azúcar Negra it was actually Lester Ciarretta who filled his place, moving over from Salsa Mayor. Well now both these young sonero/timberos are together in one band under the leadership of one of the most sucessful young bandleaders in Cuba today. French DJ Jack El Calvo informs us that Maraca even has other new musicians including a new trumpet player, from Klímax. Stay tuned for video of the new Maraca line-up!

As with all of our sections, you can see when CMP has been updated by looking under "New Stuff/Lo Nuevo" to the right of the post, or you can access the site directly by typing timba.com/schools/cmp.