Ivan Llanes played drums and percussion with Maraca  and Sur Caribe in Cuba and moved to New York in 2012 to pursue a solo career.  His new group, Ivan Llanes & The Cuban Way, will present its live public debut performance at the Bronx Museum of the Arts on Friday, April 5 as part of the museum's First Fridays series. The evening begins as a kickoff of the upcoming Havana Film Festival New York at 6pm with a screening of David Grubin's 2012 documentary film Havana, Havana!.  This is followed by the debut live performance of Ivan's group as well as music by DJ Asho.  Ivan tells us that the performance will include two original compositions along with some Cuban Jazz standards, some Timba Cubana and some traditional Cuban music (Danzón, Bolero, Cancion etc.).   The concept of the group is to bring a Cuban feel to a wide range of music from Timba to Jazz to Blues and other styles. 

Ivan hopes to produce a full recording of the group over the course of the next year.  As a taste of things to come, it recorded a demo video in Martin Cohen's studio last year: 

This group should be an exciting addition to the scene, and entrance to the event is free. 

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This link goes to Emiliano Echeverria's full show . The interview - covering Bebo Valdés, Güillermo Barretto, Cachao and much more - starts at the 26 minute mark. For more on Emiliano, click here.

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The last time this writer saw this group in the Midwest was literally during the last millennium, and he still remembered the waves of excitement that swept the hall back then, so even though the nearest concert this time was a five-hour drive away, he decided to make the trek to Louisville.  Was it worth the drive? Read on to find out and see our concert photos...

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Better Late Than Never Dept:
Manolin 's Tiene Que Ser Manolin, released last year, has something for everyone, and we do mean every one.  Could that be a problem?  Click here to read our take on that question.

 





An excellent Latin Jazz recording, Guisando Caliente's Coolantro , recently came to our attention after eluding our notice for a couple of years.  The trail also leads to one of the best Afro-Cuban Jazz programs currently on radio (and strreaming on the web) in the United States.  Click here to read the review.

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