Wednesday
May 7 2008
7th Dance Competition of Traditional Cuban Popular Dances
and Casino The competition will be hosted in Santiago de Cuba October 17-18,
2008. The objective of the competition is to promote traditional popular Cuban
dances such as Danzón, Son, Cha Cha Cha, Pilón, Mambo, Mozambique,
Rumba, as well as Casino and Rueda de Casino. Click
here to read all the details in the announcement (en español
y formato PDF).
Monday
May 5 2008
Cubakultur in Denmark Announces Dates for Dance/Music
Classes Cubakultur in Copenhagen has announced the dates of their upcoming
two-week classes in Cuba: this summer from June 26 - July 9 and in the fall
October 12-26. The dance classes include casino, son, rueda de casino, mambo,
cha cha cha and rumba. All participants get a Cuban dance partner to train with.
Cubakultur can also assist in setting up lessons in congas and Spanish.
Saturday
April 26 2008 Another Anniversary
during International Timba Month! It's no wonder April is International Timba Month, yet another band
has celebrated an anniversay. Klímax is now 13 years old and will be
releasing their 6th studio CD in May. The new CD includes Dale cuatro malas
which has been played for about a year now as well as the latest single, La
permuta.
Klímax performing Dale cuatro malas in April 2007
Monday
April 21 2008 How Are You Celebrating
International Timba Month? Here in Stockholm we celebrated with a concert by Adalberto Álvarez
y Su Son on April 12 (report to follow). In Canada they celebrated last weekend
with Bamboleo in Toronto and Quebec City. Check
Billy Bryans' blog for the details.
Tour Updates The details are still very sketchy but we have a few more dates for
groups such as Maraca,
Charanga Habanera, and Orquesta Revé. Keep checking
out the Tours
section because we will be constantly updating. If you know about any concerts
that we haven't listed, please send an
e-mail.
Sunday
April 20 2008
Soneros All Stars - La Timba Soy Yo I really enjoyed Soneros All Stars first CD, Dime Nagüe,
and after four years they are back with their next release, La Timba Soy
Yo. Soneros All Stars is a project by Swedish tresero Janne Bogdan. The
CD will be back from press next week, but you can already listen to the MP3s.
I am very pleased with what I hear, and what's not to like? The new CD features
Pupy Pedroso on piano, and on vocals Cristina Azcuy, Sinsonte, Mandy and Pepito.
For more information about the CD and the full list of musicians seewww.soneros-all-stars.com.
Saturday
April 12 2008 Salsa Mayor in
the Studio and on Their Way to Europe Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor started recording ther next CD last week.
Maykel tells us that very soon fans will be dancing to numbers such as La
balacera, Llévala, Adivina papá, Marisela
and Si le gusta repite. I have already seen both Adivina papá
and Si le gusta repite performed live and have heard Marisela
various times in rehearsal and can tell you that Salsa Mayor continues to produce
true Cuban timba made for the dancers.
I have no doubt that the new CD
will be another triumph for the group. It should also include Ella dice
and Anda pégate, the hit singles that swept Europe during 2007,
um...no pun intended with the barriendo coro. The video for Anda pégate
has been at number 9 on the Piso 6 top ten countdown for the past few weeks.
Check muchoswing.com
for weekly Piso 6 episodes.
Hopefully the new CD will be out
in time for their summer tour which runs from July 1 through July 31. The first
date that I have for Salsa Mayor this summer is July 13 at the Carnival
de Salsafestival in Poland. Keep
checking back with us as the summer tour plans solidify.
Carnival
de Cuba 2008 June 28-29 London's annual Carnival
de Cuba will feature La
Charanga Habanera as headliners both days. At first I was worried
about the effect Juventino's stripping would have on the mild mannered British
public, but then I remembered that this is the country that brought us "The
Full Monty", so I think it will be well received.
MC-ing the event will be Ricardo
Leyva, director of Sur
Caribe. The carnival will also feature reggaeton and hip-hop with
Emenecia Clasica and Telmary.
Participating from the UK are Osvaldo
Chacón y su Timba, Tumbao Tivoli and the reggaeton groups
Papo Record and Kid Afrika.
Friday
April 11 2008 Azúcar Negra celebrates 10th anniversary In addition to being International Timba Month, April is the anniversary
month for both NG La Banda, as we reported earlier, as well as Azúcar Negra.
The band celebrated its 10-year anniversary on April 8. Clave Cubana threw a
party for Azúcar Negra at El Diablo Tun Tun and on the 9th Azúcar Negra played
at Salon Rojo del Capri where, word has it, the rum flowed freely that night.
The big celebration will be held
April 19th at La Tribuna and will feature the participation of Haila
Mompie and Juan Formell y Los Van Van.
Today Azúcar Negra is in the
studio recording the coros for the new CD.
2008 Cubadisco Nominees Announced On April 1st, the nominees for
Cubadisco 2008 were announced. The contemporary popular dance music
category is of particular interest to timberos. The nominees are:
El mundo se acabo Mañengo - La Charanga Habanera
Mil razones - Suena cubano
Fresquecito - Elito Revé y su Charangón
Me mantengo - Taínos de Mayarí
Mamborama - Directamente al mambo
Click
here to see the entire list of Cubadisco nominees for 2008. Cubadisco
will take place this year from May 17-25 and the theme is Africa and the Diaspora.
Paulo
FG in Mexico Paulo was originally scheduled to do some concerts in February but
they were cancelled and rescheduled for April. Unfortunately we're a little
late with the news. He performed the 3rd, 4th and 5th at Mamarumba Loreto and
the 10th, 11th, and 12th at Mamarumba in Roma Queretaro. If
you hurry you can catch him there tonight or tomorrow. The cover is 120 pesos
and the concerts start at 10pm.
Thursday
April 10 2008
La Habana Me Llama Video Underway On the eve of their summer European
tour Manolito y Su Trabuco are ready to start filming the video
of the title track from the soon-to-be-released CD La Habana me llama.
The CD itself is under production and will be out very soon.
Sunday
April 6 2008 Timba Celebrates 20
Years with NG La Banda Twenty years ago on April 4th a group of creative musicians got
together under the leadership of José Luis Cortés "El Tosco"
and formed NG La Banda. In a recent interview on Piso 6 (see muchoswing.com)
El Tosco said that everyone agreed that if the band wasn't successful within
two years, they would break up, or as he put it "calabaza, calabaza
cada uno pa' su casa". Fortunately for all of us, the band was a hit,
and with the birth of NG La Banda came the dawn of the music that has profoundly
touched the lives of timberos around the world.
NG La Banda has been celebrating
their 20th anniversary by touring the neighborhoods of Havana. Last night was
the main event with a concert in Plaza de la Revolución featuring the
participation of Los Van Van, la Charanga Habanera, Bamboleo, Manolito y Su
Trabuco and Pachito Alonso y Sus Kini Kini.
Timba.com congratulates and thanks
El Tosco and NG La Banda, all members old and new, for the tremendous gift they
have given us.
April
Declared International Timba Month!
Those of us not fortunate enough to be in Havana for the concert can still celebrate.
By the authority vested in me, by...um...myself, I am officially declaring April
International Timba Month! It's high time we congratulate ourselves
on our excellent taste in music and dance. So bake yourself a cake, invite your
friends over, put on your Échale Limón CD and spend a
few hours dancing casino, son, rueda, rumba or just analyzing gears to the fundadores
de la timba.
La Nacimiento de la Timba - NG La Banda
Vintage NG La Banda - Te confunde ser esa mujer
Thursday
March 27 2008 El Zorro's New CD
Released Today! Thanks to Denmark's DJ Estilo for informing us that El Zorro's new
CD, Ay Como me Sube, is now available. Once again he has recorded with
Ángel Bonne, Mayito River and Roberto Pulido Gonzales on lead vocals. Click
here for MPs samples.
1. Cuarenta Y Seis (timba)
2. El Fenómeno (funkytimba)
3. Cumpleaños (timba)
4. Sabes Que (bolero)
5. El Sapo (merentimba)
6. Mi Tierra (cha cha cha)
7. Ay, Como Me Sube (funkytimba)
8. La Rumba Te Llama (guaguanco/timba)
9. Yo Le Canto A La Amistad (timba)
10. Noche En Blanco (balada)
11. Llegó, Llegó (funkytimba)
12. Ay, Como Me Sube (remix)
Photos of Los Van Van
in Copenhagen DJ Estilo also sent us a link to some great photos
of Los Van Van's concert in Copenhagen. Amazing how some people can really
capture the feeling of a concert in stills.
Monday
March 24 2008
Los Van Van in Stockholm Concert Report Yes, I know. The band has just finished their European tour and it's
almost been a month since the concert in Stockholm, but better late than never
I suppose. Click
here to read the report from the Stockholm concert.
Sunday
March 23 2008 Pupy's
New Concert Dates in Canada Pupy y Los Que Son Son have been rescheduled to perform in Canada
at the end of May. Sherbrooke at Vieux Clocher on May 21st, Quebec City at L'Ozone
May 22nd and the Toronto concert has been set for May 24th. The venue for Totonto
still has to be announced so watch CubaInToronto
for details.
Preliminary
Tour Dates for Manolito y Su Trabuco The first dates are coming in for the
Trabuco's summer tour of Europe. The tour is still under construction
so check back. We will update as more dates are confirmed. In the meantime,
the master of the new Trabuco CD is finished and the discos are being pressed
so we can expect the release very soon. Rumour has it that we are looking at
another potential Cubadisco award for Manolito.
Tuesday
March 18 2008 Pupy's
Tour of Canada Delayed Don't worrry, my North American timberos, Pupy is still planning
to come, but the dates are changing. No, it's not due to any problems on Pupy's
part, just a question of timing in Canada. We will update the tours section
as soon as we know more. In the meantime you can keep an eye on CubaInToronto.
Bamboleo's
Tour of Canada Bamboleo will also be touring Canada this spring. They already have
a date set in Toronto for April 18 at Six Degrees Nightclub. See Mister
Bryans for more.
Sunday
March 16 2008
Cubamemucho Video at YouTube Participants in the Munich congress have been busy the past couple
of weeks uploading video of some of the classes as well as music and social
dancing. This link takes you to a list of all videos found by searching for
"Cubamemucho
2008".
The Cubamemucho
franchise is taking Cuban dance to locations around the world. It's cool to
watch the videos of rueda groups from places as diverse as Indonesia, Mexico,
Venezuela, the USA, Italy, Serbia, Hungary and Germany, to name a few. No matter
the language barriers, when you put on some Los Van Van and call out "Enchufla!"
your communication problems are at an end.
Here are some of the upcoming congresses.
Krakow,
Poland
May 1-4,
2008
Odessa, Ukraine
July 4-7, 2008
Nottingham, England
August 1-3, 2008
Toulouse, France
September 5-7, 2008
Budapest, Hungary
November 7-9, 2008
Munich, Germany
March 20-22, 2009
Wednesday
March 12 2008 Pupy y Los Que Son
Son - Canada Tour Dates Sticking with the Pupy y Los Que Son Son theme, I have updated the
Tours section with the
four concert dates for Pupy's upcoming microtour of Canada. They begin with
3 dates in Quebec: Sherbrooke, Quebec City and Montreal. The final date is in
Toronto, Ontario.
DJing in Sherbrooke and Quebec
City is our own DJ Melao,
just back from Cubamemucho. The Toronto concert will be in conjunction with
a Cuba festival including dance workshops. The opening party will be held on
Friday May 9, the concert on Saturday and a goodbye party on Sunday the 11th.
For more info see CubaInToronto.com
Salsani's Newsletter
in English Salsani sent us a link to her newsletter in
English. Here you can read all the information about upcoming CDs by
Vitaly y su Timba Habanera, El Zorro, and many more. You can also read her Los
Van Van in Copenhagen concert report. Enjoy!
Tuesday
March 11 2008
New Singer with Pupy y Los Que Son Son Pupy's manager has confirmed that the newest of Los Que Son Son is
a woman named Lily. No other details as yet. She also tells us that Pupy's new
CD will be released next month! Excellent news!
Thanks to Rafa in Zurich for providing our first glimpse of
Lily
Sunday
March 9 2008
Ch ch ch changes Well I'm back at work and just wanted to post a few updates about
the current state of the bands in Cuba. As we all know, the more that things
change the more they stay the same. So things are the same as ever in Cuba:
changes in bandmembers, new CDs and new tour plans. Here are some updates, in
no particular order.
La Charanga
Habanera
As everyone knows by now, Lázaro Maya "El Bello" has replaced
Leoni in La Charanga Habanera. However, he is not on their current tour. I think
Dantes may be with them, but we will know very soon when the Cubamemucho
reports start coming in. Charanga Habanera will close the Munich congress with
a concert tonight. They continue with several more
concerts in Germany this month.
Elito
Revé y su Charangón
Elito has filled El Bello's place with Alexander "El Narra", and Eric
"El Chino" has been replaced by Reyneir "El
Galán". Elito tells us that they are both excellent singers. We
will get a taste of them soon enough here in Europe when Orquesta Revé
returns to Europe on June 26th.
Their latest release, Fresquecito,
won the band "Best Album 2007" at Fiestacubana.net
and Planet Records has included what may be my favorite song from Fresquecito,
A sancochar boniato, on their CD Latino
23.
But not content to rest, Orquesta
Revé is already at work on their next album. Elito has sworn me to secrecy
as to the contents, so for now we just have to wait until we get the go-ahead
to release some of the details. I haven't even told Kevin!
Pupy
y Los Que Son Son
Pupy will also be back in Europe this summer from June 20-July 20 and will probably
have their new CD with them. We have been listening to Pepito's Un poquitico
al reves for a few months now, but the band has had some trouble finishing
the new CD due to changes in the bandmembers. Both Lester Ciarreta and Norberto
Gómez joined briefly and left abruptly. It looks like Pupy may have decided
that the best man for the job is a woman. Recent photos from a concert in Havana
show the singer line-up as follows: Mandy, Pepito, William and an unidentified
woman. As soon as we know more, you will too.
Manolito
y Su Trabuco
No exception to the rule of change, El Trabuco now features singers Amaray,
Mayami and El Noro, who joined after the departure of El Indio. The new CD should
be out within just a few weeks and may be named after Cucurucho's song La
Habana Te Llama. This album contains quite a mix of songs including Control
(timbaton), Muevete un poquitico (son), as well as a ballad with Andy
Montañez and a Latin jazz number written by Miguelito "Pan con salsa".
El Trabuco will bring their rave-reviews show to Europe in July and August,
so get ready because as Amaray might say: "tú sabes quien llegará".
Salsa
Mayor
Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor also have a new singer line-up, none of whom have
toured Europe before. But even if you haven't seen him, you've already heard
Pavel "La Figura" if you have the CD Live, Desde La Casa De la
Música, where La Figura sings lead on Quitándome lo malo,
Cambia tu faceta and the estreno Control. Yasser Ramos left
Charanga Forever for Salsa Mayor to replace El Noro. And the most recent singer
is José Antonio Rodriguez "Pepetín", who has worked
with Azúcar Negra and also spent some time working on projects in Spain.
The changes
in bandmembers have delayed the upcoming CD, but hopefully they will have time
to get into the studio before they leave on July 1st for their summer tour.
From what I've heard of the new songs, I think Los Mayores have another hit
record on their hands.
Leonel
Limonta & Azúcar Negra The band will
go into the studio next week to start recording their latest project. They should
have it completed in time to bring with them for the summer tour, which will
take place in July and August.
Other
new CDs and Tours
Salsani from Salsa-dj.dk
has released an newsletter in English with information about new CDs from Vitaly
Osmachko and El Zorro, as well as a review of the Los Van Van concert in Copenhagen.
My own review from Los Van Van in Stockholm will be up in a few days. Unfortunately
I can't find a link to Salsani's letter in English so let me just give you some
important details. Maybe we can update with a link to the full article later.
Vitaly
y su Timba Habanera will be releasing a follow-up to the 2001 CD Desnudar
tu cuerpo. Not only that, but they are planning a major European tour!
El
Zorro will also have a release out at the end of March. The new CD
is titled Ay Como Sube.
Soneros
All-Stars long-awaited new CD La Timba Soy Yo will also be
available in about 3 weeks, let's say early April just to be sure. This album
features collaboration with Pupy, Pepito, Mandy, Cristina Azcuy and Sinsonte
among others. At the turn of the month you will be able to hear all the new
songs at http://www.soneros-all-stars.com/.
Thursday
February 28 2008
Los Van Van - Los Que Batean 400 El Tren is back in Europe and they are echando humo! The band put
on an incredible show in Stockholm last night. I've seen them several times
before, but this concert was something special. We all know that Van Van is
the elite level of musicianship, but last night they were also number one in
showmanship, and not due to choreography but to intensity and passion. The audience
shared the band's mood and came out strong, cheering and singing from the opening
number Chapeando until the end of the encore, Te pone la cabeza
mala.
Los Van Van in Stockholm
Unfortunately I am leaving tomorrow
morning for a week, so I won't be able to file a complete report for about 10
days. But I just couldn't leave without telling everyone to look
for the nearest concert, even if you think "Oh, I've seen
them before," because this is one train you do not want to miss!
The band is at the top of their game.
For those of you who will be attending
Cubamemucho
in Munich, here is a sneak preview of what to expect. El Maestro Chiqui Dixon,
one of the intructors for Cubamemucho, was on hand for the Stockholm concert
and Robertón invited him up to dance during Dale dos (Plan B).
In just a few days Los Van Van and Chiqui will be reunited in Munich, so for
your viewing pleasure click here
or on the image below.
Monday
February 25 2008
Manolito y su Trabuco Celebrate Their 15th Anniversary
Today February 15th in the official birthday of the Trabuco and they will
be doing a matinee today at Casa de la Música Habana. I don't yet know what
other special events may be planned. In his recent interview with Timba.com,
Manolito said they might do a formal concert at Karl Marx and possibly something
for "el pueblo" at La Tropical. He also expects to travel to his hometown
of Camagüey and other towns in Oriente.
And in other Trabuco news, the
upcoming CD has been mixed and is being mastered right now. We may see a release
as soon as mid-March! In the meantime, from everyone at Timba.com and on behalf
of Timba Geeks around the world, Happy Anniversary Trabuco!
Sunday
February 24 2008
Tumbao Habana Section Added Tumbao Habana is an orchestra that has long been on my list of bands
to see. On my first trip to Cuba their radio demo Amanezco was on the
radio all the time and made me an instant fan. Finally
on my last trip to Havana I was able to see Tumbao Habana at their Friday matinée
larga at Café Cantante. I also spoke briefly with director and keyboardist,
Pascualito Cabrejas.
I enjoyed the show, which was full
of their hits and included a number of solos by various musicians. They are
all very talented, but without question the most amazing solo was by the trombonist
who can actually play the trombone with his foot. No, I didn't ask him where
in the world he ever got the idea to do that. It will remain one of the great
mysteries of timba, at least until I see him again.
Tumbao Habana has only released
two studio albums to date, but they have had a string of hits with their demos
such as Johana, La Vida Es Silbar and La Familia Cubana.
I have to admit that La Familia Cubana gets me all emotional and I'm
not even Cuban. Pascualito told me that they are preparing to record a third
album this year, and we can expect the hits mentioned above to be on the CD.
The Tumbao
Habana section includes a short interview with Pascualito as well
as a video page with some of my favorites songs. CD reviews will be added shortly.
Tuesday
February 19 2008 Concert Updates
Paulo FG Paulo FG will be in Mexico City for a couple of concerts at the end
of the month to celebrate Mama Rumba's anniversary party. The concert on February
28 is private and by invitation only, but on the 29th it is open to the public.
Of course the concerts will be held at mama Rumba. I don't know if Paulo has
any other concerts in Mexico.
La
Charanga Habanera The boys will be in Germany for an intensive 1 week tour, which
begins at
Cubamemucho on March 9th. Keep in mind that the Munich concert is only
open to participants in the Cubamemucho congress so buy your ticket now before
they run out and you'll get some of the world's best Cuban dance instruction by
day and concerts by Los Van Van and La Charanga Habanera at night. Our own DJ Melao
will also be on hand to provide music.
Los Van Van El Tren will arrive in Italy in just a
few days kicking off their 1 month winter tour in Strincone on
February 23.
Other
Tours We are also getting in more concert dates for Haila and for Adalberto Álvarez y su son who
will be touring in March and April. Check the tours section for more
information, and if you know of any concerts we're missing, please send an e-mail.
Tuesday
February 5 2008 Report
from Maraca at Bayerischer Hof Our friend Tom Bauer was at the Fiesta Latina, Hotel Bayerischer
Hof's annual carnival, where he saw Maraca y Otra Visión. As always Maraca
y Otra Visión put on a high energy show with a flawless musical performance.
He sent us a short
report and 15
great pictures.
Tercera
Parte de la Entrevista con Aisar Al fin terminé compilar los videos de la entrevista con Aisar Hernandez,
director musical de Orquetsa Revé. Hablamos un poco más general sobre los músicos,
los elementos del changüí que se encuentran en la música de Orquesta Revé, los
trombones, etc.
Pon clic aquí para leer la tercera parte.
Monday
February 4 2008
Urgent News About Manolito y su Trabuco Last Wednesday I did a telephone interview with Manolito that I
haven't had time to publish yet because I am still finishing part 3 of the
interview with Aisar Hernández. However, I think some of the information is
important to get out now, so that those of you who are in Havana or on the way
there in the near future, can plan ahead. The interview will probably be up in
MP3 format by the weekend. But in the meantime...
The Trabuco Turns 15 On February 25th Manolito y su Trabuco celebrate their 15th anniversary. The
concert details are not set yet, but Manolito would like to do both a more
formal concert at Karl Marx and a concert "para el pueblo" at la Tropical. the
band will probably also go to Camagüey to celebrate, since Manolito and several
other bandmembers are from that area. So if you will be in Cuba at the end of
February, keep checking with us. As soon as we have the exact details, we will
publish them here.
¡Corre
al Café! For about a year Manolito y su Trabuco have had
a steady, weekly gig at Café Cantante. Every Thursday fans have been able to see
the Trabuco up close and personal during the Matinée Larga. But nothing lasts
forever, and during the
interview Manolito said that they will probably stop doing the peña at the Café
within a couple of months. He said maybe they will begin doing a matinee at
another venue instead, but as of yet, nothing is certain. So if you are in
Havana and you get a chance to see the Trabuco at Café Cantante, don't put it
off until next week. You don't know how much longer they'll be there.
Friday
February 1 2008
La Segunda Parte de la Entrevista con Aisar En este parte Aisar nos cuenta un poco sobre cada tema del disco.
¿De dónde vino la idea para El teléfono? ¿Por
qué pasa A sancochar boniato desde rumba a timba y para el son?
Creo que le va a interesar. Pon
cliq aquí. La tercera parte la pongo la semana que viene.
The
complete results of the Best CD Category at Fiesta Cubana
(provided by Jack el Calvo)
1)"FRESQUECITO"
ELIO REVE JR
2)"LIVE DESDE LA CASA DE LA MUSICA" MAIKEL BLANCO
3)"EN PRIMERA PLANA" ISSAC DELGADO
4)"EL REPARTERO DE LA HABANA" SAMA
5)"MI VERDAD" BAMBOLEO
6)"EL REY DE LOS CHARANGUEROS" CHARANGA HABANERA
Tuesday
January 29 2008
Interview with Aisar Hernández Segundo Due to my latest computer problems it is taking an unusually long
time to compile the video from the interview with Aisar, which in itself was
an unusually long interview. So I've decided to release it in installments.
Tonight I am publishing Part 1 which basically covers his childhood, music studies
and his musical history up to joining Orquesta Revé and working on the
Fresquecito CD. I found his life story to be both interesting and surprising,
so click
here to get to know the musical director of La Revé.
Aisar Hernández Segundo
Stay tuned for the next part which
will be a discussion of each song on the new CD.
Saturday
January 26 2008
Manolito y Su Trabuco Update Without question the biggest news item while I was in Cuba was the
departure of El Indio from El Trabuco and the entry of El Noro. I am not going
to speculate here as to why El Indio left. Instead I am going to update you
on what is happening with the Trabuco at the moment.
Manolito has just signed an contract
with Timba y Son S.L. in Spain. Timba y Son is now the exclusive European Manager
for the Trabuco. They are organizing a European tour for July-August 2008. When
we get the concert dates we will post them.
There is no doubt that 2008 will
be a great year for timba CDs. The Trabuco will release their new CD at the
end of February or beginning of March. I don't know too much about the new CD.
No doubt it will feature Control, Loco por tus besos and Muévete.
Manolito also said it will contain a song written by Cucurucho, author of one
of my favorite new Los Van Van songs, Me mantengo.
Ok, alright! Quit nagging me! I
am not ignoring the question of El Indio's dearture, I really just
don't know what prompted it. What I do know is that El Indio will be
working with Juan De Marcos and the Afro-Cuban All-Stars, but I'm sure he is
fielding more offers than he has time for.
On the other hand, I just happened
to be in Las Tunas with Salsa Mayor when Manolito called El Noro, so let me
tell you the story from that side, including a report from El Noro's second
concert with Manolito at Café
Cantante December 27, 2007.
Thursday
January 24 2008 Azúcar Negra Update Leonel Limonta & Azúcar Negra
will be touring again this summer in July and August. They have several new
songs that have been released as radio demos in Cuba and are preparing to record
a new CD this spring. While I was in Cuba, Limonta gave me a promo containing
five songs, including some surprises. Fans are already familiar with the merengue
Vitamina C, which was well received during the 2007 tour. In addition,
the promo contains a timbaton No vale la pena enamorarse. Musically,
this song is an evolution of the style used in Mi única vida but it's
got just that je ne sais
quoi that makes it a little hotter. I expect it to be popular. The biggest
surprise for me was the bachata Pregúntale a ella. This is classic bachata
in the spirit of Juan Luis Guerra, not modern pop-bachata in manner of Aventura.
The promo also contains two
timbas: El estres, which is getting a lot of radio play in Cuba, and
Ya llegué. Ailyn, who has changed her hair color to chestnut, sings lead on
El estres. It's about a boyfriend who is stressing her out. Ya
llegué is about bringing good music to the fans. I happened to stumble
across an Azúcar Negra concert in one of the squares in Havana one night. The
fans already knew the lyrics and were singing along with the new songs. The new
CD should be released in the fall.
Preliminary Tour Plans In addition to Azúcar Negra, here are some of the preliminary tour
schedules for summer 2008.
Haila
March 11-30 & July
18 - August 10
Paulo FG
June 3 - July 13
Manolín
June 18 - July 6
Azúcar Negra
June 30 -
August 31
Salsa Mayor
July 1 - 31
Leoni Torres
July 1 - 20
Wednesday
January 23 2008
Timba in Stockholm I am fortunate that I won't have to suffer too much from Timba
Withdrawal after my trip to Havana. 2008 is off to a very good start here in
Europe. We have
Orquesta Revé on tour now, Eddy-K and Gente D'Zona are
just starting their tour,
Bamboleo in February, Los
Van Van in February and March and Adalberto Álvarez in April. Of
course there is also the
Cubamemucho congress in Munich March 7-9 featuring Los Van Van and La
Charanga Habanera, which begs the question: when do Charanga Habanera begin
their tour?
Tuesday
January 22 2008
Upcoming Revé Video Clip When they return from the Winter Tour, Orquesta Revé
plans to film the first video from the Fresquesito CD, not counting
Fresquesito.com itself, which was released as a video clip with the 50th
Anniversary CD, as all Timba Geeks doubtless already know.
Rumor has it that the video will
be for El teléfono. Lázaro Maya "El Bello" sings lead on this
song, which is a lament about the unexpected problems caused by owning a cell
phone. Not only does it cost a fortune to keep it cargado with credit,
but the fanaticas are calling at all hours of the day and night and his
esposa's bloodpressure is skyrocketing.
Now before anyone gets any ideas,
let me say that when I interviewed Aisar Hernández Segundo, bassist and musical
director of Orquesta Revé and author of this song, I specifically asked if it
was based on real life experiences and he said it was not. Well, not exactly.
In fact he wrote it several years ago when he was still with Orquesta Maravilla
de Florida, but they never used it. When Lázaro joined the band Aisar
dusted it off, and updated it for the Charangón. If you want to hear
the rest of the story behind the origins of this song, stay tuned for the full
Aisar interview. I expect to have it finished by the weekend.
In the meantime, if you haven't
seen it yet, you can check out my own video clip of El
teléfono performed live in Copenhagen August 2007. "Y
no te me pongas bravita titi".
Monday
January 21 2008
Indochino's Website This is actually old news, but it happened while I was in Havana so
I haven't mentioned it yet. Photographer Indochino has opened his own website by
popular request. Right now he has some great picture of Elito Revé y Su
Charangón from the tour in February 2007 as well as La Charanga Habanera when
Noel was still with them. Click here to
check it out.
Sunday
January 20 2008
Entrevista con Elito Revé I was able to see Orquesta Revé four times during my trip:
twice at the Changüí Festival and twice in Havana. Their latest
CD, Fresquecito, has received aclaim from all reviewers and is Highly
Recommended.
Despite his busy schedule preparing
for the winter tour,
Elito took time to invite Timba.com into his home to talk about the new CD and
also to answer some of Kevin's historical questions about the band. Click
here to watch the interview in WMV format (in Spanish).
Orquesta Revé en Guantánamo para el Festival Internacional
del Changüí
Stay tuned for a long interview
with Aisar Hernández, bassist and musical director of Orquesta Revé
and author/arranger of most of the songs on the new CD.
Friday
January 18 2008
Salsa Mayor Update
Maykel Blanco cumple 27 años el lunes
On Monday, January 21, Maykel Blanco,
director of Salsa
Mayor, turns 27. Right about now he and Salsa Mayor are celebrating
his birthday at their regular Friday matinee at Casa De La Música Galiano,
but today's concert will be anything but "regular". Manolito y su
Trabuco will participate and there will also be a descarga with Lazarito Valdés
and Tania Pantoja and other guests. I join DJ
Melao in wishing Maykel a happy birthday, and for the fans my gift
is an update on what is happening with the band these days.
Hmm...afterthought. Should be interesting
to have the Trabuco performing with Salsa Mayor since El
Noro is now with the Trabuco.
Salsa
Mayor Concerts
In addition to their weekly matinee, the band is performing in various cities
around the country. Last night they had a concert in Sancti Spiritus and tomorrow
they are off to el campo again. The next European tour is already set to start
on July 15th through mid-August. And in the meantime there are other tours in
the works, but until they are confirmed I will say no more...
The
New Mayores By now you should be aware
that none of the three singers who were on the first two European tours is still
with the band. The new singers are Pavel "La Figura", Pepetín
and unfortunately I still don't have the name of the third singer, but I know
he came from la Charanga Forever.
Pavel is
not really new to Salsa Mayor. Pavel and El Noro were the two singers on Live,
Desde la Casa de la Música. So if you want to know
what Pavel sounds like, pull out the CD and listen to Quitandome lo malo,
Cambia tu faceta and Control. After Salsa Mayor he was with
Chispa y los Complices for a while before rejoining Los Mayores.
I had to leave the day before the
first concert with the new singer line-up, but I did see them in rehearsal a
couple of times and I like the voices of the new singers. Both Pavel and Pepetín
have a lot of fun making up choreography. I heard that their first concert went
well, so it sounds like the new singers have settled in.
And last but not least there is
also a new trombonista, but I don't know his name either. Sorry. I tried to
get him to give me a bunch of information but he never got around to it, so
he shall remain nameless for now.
The rest of the group remains the
same as during the last tour: Polledo on first trombone, Ahmed and Raydel on
trumpet, Orley on bass, Maykel on piano, Richard on keyboard, Osvaldo on güiro,
Jaime on congas and Amaury on drums.
The
New Salsa Mayor CD - All Killer, No Filler
As all devoted Timba Geeks know by
now, Salsa Mayor will begin recording their next studio album in just a few
weeks. It will contain 12 tracks. I can list 8 of the songs already:
Anda pégate (possibly the title track), Ella dice,
Control, La masa, Marisela, Si a la niña
le gusta repite and Corre papá. Maykel
said that they will also include a traditional number on the album.
Those of
you who haven't been in Havana lately have at least heard Control and
La masa from the highly recommended Live,
Desde la Casa de la Música CD. Fans who attended the
concerts in Europe have also seen Anda pégate and Ella dice.
If you don't know these songs you'd better check out the Salsa
Mayor video page.
I have been
fortunate enough to see all of the songs listed above performed live. As for
the three newest estrenos, I like them all. The arrangements feature good hooks,
catchy mambos that have me whistling and coros that are easy to pick up so you
can sing along the first time you hear the songs. And with the addition of a
full-time keyboardist, the arrangements have a fuller sound.
As for the
lyrics, Marisela is a romantic song with a pop feel and the coro "Yo
no pido tanto, solo quiero que me quieras otra vez Marisela". Si
a la niña le gusta repite is a song about...cooking...well perhaps
there's a double meaning in there somewhere. And Corre papá is
about a wayward husband who got caught. The main coro is "corre, corre,
corre, corre papá que por allí viene mamá".
Knowing
eight of the twelve songs I am ready to recommend the new CD already. En vivo
the band sounds bien duro, and I believe that it will be one of those CDs where
you never have to fast forward to get past the songs you don't like. Or as the
saying goes: all killer, no filler.
Wednesday
January 16 2008
Pupy y Los Que Son Son in the Studio Last Thursday Pupy y Los Que Son Son entered the studio to begin a month-long
recording session for their new CD. In concert they are already performing 2
new numbers: Un poquitico al revés by Pepito, which some of you may also
have already heard on demo, and a new song for Mandy that I didn't catch the
name of.
The band features a couple of new
members, one of whom is a new bassist. No I didn't get any names. The singer
line-up is back to William, Mandy and Pepito, since Norberto left after only a
couple of weeks with the band.
Tuesday
January 15 2008
Entrevista con Juan Formell I was fortunate enough to spend more than an hour at the home of Juan
Formell asking questions that Kevin had sent me to try to fill in some of the
blanks in his "pre-timba" research. I also had a few questions of my own, of a
more general nature.
Formell is a down-to-earth,
friendly guy. He politely put up with our search for details, although I think
that in may ways it's impossible for an artist to analyze his own music in the
way that we do from the outside. My impression is that he has always enjoyed
experimentation and didn't have any big plan to make sweeping changes in Cuban
popular music...it just grew naturally out of his desire to try new things,
while maintaining the overall sello of the group. He was also fortunate
to have excellent musicians with which to collaborate. To watch the video
interview (en español) and form your own opinion click here.
Fans will be pleased to hear that 69-year old
Formell looks strong and healthy. He is still appearing at the weekly Tuesday
peña at Café Cantante in Havana, as well as other concerts in Cuba, but I
don't know if he will be doing the upcoming European tour. The band will also be
performing soon in Guadalupe and Martinique as well as at carnivals in the
Caribbean before leaving for Europe in February.
Saturday
January 12 2008 Back
at my desk Exactly one month since my last post I'm back in Stockholm at my desk downloading
about 20 hours of video plus my photos and trying to recover from major jetlag.
Coming soon: reports on the upcoming Salsa Mayor CD, report and video from the
Changüí Festival 2007 in Guantánamo, plus interviews with
Elito Revé, Aisar Hernández, Pascualito Cabrejas, Giraldo Piloto
and Juan Formell.
Juan
Formell's advice to young band directors-
Respect and Good Pay
Grammy winner Juan Formell - What's his secret to maintaining a stable band?
After I
finished the interview with Juan Formell another question occured to me, spurred
by the recent whirlwind of personnel changes in Cuban bands. Of course I figured
I'd missed my chance, but lo and behold, the next day standing in "la cola"
who comes walking up but El Maestro himself! I must admit that I felt infinitely
cool when he walked up to me in front of everyone and gave me the traditional
kiss on the cheek and said "Me hiciste tremenda entrevista ayer" (granted
most of the questions were Kevin's, but still...). Being the ultimate professional
that I am, I told him I'd left out one question, so here is my recollection
of his answer. See, this is why I film things because I can't ever remember
everything, so this is actually paraphrased despite the quotation marks.
Me: Los
Van Van es un grupo que ha sido muy estable durante los años ¿Qué
consejo tienes para directores jovenes para que se pueden evitar muchos cambios
de integrantes y intrigues en los grupos?
Formell:
"Respeto. Todo el mundo tiene que tener respeto para todos.
No hay ningún integrante que es más importante que el otro: el
güirero es tan importante como el pianista". Y riendo dice "Y
paga bien. Para mantener un grupo con buenos músicos hay que
pagar o se van a otro grupo. Y tiene que ser claro. No pago igual a todos los
músicos pero saben lo que pago, sin misterios."