Tomorrow - October 13th in Madrid - Havana D'Primera begin their Autumn European tour, which will take them to 27 cities in 12 countries. Click here to find the concert closest to you. Los 4 are also currently on tour and will be in Bologna tomorrow. For the remaining Los 4 concert dates, click here . Both groups are at the height of popularity in their respective genres and both have relatively new albums they are promoting.

Here in Stockholm Cuban music fans will be blessed with a joint concert by Havana D'Primera and Los 4 on October 23rd. It will be the concert of the year and they are calling the event "Sólo se vive una vez". It will be held at Quality Hotel Friends and the technical details are in the hands of Stockholm's best light and soundmen. I will - of course - be reporting on it. Doors open at 8:00pm and close at 03:00am. It is simply going to be awesome!

Due to the popularity of the event the promoters and the hotel have arranged special pricing for concert-goers who are traveling to the concert from other countries or cities. For information on how to take advantage of the special pricing, click here. The pre-concert tickets are nearly sold-out, so get yours before the price goes up. To book concert tickets now click here. VIP tickets are also available for those who want to hang with the bands.

To whet your appetite I leave you with two recent videos. The first is "Regalito de Dios", is one of the most popular songs from Havana D'Primera's album "La vuelta al mundo".  The second is a recent collaboration between Los 4 and La Charanga Habanera "Lo que tengo yo". You've gotta love the Star Wars intro!

Havana D'Primera "Regalito de Dios"

Los 4 & La Charanga Habanera "Lo que tengo yo"

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Photo: Francis Vernhet

ENGLISH : One of the most important ensembles of all time in Cuban Jazz AND Cuban Popular Dance Music is Irakere .   Although its first recording, Bacalao con pan , was made in 1973 while it was still a sub-group of the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna , it officially became a free-standing group in 1975 (hence the Irakere 40 ) and began to shake the world with its music from then until 2005, when it disbanded. One of the reasons that I am writing these lines today is that Irakere 's music kept me riveted to the shortwave radio in the 1970s, when Cuba's radio stations regularly broadcast their newest releases.  Here is a surviving video fragment of Bacalao con pan from the period that will help you understand the excitement of the time if you weren't around back then:

ESPAÑOL : Uno de los ensembles más importantes de todos los tiempos en el Jazz cubano y la Música Popular Bailable es Irakere . Aunque su primera grabación, Bacalao con pan , se hizo en 1973 cuando todavía era un subgrupo de la Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna , se convirtió oficialmente en un grupo independiente en 1975 (de ahí el Irakere 40 ) y comenzó a sacudir el mundo con su música desde entonces hasta 2005, cuando se disolvió. Una de las razones por las que estoy escribiendo estas líneas hoy en día es que la música de Irakere me mantuvo remachada a la radio de onda corta en la década de 1970, cuando las emisoras en Cuba emitian regularmente sus nuevos lanzamientos. Aquí está un fragmento de vídeo sobreviviente de Bacalao con pan de la época que les ayudarán a entender la emoción del momento si ustedes no estuvieron allí en aquellos tiempos:

ENGLISH:   Now,  Irakere 's founder Chucho Valdés , who celebrated his 74th birthday on Friday, has assembled a special 10-piece group consisting of his Afro Cuban Messengers and five of the best young Cuban Jazz trumpeters and saxophonists for a tour and CD release.   The tour in the United States will take place from October 20-November 16 (including Kevin Moore's favorite city of Santa Cruz, where they will be at the Rio Theatre for the Performing Arts ).  You can see the entire US tour schedule here.  You can also watch a video of this group in action at the Lugano Jazz Festival: 

ESPAÑOL : Ahora, el fundador de Irakere , Chucho Valdés , quien celebró su 74o cumpleaños el viernes, ha reunido a un grupo especial de 10 músicos que consiste en sus Afro Cuban Messengers y cinco de los mejores jóvenes trompetistas y saxiofonistas del Jazz cubano para una gira y un lanzamiento de CD. La gira en Estados Unidos tendrá lugar a partir del 20 de octubre hasta el 16 de noviembre (incluyendo la ciudad favorita de Kevin Moore, Santa Cruz, donde estarán en el Rio Theatre for the Performing Arts ). Pueden ver toda la programación de la gira de Estados Unidos aquí. También pueden ver un video de este grupo en acción en el Festival de Jazz de Lugano:

ENGLISH : A new CD, Tribute to Irakere (Live at Marciac)   will also be released on October 20 (Jazz VIllage/Harmonia Mundi), and we will review it here in the near future.  The roster for Irakere 40 includes Chucho Valdés (piano); Gastón Joya (bass); Rodney Barreto (drums); Yaroldy Abreu (percussion); Dreiser Durruthy Bombalé (batás & vocals); Manuel Machado , Reinaldo Melian & Carlos Sarduy (trumpets); Ariel Bringuez (tenor sax) & Rafael Aguila (alto sax).  
We'll be sharing more about Irakere and its role in modern Cuban Jazz and popular dance music during the weeks to come. In the meantime, Kevin Moore's history and discography of Irakere in the Timbapedia is worth visiting here. 

ESPAÑOL : Un nuevo CD, Homenaje a Irakere (Live at Marciac) también se dará a conocer el 20 de octubre (Jazz Village / Harmonia Mundi), y lo vamos a reseñar aquí en un futuro próximo. Irakere 40 incluye a Chucho Valdés (piano); Gastón Joya (bajo); Rodney Barreto (batería); Yaroldy Abreu (percusión); Dreiser Durruthy Bombalé (batás y voz); Manuel Machado , Reinaldo Melián y Carlos Sarduy (trompetas); Ariel Bringuez (saxo tenor) y Rafael Aguila (saxo alto).
Estaremos compartiendo más sobre Irakere y su rol en el Jazz cubano moderno y la música popular bailable en las semanas venideras. Mientras tanto, la historia  y discografía de Irakere por Kevin Moore en la Timbapedia vale la pena visitar aquí .

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There is no question that Cuba está de moda with all the celebrity visits these days - most recently Mick Jagger. Who knows? Maybe Los Van Van - often called "The Rolling Stones of Cuba" -  will feature the Rolling Stones as guests on their next album, which is rumored to be a collaboration with both Cuban and international artists. But enough of my fantasias.

In the meantime, we have some very successful Timba/Salsa collaborations such as Marc Anthony and Gente D'Zona with a salsaton "La gozadera" and Septeto Santiaguero's third Latin Grammy nominated album "No quiero llanto - Homenaje a Los Compadres", which features a number of leading salsa artists from different countries. Amusingly, Bill just posted on it shortly before I did, so I will just direct you to scroll down and check out his post including video. You can also click here to read his full review of the Cubadisco-winning album. On November 19th we'll see if the third Latin Grammy nomination is the charm for the septeto.

Closest to my heart I am pleased to say that the official video of "Muévete pa quí" by Elito Revé y su Charangón featuring Gilberto Santa Rosa is now being promoted in Cuba, having recently been featured on Piso 6. While I feared that Gilberto's romantica voice wouldn't suit the sound of the Charangón, he really did a fantastic job and it is a version I highly recommend to dancers and DJs.

But the TImba/Salsa collaboration goes both ways. Here in Scandinavia Tito Nieves recently performed in Norway backed by a team of leading timberos residing here in Europe. The musicians adapted beautifully to Nieves style. The band included: Tony Moreaux, Peter Ehler, Jorge Egües, Richard Ortega, Yaser Morejon, Oslen Ceballo, Adam Rapa, Jakob Johansen, Andres Mena, Yemi Valdés and Henry Hourrutinier. 

With the normalization of relations between the US ands Cuba and the recent Sony licensing agreement with EGREM, I expect we will see international collaborations snowballing. Van Van and the Rolling Stones...it could happen.

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ENGLISH:  As the future unfolds, we will be seeing more collaborative projects between Cuban artists and artists in other countries.  On Thursday, October 8, Manolito Simonet y su Trabuco and Dominic Miller will unveil their new album Hecho en Cuba at the Fábrica del Arte. Dominic Miller is perhaps best known for his work with Sting, and this new album includes some of his compositions arranged in a style suitable for Manolito.  You can read more about the background of that project in Spanish here.   
You can also hear some of Manolito's observations (in Spanish) in his studio in May 2015 here. 
ESPAÑOL: Como el futuro se desarrolla, vamos a ver más proyectos de colaboración entre artistas cubanos y artistas de otros países. El jueves, 8 de octubre,  Manolito Simonet y su Trabuco y Dominic Miller darán a conocer su nuevo álbum Hecho en Cuba en la Fábrica del Arte. Dominic Miller es quizás mejor conocido por su trabajo con Sting, y este nuevo álbum incluye algunas de sus composiciones en un estilo que cabe bien el sonido de Manolito.
Puede leer más acerca de los antecedentes de ese proyecto aquí
También puede esuchar unas observaciones de Manolito en su estudio en mayo 2015 aquí

ENGLISH:  Septeto Santiaguero is on the short list of Cuban ensembles that deserve a quality tour of the United States and have not had one yet.  They are one of the very best traditional Son groups in Cuba, and they have 3 Cubadisco awards (including this year for No Quíero Llanto - Tributo a Los Compadres) and 3 Latin GRAMMY nominations (also including this year, for the same album). Presenters in the United States:  When are you going to rectify this oversight????  I have seen them live in Cuba without guest stars, and they are the real thing.



ESPAÑOL: Septeto Santiaguero está en la lista corta de los grupos cubanos que merecen una gira de calidad de los Estados Unidos y no la han tenido hasta ahora. Ellos son uno de los mejores grupos que tocan el Son tradicional en Cuba, y tienen 3 premios Cubadisco (incluyendo este año para No Quiero Llanto - Tributo a Los Compadres) y 3 nominaciones al Latin GRAMMY (también incluyendo este año para el mismo álbum).  A los presentadores en los Estados Unidos: ¿¿¿¿Cuando van a rectificar esta omisión???? He visto el grupo  en directo en Cuba sin estrellas invitadas, y ellos son la cosa real.

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