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TOURS - GIRAS
WRITERS: PHOTOGRAPHERS:
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Kevin
Moore Michelle
White Michael
Lazarus Friday,
July 3, 2009 New Tiempo Libre Photos Tom Ehrlich's Photos from Yoshi's - Click here for the full gallery, and here for upcoming Tiempo Libre concert. Tom has also completed the John Santos Lecture Series Gallery - click here. He'll also be in Los Angeles to photograph Melón & Jimmy Branly in LA on Sunday, July 12, a week from Sunday, and Melón & Buika on Saturday, July 11th. Sunday,
June 28, 2009 Message from Samuel Formell - Click here for a message from Samuel, via Dita Sullivan, with the details of the unfortunate LVV tour cancellations. Entrevista
con Alexander Abreu de Havana d'Primera Gabriel Wilder's interview with Alexander of Havana d'Primera, currently on tour in Europe, is up in both English and español. Saturday,
June 27, 2009 ATACAN LOS CUBANOS DE TENERIFE
Arrasando con la música tropical en España, el cubano ALBERTO GV y el nativo canario de herencia cubana MOISE GONZÁLEZ tienen lanzamientos digitales nuevos para el deleite del bailador y oyente. Mejor expresado como un CUBATÓN, que es una fusión de regguetón y hip-hop con fuertes influencias de la música tradicional de Cuba, "Hasta La Inconcienia" de ALBERTO GV incluye además una colaboración con Jesús Alejandro "El Niño" Pérez Álvarez y el timbero Tirso Duarte. Friday,
June 26, 2009 Patrick
Bonnard Photographs Havana d'Primera Michelle has more details and the full gallery. Sunday,
June 21, 2009 Mauleón on Melón ...
Friday,
June 19, 2009 Por
Fin! After 10 Years of Waiting ... Californians will finally get to hear the incomparable Melón González, reunited with another legend, drummer Jimmy Branly. The two played together with Issac Delgado in 1995. Jimmy went on to NG La Banda before becoming one of the top drummers in Los Angeles, recording with Mamborama, The Yellowjackets, Rebeca Mauleón, Orestes Vilató and dozens of others, and publishing the indispensable New Method for Afro-Cuban Drumming. After reinventing timba piano playing and paving the way for a generation of younger players like Tirso Duarte and Rolando Luna, Melón went to Spain where he's played and recorded with his own group, Manolín, Alain Pérez, and many others. Melón will also be playing a free duo concert with flamenco diva Buika on July 11th a few miles away in downtown LA. I've spent ten years working on a series of books on Cuban piano playing, using hours and hours of MIDI files from all of the greats. With MIDI you can study a person's playing at a microscopic level and after 10 years, it's like knowing their DNA structure! I'm here to tell you - Cuba has produced a ridiculous number of genius pianists, but this guy is "the one" - I don't think I can make it any clearer than that. Tom and I will be driving 800 miles for this show and we would drive a lot farther without hesitation. To see Melón and Jimmy Branly is a relaxed setting playing exactly what they want to play with a hand-picked band is an historic opportunity not to be missed. Tiempo Libre at Yoshi's - Very few bands have gone this long without changing personnel and TL has become like a single person with 14 arms - completely and unconsciously in sync. Photos coming soon. Catch them on the 28th and 30th in New York. The only new addition since I've been going to see them is the monstrous trumpet/trombonist Cristóbal Ferrer from Manolito y su Trabuco who gets a lot more space to solo in TL and makes the most of it. La Tremenda! - I still haven't recovered from Calle Real and now another great Swedish timba band. Michelle has been working on the section and the album review for quite a while and it's worth the wait. Alain Daniel - Yemayá's Verse has video and more concert reviews. The new timba.com - tick tick tick ... Tuesday,
June 16, 2009 Tiempo
Libre Thursday at Yoshi's Oakland Bach en La Bahía - The ultra-tight Miami-based timberos return to Yoshi's Oakland on their first tour after the official release of Bach in Havana. Two shows - open dance floor - see you there! Santos Rumba Lectures Concludes TONIGHT (Tuesday) with Guarapachangeo - The maestro dissects the most complex and sophisticated member of the rumba family in the grand finale of this great series. We're trying to convince him to put it out on DVD so the rest of world can enjoy it. Full details here. (and here). HdP in Europe Tour - See Michelle - also check back a little later from some insane Calle Real video. ¡Melón! - The legend hits downtown LA with Buika on July 11 (free admission!) and it's beginning to look more and more certain that will in fact be an historic reunion gig with Jimmy Branly somewhere in the greater Los Angeles area on Sunday, July 12. Mark that down - this will be unique. Alain Daniel - From the world's leading authority on Alain Daniel no less - with video! Thursday,
June 11, 2009 Los Van Van in Montreal! - as per Billy Bryans they'll be at the Montreal Jazz Fest on July 12. And don't forget that Melón will play free in downtown Los Angeles with Buika on July 11. Hopefully he'll also arrange a gig with Jimmy Branly & Co. for an adjoining night. La tremenda - Great name for a band! Michelle is working on a section for them which is likely to be the last new section added to timba.com before we move to the new site. Latest news on that is that we'll have new radio and video sections and an aggregator box that lets you quickly see every page that's been added or changed within the last few days. Gabriel is Back - Another Cuban adventure is in the books and you can live it vicariously on a concert-by-concert basis at Yemayá's Verse. Calixto Feeling the Timba Itch again - Michelle reports that he has plans for a new Euro-timba band. Stay tuned. Calle Real Release Party - Next Monday in Stockhold. See Michelle. These guys are amazing - every track is dripping with hooks. El Blog del Médico de la Salsa - This is a going concern - he keeps cranking out the posts - very interesting stuff. Monday
June 8, 2009 NEW SINGLE BY TEAM TIMBA RELEASED
APRIETA PERO NO AHOGA is the new single by TEAM TIMBA, a new project composed of an international rotating cast of top musicians and singers. TEAM TIMBA plays intense original music designed specifically for the tropical music lover and casino style (salsa) dancer. This first single features GONZÁLO "CHALO" CHOMAT and IRIS CEPEDA, currently based in Los Angeles. In the U.S.A. and Puerto Rico the track is available as a free download with purchase of the new official TIMBA.com t-shirt. In Europe, Canada, Japan and Australia the single is available on iTUNES.
Thursday,
June 4, 2009 Pisicore Strikes Again!! - La expresiva - NG with Issac c. 1990 Timba de Suecia! - Check out this Calle Real video! timba.com remodel will be off the hook - We're not only changing the look and adding new features - we're also adding tons of new content and bringing all the old stuff up to date. Coming soon! Monday,
June 1, 2009
Armando Peraza Birthday Bash - John Santos & Co. played host at Yoshi's for legendary percussionist Armando Peraza's 85th birthday. Peter Maiden was on hand and filed a great new set of photos. The unveiling of the new timba.com is almost upon us! - In a couple weeks we'll be rolling out all the new pages, and features. It's a massive improvement. There will be multiple blogs, with reader comment sections, a forum, user photo galleries, great new contributors, major updates for every band, much more frequent updates, and much better organization to make things easier to find and easier to find what's recently changed. Summer Euro Tours - see Michelle. HdP, Haila, Bamboleo ... Calle Real! - My god - these guys have gotten really good. It's the perfect combination of creative and derivative. To explain, you hear a phrase and immediately say "Ah! Van Van!" or "Ah! Michel!" but then it twists itself into something new, or hits an entirely unexpected chord and then it becomes "Ah! Calle Real!" I don't know if that makes sense - I've ported about 750 timba.com pages from the old to the new and my brain is mush, but check out the new album and see for yourselves. Michelle has promised a review soon so check her blog over the next few days. In the new timba.com, whenever anybody makes a change it will show up immediately on the front page. Book Watch - Mike's Timba Bass method is out. Peñalosa swears on his mother's life that "The Clave Matrix" (starring Keanu Reeves) will be out by July, and my "Beyond Salsa Piano - The Cuban Piano Revolution" is getting closer and closer. I have several volumes in the can and am waiting for Melón's visit to Los Angeles with Buika on July 11th to get Tom to take the cover photos. Wednesday,
May 20 2009 Sad News - Ricardo "Papín" Abreu, leader of Los Papines, has passed away. Michelle has the details and a video. Piloto en Toronto - Michelle also has the scoop KoSA International Percussion Fest with Giraldo Piloto, and a post mortem on the Cubadisco. Here's a link to the title cut of the Yumurí album that managed to beat out Tranquilo que yo controlo. Since Pupy's album is on the short list for Best Album of the Century, maybe they decided to spread the 2008 awards around ... Meanwhile, here's a preview of the new Charanga Habanera. Tirso y Juan Carlos... ¿dónde están? On first impression, this is the kind of meticulous production we've come to expect from Calzado -- and it's real timba, no reguetón, baladas or other atrocities -- but give me a freaking piano tumbao that I haven't heard before! ALEXIS VALDÉS SHOW IN LOS ANGELES MAY 29
Cuban comedian, singer and songwriter Alexis Valdes is coming to La Mirada Theatre of the performing arts in La Mirada, near Los Angeles, California on Friday, May 29, 2009 at 8:00pm. Alexis Valdes will be performing his live, two-hour-plus stage show which includes his stand up comedy, some improv and lots of singing of his many famous tunes, which include “La Manzana Podrida”, “Miamianado me “(La cosa esta de odinga), "Frituritas de Malanga", “Paralelo dos”, and many more. He will be accompanied by his very lively Miami based band that features some very heavy hitters of the TIMBA scene: Orlando “Guanche” on piano, Reinier Guerra on drums, Lázaro Rodríguez on guitar and musical director Yanier Horta on keyboard.
Wednesday,
May 13 2009 FRANK VELIZ EN CONCIERTO - MAYO 29 Atención TIMBEROS y TIMBERAS de España....tremendo concierto el 29 de Mayo en Asturias, Oviedo en la Discoteca Kandela. FRANK VELIZ lanza su nueva producción con un concierto de titulares músicos de España. ...mas información aquí. Listen to the radio anouncememnt >> Frank Véliz Radio MP3 << Oye la cuña de publicidad. Sponsored by radio station TROPICANA ESTEREO 91.5, this special concert will feature Frank leading his tremendous band with players such as Assia Sarria on piano, Cuní on first trumpet, Yosmar "Caballito" on bongo & campana and sound by José Mandoza, among others. ...read more here. Tuesday,
May 12, 2009 Yemayá on Fire - Four new posts - Havana d'Primera and much more. Rumba
con Santos, Pt. II Tonight Details Here - Tom's Photos Here. Thusday,
May 7, 2009 New Havana d'Primera Song - Gabriel's live report here. Also a Cuban television report and a guest performance by Alexander Zona. Trabuco para México DF - Don't worry - H1N1 is no match for Havana Club. Here are the dates. Santos Series - Fabulous - Tom's photos forthcoming. See you next Tuesday! (see Monday's post for details) Tuesday,
May 5, 2009 Manolín, el Bloguero de la Salsa - Manolín is now a blogger! I love it! Pretty soon we'll be following Formell and Calzado on Twitter! Michelle's Pupy Videos Updated - These are from the extremely interesting Pupy tour where the timbalero was absent and Bombón plays timbales and drums. Pepito in the New York Times - The Grey Lady has a new Latin music writer, Ben Ratliff. Check out his Pepito review. Monday,
May 4, 2009 John
Santos Rumba Series Begins Tuesday Night Tuesday Night - First of a 7-part Series- If you're near San Francisco, don't miss this series featuring Bay Area treasure John Santos. Full details here. (and here). Havana d'Primera -- Gabriel de la Suerte is on a roll. More adventures here. Thursday,
April 30, 2009 Pepito Gómez Tomorrow, Friday, at SOBs -- For full details, click here. Same great backup band (La Bolá). Catch it if you can - this is the real deal. John Santos Lecture in SF -- La rumba no está como ayer -- The series kicks off this coming Tuesday night. Full details here. If Ned Sublette is the most inspiring writer on Cuban music, John Santos gives the best lectures. It's a 7-part series at the MOAD -- 685 Mission St., SF: 1.
May 5 - Intro Maraca Section Updated - Inspired by Maraca's 7th Cubadisco nomination, Michelle has updated his section. Havana Report - Yemayá has hit the ground running. Having already seen Havana d'Primera, her second great adventure is entitled Supermatinée: Pupy con Revé. Sunday,
April 26, 2009 Yemayá Has Landed! And so begins our yearly vicarious, voyeuristic viaje to the promised land. Our heroine is in top form - pulling no punches as always - and has already done precisely what everyone else in the world has been dying to do - see Havana d'Primera. Click here for Episode 1. Tuesday,
April 21, 2009 INSTRUCTIONAL
TIMBA BASS BOOK Finally Published! Michael Lazarus has completed Volume 1 of his instructional timba bass series, for sale exclusively at LatinPulseMusic. Mike has some breakthrough concepts which explain many of the mysteries of timba bass-playing and how it works with the clave. The book uses tracks from Paulito FG's masterpiece, Con la conciencia tranquila, to demonstrate the concepts. Here's how it works. There are two separate products: an eBook and an MP3 album. The album contains 14 special audio tracks that play the bass parts 9 different songs from the Con la conciencia tranquila CD. For each track the bass is alone in the left channel and the piano is alone in the right channel so you can solo the bass or mute it and play along with the piano and percussion. (You can audition several of these at LPM). The product also contains the 9 complete album tracks as recorded by Paulito. The eBook contains music notation for each tumbao and extensive explanation of how timba bass aligns with the clave and how it differs from traditional salsa bass playing. The book and album sell for $9.99 each. The album consists of normal downloadable MP3s and the eBook allows you to print your own copy from an online PDF-viewer. Check it out! This is first of many educational products coming this year. [Kevin Moore] Monday,
April 20, 2009 Eleven Years Ago Today ... It's Azúcar Negra's birthday - hard to imagine it's been 11 years since Limonta, Haila, Rafael Vargas, Andrés Gonzalo and several others broke away from Bamboleo. Michelle has more. Book Watch - Mike Lazarus' method book on timba bass will be out within a week or two; David Peñalosa's The Clave Matrix - a project which began before Azúcar Negra and Bamboleo - is also about to come to fruition - and this time I actually saw the cover art, so we're getting close. Soon the world will learn where clave comes from (hint: the stork doesn't bring it). And last but not least, I have a piano sequel to the Tomás Cruz conga trilogy coming. This is not the Melón method book series. That was has grown to 4 volumes but will come out after the first three, which are "Beginning - Intermediate - Advanced" and deal with the history of piano tumbaos leading up to timba. Meanwhile, Ned Sublette is hard at work on the second volume of his New Orleans series and Cherina Mastratones is working on an update for the Feliciano Arango method. Stay tuned. Havana d'Primera - Everyone is going nuts for this album - easily one of the 10 best this decade - Yemayá's Verse has the latest on its imminent official release and various other detalles. Monday,
April 13, 2009 Update - More on U.S.-Cuba - Follow the link for the insights of foreign policy wonk Steve Clemons on what happened today and what needs to happen soon. Cubadisco Nominations - Michelle has the list, which includes Klímax, Manolito & Pupy. First Steps - Cuban family members can now travel and send money to Cuba without restrictions and U.S. Telecom companies will be allowed to provide cell and satellite service. More details. The next battle will take place in Congress. Stay tuned, and keep the heat on your congresscritters. Monday,
April 6, 2009 BAY
AREA AFROCUBAN ALLSTARS Tom's Photos Are Up - With pianist Murray Low out of town, Jesús Díaz enlisted the cream of the Bay Area crop to cover for QBA's regular gig at Moe's Alley and Tom got some amazing shots. Click here. Dany & Pepito Videos - Youtube is a beautiful thing. Friday's show at SOB's was a great success and rumors abound for shows in SF and Europe. Friday,
April 3, 2009 Danny Lozada Rehearsal Fotos - Click here for photos - and here for details on tonight's show at SOB's. Another Brick in the Wall - Obama to lift ban on family travel to Cuba. Republican senator Richard Lugar to introduce bill to lift ban on travel for the rest of us. [Kevin Moore] East
- West Big Weekend on Both Coasts FRIDAY - Dany Lozada, with a killer band, including the amazing Ariacne Trujillo on piano, will be at SOBs tonight. His special guest will be none other than Pepito Gómez! Shabi & Sue have sent rave reviews from the rehearsals. Dany's also planing a European tour with -- wait for it -- Juan Carlos González! The best thing about this is that the reunion will likely produce more great originals from the creative duo that produced Tanto le pedí and much of the material from Tremendo delirio. Ex-Charanga Habanera bassist Randolf Chacón will also be in the European band. Michelle has more - also the latest on Calle Real. SATURDAY - Bay Area Afrocuban Allstars - Meanwhile, at Moe's Alley in Santa Cruz Jesús Díaz returns with a special band featuring Bay Area giants Anthony Blea and John Calloway. Also featured will be three members of QBA, Javier Navarette, Ayla Davila and Orlando Torriente, and pianist Christian Tumalán. Los
Van Van in the US? - Wednesday,
April 1, 2009 Free at Last? - It happens every year about this time. Congress proposes bipartisan legislation to lift the Cuban travel ban. Will this be the year the madness finally ends? Email your Senators, Representatives and President and let them know how you feel about it. [Kevin Moore] Tuesday,
March 31, 2009 WORLD PREMIER - LEY LONDRES
With the release of his first solo album, Spain based multi-instrumentalist, composer and singer Ley Londres establishes himself as a premier salsa singer, his original tunes always in touch with his cuban roots. The record also features the talents of percussionist Yoel Páez. of Paulito FG fame. Click on the album cover to listen. Full story here. Recorded during the end of 1991 and the beginning of 1992 at the studios of Radio Progreso in Havana, Cuba, these lost tracks feature the now iconic group "La Charanga Habanera" with their very first singer -Ley "Empanada" Londres. Ley also co-composed and played bass. These tracks have been digitally restored. For a sample of the original tracks click here to listen. Full story here. [Mike Lazarus] Friday,
March 27, 2009 First USA Cuban Dance Congress a Resounding Success!
It's been a month and the official numbers are in! The first annual San Francisco Salsa Rueda Festival, which took place at the Hotel Whitcombe on February 20-22 2009, was a great success. The first cuban dance congress of its kind, it featured TIMBA in over 40 workshops, 3 classrooms, a large class in the main ballroom, live music and a full international spread of instructors. Congratulations to organizers Serena and Nick (pictured above) of SalsaValeTodo. The festival included a few distinguishing features like musicality classes -how to find clave and the different sections within a timba song, and plenty of afro-cuban folkloric dance and rumba instruction. There was casino partnering, rueda, listening classes, son and cha-cha-cha dance styles. 300 people pre-registred and the Saturday night ballroom featured 550 dancers. They have outgrown the place already! Stay tuned to www.salsaruedafestival.com or call Serena at 415.608.6180 to find out the latest. See a bunch of videos from the festival here. [Mike Lazarus]
Tuesday,
March 24, 2009 Pepito
in Concert
Part 2 is Up - Tom's photos from the Club Antón concert are now up. Dany Lozada at SOBs April 3rd - Shabi's next great feat will be bring to Dany Lozada, backed up by the same great band that played with Pepito, to SOBs on April 3rd. Saturday,
March 21, 2009 Pepito
in Rehearsal Part 1 is Up - Tom's photos from the rehearsal are up. Concert shots coming soon. The Most Exciting New Band Since Pupy y Los Que Son Son - Sin duda .... Havana d'Primera. Michelle has the details on their upcoming European Tour. Alain Daniel's Solo Album - Yemayá's Verse has a full review. The New timba.com - ...is picking up steam. I expect it to go live within months. Stay tuned. Instructional Bass & Piano Series - Yet another long-threatened development that will come to fruition soon. Mike Lazarus has completed his timba bass book and I've almost completed the first of a series of piano method books that will span 25 volumes and cover the work of nearly every major timba pianist. The first volume will be for beginners, the second for intermediate players, and Volumes 3, 4, 5 and 6 will get into the heavy stuff - Melón González. The History of the 90s online book is on the back burner because I can't find anyone to help me fill in the timeline. Pero prepárense pianistas - those books will be out soon. Monday,
March 16, 2009 Pupy
in Europe Michelle's Concert Report and Interview Are Up - Having emerged victorious from her life and death battle with her computer, Michelle White has published her long-awaited interview/concert report on Pupy's Paris Concert. Let's just say it sounds like she had a pretty good time! Michelle also confirms that Manolito's Remaining Concerts will go on as originally planned, in spite of the 3 cancelled shows in Spain. She's also added a new artist section for Bakuleye. Pepito at SOBs - Next stop for the amazing Pupy alumnus is New York's SOBs on May 1st. The Oakland concert was a sold out success and easily one of the best concerts I've seen this decade. Tom's photos are still coming, but here are Shabi's still shots, as well as 3 great video clips: Pepito
Video Clip 1 Friday,
March 13, 2009 Pepito
in Oakland Tonight! What a Voice! - For the first hour of last night's rehearsal Pepe Gómez sang with a rhythm section of just piano, bass and clave, revealing every resonant nuance of his magnificent tenor voice as he soared through the string of classic hits he created with Pupy Pedroso y Los Que Son Son. Every note is perfectly in-tune, perfectly controlled, and capable of exploding into euphoric emotion at any instant. It took me 8 years to finally hear this guy live but now I fully understand what all the buzz was about.
Bay Area coristas Erick Barbería and Félix Pérez had obviously done their homework and were perfect from the first song - and perfectly in-tune. The conguero will arrive tomorrow so QBA regular Javier Navarette (brother of trombonist Raúl) stopped by and played his ass off. Also amazing was La Bola drummer Victor García-Herreros who had miraculously managed to condense Pupy's timbal and drum parts into a single ferocious groove. By the end of the night the tiny SF rehearsal studio felt like La Tropical. Monday,
March 9, 2009 Tonight:
Bill Martínez on US-Cuba Cultural Exchange Bringing Back the Bands on Internet Radio Tonight ! - It's time to end the nightmare of the last 8 years. To find out how to help, here's the USCCE website, and an ONLINE RADIO LINK (or here) to the show tonight on WRFG. It starts at 7:00 ET/ 4:00 PST. Sunday,
March 8, 2009 Pepito Coming to Oakland March 13th - The excitement builds! Click here for more info. Tiempo
Libre Photos Bach to Havana and Back in Miami - Tom's Tiempo Libre photos are now up. Tiempo Libre has had only one personnel change in several years, and that was to add one of Cuba's most professional trumpeters, Cristóbal Ferrer, who spent 10 years with Manolito y su Trabuco. They're unbelievably tight - everything is on-time, in-tune and perfectly executed. The new album, Bach to Havana, due out in early May, is very cool. The melodies are based (sometimes loosely) on Bach compositions, but the arrangements use danceable Cubans rhythms - most with vocals. Irakere legend Paquito Rivera plays gorgeous sax on a bolero version of Air on a G-String and several other tracks. In the meantime the tour moves to Florida. Catch them if you can. Monday,
March 2, 2009 Tiempo
Libre Thursday in Santa Cruz ... and Saturday in San Diego, then Miami, Jacksonville, Daytona Beach ... Here's the full tour schedule. The two-time Grammy nominees continue to thrive in the worst music economy in history. Their first album on the Sony label, Bach in Havana, comes out May 5th. A timba band playing Bach? Well, if you've spent as much time as I have transcribing timba piano tumbaos (a lot of news coming on that front!) you'll know that that Señores Bach, Beethoven and Chopin have already played a major role in the new fabric of the timba groove. As far as I can see from TL's well-maintained website, it looks like the personnel hasn't changed at all since the Yoshi's concert we covered back in 2007, so they should be unthinkably tight by this point. The Santa Cruz show, on a Thursday night, starts at 7:30 at The Río Theater, which has become Santa Cruz's most promising venue in recent years. It's part of a University of California series, so get your tickets in advance. San Diego on Saturday, March 7 - The Saturday show is at the Balboa Theatre. Afrocuban
Allstars in Tucson Tonight Meanwhile, the Afrocuban Allstars Tour continues - Juan de Marcos & Co. play 4 gigs in Arizona and Texas this week, starting tonight in Tuscson. Tom Ehrlich's Afrocuban Allstars Photos Posted - Click here for the full set. Also included are such luminaries as Walfredo de los Reyes and Armando Peraza.
Friday,
Feb. 27, 2009 Caption
Contest! Afrocuban Allstars at Cerritos Center Tonight (Friday) -- More of Tom's photos should be in soon. Havana D'Primera's Haciendo historia -- It's done and coming out soon. I got a chance to listen to and it kept me grinning ear to ear, and rewinding multiple times to hear all the highlights over and over. Imagine a cross between Van Van with Robertón and Paulito FG's most sophisticated Élite, with a little Issac, a dash of Manolín, a sprinkle of Charanga Forever, and a whole lot of originality added. think we've turned the corner into a much more creative period. Gabriel at Yemayá's Verse, who's seen this band live many times, has more. Thursday,
Feb. 26, 2009 Afrocuban Allstars at 11:00 A.M. at Cal Berkeley -- They were on fire at Zellerbach - Tom's photos should be in soon. Today, Thursday, they play FOR FREE on the Berkeley campus at 11:00 a.m. before moving on to Davis. Here's the full tour. Like the old Cubanismo, these are cream of the crop Cuban musicians playing first-class venues and flawlessly covering the full history of Cuban music from danzón to timba to Latin jazz. They had all three balconies of Zellerbach dancing on their seats. Pupy
in Europe Los Que Son Están ... en Europa -- Here we have el maestro with veteran timba geeks Hendrik and Tom, who report that they prefer Pupy's new front line to the old one, which is saying a lot. Here's the full tour. Michelle will be at the Paris concert on the 27th. Tuesday,
Feb. 24, 2009 Chata
Gutiérrez Benefit Concert Photo/Concert Report from Peter Maiden -- Peter was onhand to photograph this benefit concert for iconic Bay Area DJ Chata Gutiérrez. That crazed pianist, John Calloway, is partially responsible for timba.com's creation as it was he who led the 1999 tour group that took me to Cuba for the first time. Before we left, he put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Now Kevin, I have one warning for you ... no one who goes to Cuba is ever the same again afterwards." I shrugged my shoulders ... "what, me worry?" Afrocuban Allstars With John Santos Lecture Tomorrow (Wednesday)! Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall will host the Afrocuban Allstars with Calixto Oviedo and a mountain of other legends on tomorrow night, Wednesday, Feb. 25th. Before the show, at 5:30 p.m., renowned DJ Chuy Varela, the great John Santos and Greg Landau, producer of Melón's first recording session and many others, will conduct a lecture/conversation series on the roots of Afro-Cuban music. This should be great. I heard a Santos lecture last year that was absolutely spellbinding. Tiempo Libre - March 5 - Santa Cruz - More details coming. It's at the Río Theater. Pepito is Definitely on for March 13 in Oakland - Ex-Pupy singer Pepito Gómez, back by La Bola, will be at Club Antón in Jack Square on March 13th. More details here. Thursday,
Feb. 19, 2009 Calixto
Oviedo Master Classes Major Updates From Michelle -- Michelle has the details on a Calixto Oviedo master class in Portland this Saturday. He's on an extensive tour from the Afro-Cuban Allstars. Tom and I will be at the Feb. 25 show at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley. Pupy in Rome Tonight! -- Michelle also has news on Pupy y Los Que Son Son in Europe -- which kicks off tonight in Rome at Mambooo Kings. Pupy also has a new concert DVD and a new youtube video. Best Album of the Year -- Michelle announces her choice! Also interesting new tracks from Tirso Duarte, NG La Banda, and Michel Maza. New Albums from Havana d'Primera and Alain Daniel -- Yemayá's Verse has in-depth coverage of both. [Kevin Moore] Wednesday,
Feb. 18, 2009 El
Pikete Photo Gallery Tom Ehrlich's El Pikete Photos are Up -- Click here for Tom's extensive photo gallery. [Kevin Moore]
Saturday,
Feb. 14, 2009 El
Pikete: Tom's Full Photo Page Will Be Up Later this Week El Pikete is on Fire -- This band was great in September of 2007, but they've gotten a lot tighter and more aggressive after another 16 months of rehearsing and gigging. New vocalist Xavier Mili is the complete package, combining Lozada-like stage presence and body control with a soaring range that allows him to effortless execute every phrase he imagines. Timba singers, by definition, are without exception bursting with funk and energy, but this guy adds the magic ingredient - control. I had been disappointed that Pepe Montes was no longer with the band, but I quickly forgot about that when I heard 20-year Camilo Pérez, who recently played Paulito's acclaimed Miami show. We also got a truly insane guest performance from another Pérez ... Tony! Pikete has greatly enhanced their palette of rhythm section grooves. Nápoles has several great new bomba figures and there's also - dare I say it? - a little bit of a regueton-ish gear that I actually liked. I knew that reguetón would eventually either die or get turned into something interesting and truly Cuban. As with the previous concert, it was a mix of originals and covers, and there was no doubt that the energy level went through the roof on originals like Este es mi tumbao and the blistering masterpiece Seco y guardao. But the new more sophisticated rhythm section grooves added a new dimension to the covers this time. I've heard Van Van play Nada diferente and Manolito play Marcando la distancia, but not with this kind of bomba and pedal, and Mili has such range that he can nail even El Indio's most inimitable vocalizations. IN SUMMARY ... If you're in Los Angeles, celebrate Valentine's Day at La Bodeguita de Pico on West Pico (323-937-2822). Y
mañana el Médico El Pikete with Manolín el Médico de la Salsa -- This is a perfect combination since Mipa, Nápoles and el Niche were all founding members of Manolín's legendary Cuban band of 1994-1999. El Pikete will open the show and then serve as Manolín's backup band. The show is at Sirena's Garden. [Kevin Moore] Thursday,
Feb. 12, 2009 Festival de Baile Cubano en L.A. 
Advance notice! A very special Cuban Music & Dance Festival will take place at 740 in Los Angeles, located at 740 South Broadway Avenue. For more info call (213)-627-6277. Saturday,
Feb. 7, 2009 BOBI CÉSPEDES Sold Out CD Release Concert! In front of a sold-out crowd at Berkeley's La Peña, Bobi Céspedes performed songs from her new CD Patakin with an all-star cast of Bay Area's finest. The stage was adorned with the many flowers gifted to her for the event. Fellow musician John Santos best expresses our sentiments about Bobi: "Bobi is a treasure! A native of Cuba, she brings to her art a lifetime of profound immersion in Afro-Cuban traditions such as the son, rumba, bolero and Yoruba-based culture. She is unique voice that has earned the respect of her peers and the hearts of her loyal fans in the San Francsico Bay Area, where she has made her home for the last 30 years"...more >> Also check in with Michelle as she's got the latest tour info for the Afro-Cuban All Stars in the US and Maykel Blanco y su Salsa Mayor in Italy....more >> [Mike Lazarus] El
Pikete Returns to the Bay Area Next Friday at Club Antón - Many conga connoisseurs, including the brilliant Orlando Fiol, rate Alexis "Mipa" Cuesta as one of the three most creative congueros of the timba era. Since moving to Miami he's also become an arranger and the leader of his own band, El Pikete. This coming Friday they'll be at Club Antón (down the street from Yoshi's). See you there!
Book Watch - The list is growing. Recently released we have Ivor Miller's Voice of the Leopard, a definitive study of abacuá, Feliciano Arango's bass method and Ben Lapidus' Changüí treatise. Coming shortly will be David Peñalosa's long-awaited (and I do mean long-awaited) Unlocking the Clave and our own Mike Lazarus is almost done with his book on timba bass and clave. As for me, I'm waiting for a little more help with my timeline before starting to release the followup to The Roots of Timba. The next volume picks up where we left off ... at the very dawn of timba. In the meantime I'm working on an exhaustive set of method books on timba piano which will extend to at least 20 volumes, each with extensive audio tracks. The first 4 volumes will be on Iván "Melón" González, whose new band features ex-Pupy bassist Reinier Elizarde Ruano ("El Negrón"). Stay tuned. Last but not least is Ned Sublette - the bad news is that he hasn't even started the second volume of Cuba and its Music (the most inspiring book I've ever read on the subject), but the good news is that he should be getting very close to finishing the second volume of his New Orleans series, which is almost as interesting. The first volume is as much about the Haitian roots of Cuba's Oriente as it is about the Big Easy. [Kevin Moore] Tuesday,
Feb. 3, 2009 Wed:
Orestes Vilató CD Release Party in LA First Album Under His Own Name! - This titan of Latin music, born in Camagüey, has played on dozens of classic recordings, including four as the leader of Los Kimbos, but has waited until now to release a CD under his own name. In line with the Cuban tradition of double entendres, the CD is entitled It's About Time. [Kevin Moore] Orestes
Vilató CD Release Concert Saturday,
January 31, 2009 Mezcla
Returns to the West Coast Pablo Menéndez & Mezcla at Yoshi's - Tom Ehrlich files an extensive photo/concert report from this star-studded concert. From left to right: Osmany Paredes, Pablo Menéndez, Sawa Pérez, Melecio Magdaleyo, Raúl Piñeda, Jesús Díaz. Also news on the new album. Coming to the Bay Area Soon - El Pikete will be at Club Antón on Friday, February 13th. Afrocuban Allstars at Zellerbach Wednesday, February 25. More from the Bay Area: A New Approach to Dance Instruction - Rueda con Ritmo teaches rueda and casino but with a some completely unique approaches using musical examples directly from timba classics. It's taught in a very cool way that's equally friendly to musicians and non-musicians. [Kevin Moore] Wednesday,
January 28, 2009 ESTRENO
MUNDIAL
WORLD PREMIER
Frank
Véliz is known as a vocalist for the European tours of acclaimed producer
Sergio George's group DLG (Dark Latin Groove). For his first solo release
he has assembled an all-star group featuring bassist Joel
Domínguez and José
"Pepito" Montes, both ex-Paulito FG band members. Also made available
for download are two (2) free tracks courtesy of Frank. Paulito FG Back in Miami - After a critically-acclaimed concert with a very well-rehearsed killer band, Paulito had a joint concert planned with Manolín, but ran into unexpected troubles here in the land of "free speech", as we call it. Look for some serious excitement very soon (hopefully of the musical variety only!) Aquí tienes los detalles. [Kevin Moore] TONIGHT: Mezcla at Yoshi's - Pablo Menéndez is on tour from Havana with an all-star expatriate version of Mezcla featuring conguero Jesús Díaz (of QBA), Rigoberto López, Raúl Piñeda and Osmany Paredes. Tom will be on hand taking photos. 8:00 and 10:00 shows at Yoshi's Oakland. [Kevin Moore] Tuesday,
January 27, 2009 A
TOCAR TIMBA CON EL PIKETE Monday,
January 26, 2009 Cuba
in México Studying With the Masters - Starting on June 15th, Don Skoog (one of the guides on the Cuban trip that robbed me of my sanity - but I've found it in my heart to forgive him) is hosting the third annual Cuba in México study program, with a very heavyweight lineup of teachers: Roberto Vizcaino,
congas and timbales Sax, bass, piano and percussion and batá instruction are all available. For more info. Thursday,
January 15, 2009 Pepito
en la Yuma! Signs of Intelligent Life in Manhattan! - January 23, a week from Friday, Crash Mansion/BLVD will host Pupy alumnus Pepe Gómez with top NY timba band La Bolá. New York was once a mecca for Latin music, but has become quite pathetic in recent years. Get out there and show some life New Yorkers! The line for this show should stretch all the way to the Catskills. The New York dance, events and clubs pages have also been updated. [Kevin Moore] Tuesday,
January 13, 2009 Where
Are They Now?
Great Expatriate Timba Pianists - Many of the greatest rhythm section players of the timba revolution are sadly no longer on the island. Among pianists alone, the list is extensive: Iván "Melón" Gonzalez: Melón has been in Spain since 1998. He recorded and toured briefly with Manolín, recorded "Battangó" with his brother Jazz trio, and now has his own quintet featuring Román Filiu on sax, and Pupy alumnus "El Negrón" on bass. You can hear four amazing tracks by this band at Melón's myspace page. I've currently working on a series of method books on Melón's timba piano style - stay tuned for more on that. Yaniel "El Majá" Matos: El Majá, one of timba funkiest and most creative pianists, played with Angel Bonne, Maraca, Paulito FG and Issac before moving to Brazil in early 2000. He just released an extremely interesting Latin/Brazilian Jazz fusion album, Movimiento. Juan Carlos González: The original pianist and arranger for Charanga Habanera and Dany Lozada is now in Torino, Italy. It's absolutely crazy that no timba bandleader has made the pilgrimmage to the land of pasta to avail himself of this genius of arranging. Pepe Rivero: Pepe played teclado with Issac, then piano with Paulito and finally piano with Issac before moving to Spain around the beginning of 1999. He also has a Latin jazz group and audio clips on his myspace page. He's released two Latin jazz albums: "Friday Night in Spanish Harlem" and "Tonight Latin". Tony Pérez: One of the key figures in the early development of timba and another giant of Latin jazz, Tony played with Issac in the early 90s, jumping over to Klímax in late 1994 and playing with Irakere before moving to Miami. He played with Cuban Timba All Stars and various other groups. Clips from his album From Echantment and Timba to Full Force Jazz can be heard on amazon.com. Eduardo "Chaka" Nápoles: Chaka moved to Miami in 1999 with the rest of Manolín's band where he continues to play with Manolín and is the leader of his own band, El Tumbao. Luis Bu : Manolín's other keyboardist was also one of the most original and influential arrangers of the timba era. He has a recording studio in Miami and plays with various groups there. Rey Ceballo: Rey was the founding member of Azúcar Negra, playing on the now legendary demos they recorded in 1998 immediately after splitting off from Bamboleo. He's now the leader of Calle Sol in Poland. [Kevin Moore] Monday,
January 12, 2009 More
Required Reading The Sultan of the Six-String Shares his Secrets! - Adding to the impressive array of wonderful new books on Cuban music, Feliciano Arango, the founding bassist of NG La Banda, and winner of our timba.com poll for the Best Timba Bassist of All-Time, has published an extensive new method book-audio CD package. It's co-written by New York bassist Cherina Mastrotones who has obviously gone to great lengths to include all the timba-specific nuances that most method books leave out. She's also created a great website, which is the only place the book can be ordered. Mine is on its way and I'll report back when it arrives. [Kevin Moore] From Arango to Abacuá - When it rains it pours! Also coming out later this month is the long-awaited book by Dr. Ivor L. Miller, one of the world's leading researchers of this mysterious and infinitely funky Afrocuban genre. Stay tuned. [Kevin Moore] Changüí Fever - It's highly contagious and Michelle has a series case of it! The only cure would be a wealthy donor to underwrite some of the amazing research ideas she's been coming up with. In the meantime, here are more treasures from Grupo Changüí de Guantánamo's recent storming of the Bastille. [Kevin Moore] Friday,
January 9, 2009 2nd ANNUAL GLOBAL CUBA FEST
Tuesday,
January 6, 2009 ALEXANDER! Mira que te vengo cantando bonito yo! - Go watch this video right now! Alexander Abreu is really coming into his own as a singer. At about 1:40 he cranks it up for just a few seconds you can get an inkling of just how much this guy has in reserve. He's got a Robertón/Mayito type of potential and the song, arrangement, and band are slammin'. Go! [Kevin Moore] Sunday,
January 4, 2009 QBA! Jesús Díaz y su QBA Photos and Concert Report - QBA tore it up again in Santa Cruz with the same great rhythm section of Murray Low, Ayla Davila, Colin Douglas and Javier Navarrette. More like this please! Here's Tom Ehrlich's concert report and photo page. [Kevin Moore] Saturday,
January 3, 2009 Thursday,
January 1, 2009 The
Yoel Páez Drumming Method! New Year's Present! The Yoel Páez Method, Volume I - In the last 20 years, the drumset has become a key part of Cuban music. It's evolved so quickly and in so many directions that it's incredibly difficult for drummers to learn and understand the style. A thorough series of method books has been badly needed for years and no one is better suited to write it than the great Yoel Paéz. When asked to name his favorite of the young timba drummers, Calixto Oviedo chose Páez without hesitation and he's not alone in that assessment. Ever since the Tomás Cruz Conga Method came out, everyone, myself included, has been begging Yoel (who played with Tomasito in Paulito's greatest band) to write a similar series from the drummer's perspective. Having played with three of the most important and yet most drastically different timba bands -- Paulito, Issac and Manolín -- Yoel is arguably the most complete timba drummer, equally comfortable in any of the 4 main timba rhythm section configurations.
The book is 93 pages long with an audio CD. You can buy it as hard-copy or download a .PDF and .MP3 package for a reduced rate. You can also read and listen to examples online. I can't get it to load in Chrome, but it works well in Firefox and Internet Explorer. Here's a different link to a very generous demo PDF that shows you exactly how the book is laid out. This is an exciting time for students as method books are finally starting to catch up with the timba revolution. I'll be adding a thorough "recommended reading" section in early 2009. There may also be some surprises from the timba.com team on the way! [Kevin Moore] A fabulous Bamboleo Interview -- This is an old interview, but one of the best I've seen for nailing down the history of Lázaro Valdés, Vannia Borges, Haila Mompié and Bamboleo. [Kevin Moore] The Timba Timeline -- Still waiting for you all to send in your memoirs! [Kevin Moore] Wednesday,
December 31, 2008 Anthony Blea & Jesús Díaz in Sacramento Tonight-- Click here for more info on this New Year's Eve collaboration of two of the giants of the Bay Area music scene. [Kevin Moore] Sunday,
December 28, 2008 Pellejo
Seco in San Francisco New Photos from Tom Ehrlich -- San Francisco's top son group, Pellejo Seco, played a great show last week for a great cause -- Hurricane relief. Tom was on hand for an extensive new set of photos. QBA Coming -- Next Saturday, the exciting new incarnation of Jesús Díaz y QBA will be in Santa Cruz at Moe's Alley. See you there! The Great Timba Timeline Project -- As I gear up to continue the Roots of Timba series into the 90s, I'm back in research mode trying to put together a timeline - month by month - with every recording session, personnel change, CD release, band formation, etc. It's brutally hard because none of it's been properly documented and memories are failing. If you have ANY RECOLLECTIONS of timba events that you can tie to a given month or even year, please get in contact with me ASAP! I need all the help I can get. Think back over your old trips and see what you remember. [Kevin Moore] Friday,
December 19, 2008 REQUIRED
READING The Missing Link! -- If you're looking for a last minute gift for your favorite timba freak, Changüí: The Origins of Cuban Music and Dance has gone immediately onto our short list of the most important books on the roots of timba and Cuban music in general. And just in time for Christmas, amazon.com has lowered the price by $16 - right after I bought it for full price, but I'm not complaining - this book has been an absolute revelation. Changüí, like rumba and North American blues, is an ultra-funky secular folkloric style, still thriving, and without which none of today's popular styles could exist. The key difference is that while hundreds of books have been devoted to rumba and blues, this is the first to fully explore changüí. Fortunately, it's thorough, complete, eminently readable, and of equal interest to musicians, dancers and listeners. It's written in the first person and full of personal anecdotes so it doesn't come off as dry and technical, but it's also full of red meat for those of us looking for specifics. There's a discography listing nearly every available changüí recording, a who's who of legendary changüiseros, numerous excellent transcriptions, a long chapter on lyrics, dance step notation, a detailed chapter on the tres (the author is a tresero), and much-needed explanations of the mysterious pre-changüí styles of kiribá, nengón and tumba francesa. Last but not least is a section on the Oriente roots of legendary musicians like Lilí Martínez and Elio Revé. And in case you missed it last week, here's Tom's photo-interview (with a new audio answer recently added). [Kevin Moore] Saturday,
December 13, 2008 ARSENIO
TRIBUTE TONIGHT Another Year in the Books -- Hard to believe it's already time for the yearly Arsenio Rodríguez tribute. I wish the first 7 years of the Bush Adminstration had gone by so quickly. In any case, legendary Bay Area broadcaster Emiliano Echeverría mans the sliders at KPFA for 3 hours of music from the most influential figure in Cuban music history. Catch it online if you can. [Kevin Moore] Friday,
December 12, 2008 BEN
LAPIDUS INTERVIEW & PHOTOS Tom Ehrlich's Photos and Interview With Changüí Guru Ben Lapidus -- Tom has really hit the jackpot with this article/interview/photo session from his latest trip to the Big Apple. Changüí is one of the great missing links in understanding timba and everything that came before it and no one has done more to research it and spread the word about it than musician/author/scholar Ben Lapidus. I just received my copy of Changüí: Origins of Cuban Music and Dance and am hungrily devouring it. More on that soon, but in the meantime check out this important interview. [Kevin Moore] Wednesday,
December 10, 2008 TIMBA EN ITALIA Llegó el CICLÓN CUBANO
'Dímelo Ya' is the new release by Cuban duo Ciclón Cubano. Based in Rimini Italy, guitarist, singer and composer Alfredo José Flores Del Sol and fellow singer, dancer, choreographer and composer Ernesto Planas Errero have put together a multi-genre production, ranging from timba to salsaton, for the latin dancer. The album opens with a straight-ahead PR style salsa with a funky ‘a-caballo’ mambo, leading right into three solid timba tracks featuring Miami’s Michel Calvo and other special guests. Track 4, ‘De Que Que Llegó Llegó’ is my favorite with .....click here to read more >> [Mike Lazarus] Friday,
December 5, 2008 Ya llegó la hora -- Here's a long list of excellent recent articles on the rapidly improving scenario for better US-Cuba relations. The upshot? If you're a Cuban-American, you should be able to visit and send money to relatives in Cuba without restrictions as soon as Obama takes office. Beyond that, the chances of other major reforms finally making it through Congress have increased geometrically. Remember - the Republican-controlled Congress of 2000-2006 tried on multiple occasions to pass such legislation, often led by conservatives such as Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and supported by business interests from deep red states. It was only the threat of a George Bush veto that prevented many of these bills from passing. Beyond that, Obama is in a unique position relative to his predecessors. First, he would have won the election handily without Florida. Second, he would have won Florida handily without the Cuban vote. Third, he won a remarkable 45% of that Cuban vote. Fourth, he campaigned, in South Florida, on the platform of improving US-Cuban relations. And finally, as we noted yesterday, a new poll shows that 55% of Florida Cubans - the same percentage that voted for John McCain - say they favor not only relaxing restrictions, but lifting the 50-year embargo altogether. When Bush took office, I had the nasty feeling that Cuban concerts in the US were going to be few and far between. We fought it, but the tide was too strong. Now, as they say, the tide has turned. [Kevin Moore] Thursday,
December 4, 2008 LOS
VAN VAN TURNS 39! ... and unless they plan to follow in the footsteps of famed yuma timbero Jack Benny, and stay 39 forever, we'll look forward to the 40th Anniversary Tour in the US and Europe next year. Los Van Van has stayed at the very top of their genre longer than any act in music history, but we could have said that for the 30th anniversary. For a guided tour of their historic run, check out our History & Discography page. According to LVV's website, their new album should be out soon and if you're lucky enough to be on the island, they play tonight at Casa de la Música Galiano. [Kevin Moore] Revé MD Forms New Band in Las Vegas -- Before Aisar Hernández, the musical director of Orquesta Revé was t bassist Jioovanni Cofino, the writer and arranger of many hits such as the classic Dale agua al dominó and a huge help in the writing of our Timba Encyclopedia sections on Revé. Jiovanni has been in Las Vegas for over a year and has a new Cuban band called The Latin All Stars. The music is much more creative than the name, as you can hear in this youtube clip. [Kevin Moore] The Dawn of a New Era -- Steve Benen of the Washington Monthly has a great post today on a new poll showing that 55% of Florida's Cubans favor not only relaxing travel restrictions but ending the embargo altogether. That's an astounding statistic, if you think about it, and yet another indication that the cultural bottleneck is about to blow wide open. Fasten your seatbelts! [Kevin Moore] Definitive New Changüí Book -- Tom Ehrlich is in New York where he ran into Ben Lapidus, leading changüí scholar and an excellent musician in his own right. Ben's long-awaited book is now out and we're hoping to get some pictures and an interview soon. I just ordered it and will have more info soon. [Kevin Moore]
Wednesday,
December 3, 2008 Havana D'Primera CD Finished in December - ¡No lo pierdas! The biggest news to hit the timba scene in 2008 was Alexander Abreu and Havana D'Primera. With an all-star roster the group took Havana by storm and their shows at Galiano and Salon Rojo were the weekly gigs where you could be assured to find a wide selection of musicians in attendance from Charangueros to soneros such as Sixto Llorente "El Indio". Havana D'Primera is the real thing, don't miss out!.....read more >> [Michelle White]
Charanga Habanera Tour Dates, TIME Magazine Article Michelle also reports on the latest tour dates for la Charanga Habanera as well as a very interesting article by Nathan Thornburgh from TIME Magazine. The article, discussing cuban music and timba specifically, will be the cover story of the European version of TIME that is coming out this week......read more >> Monday,
November 24, 2008 Paulito FG concerts a success in Miami
Picketing the Pauito FG show at La Covacha
Focus on the MUSIC. That is the word on the streets of Miami after all the tired controversy. Florida based entertainment figure and prominent Cuban music promoter Hugo Cancio confirms this when he says: “Jorge Artiles made good on his promise to deliver Pauolo FG and his music to Miami. However music and culture should be vehicle that we Cubans use to reconcile our differences. Those are the things that unite us and should not separate us. Politicians die with time while musical culture goes on forever. Whether or not I agree with Paolo's views and Jorge’s offensive comments about the traditional exiled Cuban community, that is beside the point. It was a GREAT weekend having a Cuban artist in Miami and it feels like there is much more to come” .....click here to read more >> Tuesday,
November 18, 2008 San Francisco Salsa Rueda Festival
Hosted by Nick & Serena and their Salsa Vale Todo dance company, the first San Francisco Salsa Rueda Festival will be held at the Hotel Whitcomb on February 20-22, 2009. Showcasing Cuban music and dance, on Friday the festival starts with a welcome dinner followed by a Timba Dance Party. The next day there will be a series of workshops as well as Salsa, Rueda and Afro-Cuban performances, with a live music celebration at night. Sunday has more Sunday more great workshops and performances along with a Salsa Cubana Dance Party with the Anejo Productions djs. A variety of instructors and dance performers will be attending, and among the list are Mike and Simona (Rumbanana - Corvallis), Jose Barroso ( San Francisco), Victoria-Hadar Harel (New York), Leslie Vazquez and Reinier Fernandez (CMV con Ritmo - Mexico City), Saoco D.C. (Washington D.C.), Royland Lobato (CultuCuba - Oakland), Marcos Ravelo (Havana & Calgary) and many more. Book your ticket today by clicking on the banner above. [Mike Lazarus] Monday,
November 17, 2008 Acción Timbera en Los Angeles Español: Elaborados y chillones espejos, espesos manteles, camareros y camareras en etiqueta, el escenario perfecto para una película de televisión sobre El Padrino es Steve's Steakhouse en la Ciudad de Comercio, Los Angeles. Fiel a su nombre, la banda de esta noche fue la CHARANGA CUBANA, caracterizada, por supuesto, por la falta de vientos y en su lugar dos violines y una flauta. Después de unos sones clásicos vieja-escuela, se desarolla una impaciencia, como Don Fanucci pidiendole "algo para mojarse el pico" a Vito Corleone, en el sentido que ya era timepo para romper con los temas mas pesados del repertorio. En poco tiempo la CHARANGA CUBANA comenzó a cargar las pilas.....leer más >>
English: Intricate and garish mirrors, thick tablecloths everywhere, tuxedo wearing, black bow-tie spiffing waiters and waitresses, the perfect setting for a B-movie Godfather scene is Steve’s Steakhouse in the City of Commerce, Los Angeles. The band on this night was true to their name, as la CHARANGA CUBANA features two violins and a flute, and of course no horns. After some classic old-school son montunos, an impatience rises and you are pulling a Don Fanucci asking for “something to wet my beak” from Vito Corleone, meaning its time to break out some of the hard-hitting repertoire. Sure enough CHARANGA CUBANA began to assemble the stack, from which they then push you off for the climb, the gears and breakdowns making your ascent all that more enjoyable.....read more >> [Mike Lazarus] Thursday,
November 13, 2008 Pepito Gómez y Paulito F.G. este fin de semana La voz dinamita Pepito Gomez (ex cantante de Pupy & Azucar Negra) se presentará en vivo en un gran concierto para el Congreso de la Salsa Rueda 2008. Todo empieza este jueves Noviembre 13 en la fiesta del congreso en Yuca Lounge (Miami Beach). Todo un sueño hecho realidad para los fanáticos de Paulito y para los amantes de la musica cubana, finalmente el cantante rompe las barreras de la política y logrará después de varios años cantar nuevamente en Miami. El sábado 15 de Noviembre se presentará en la ciudad de Kendall en el famoso "Kaffe Krystal" y el domingo en el "Rancho" de Okechobbee de Hialeah. No se los pueden perder mi gente.....nos vemos el viernes para el concierto de apertura. DJ Duniel tiene el reportaje completo (haz clic aquí).. [Mike Lazarus] Saturday,
November 8, 2008 ISSAC
AGAIN TONIGHT IN SF! Issac played two great shows at Bimbo's last night and will play 2 more tonight. Click here for tickets. In keeping with the Jazz Festival theme, there was an abundance of brilliant instrumental solos from trumpet Teddy Mulet, conguero Denis "Papacho" Savón and the keyboardists, Liván Mesa and Issac Delgado, Jr., who is a dead ringer for his dad. Hopefully this will be the first of a new wave of timba concerts in the upcoming year. Fasten your seatbelts! Also check out Tom Ehrlich's photo gallery from last night's early show. Revé's "Paris Surprise" -- Everyone was talking about it but no one knew what it was, so our indefatigable reporter Michelle White had no choice but to make the trek to the city of lights to find out first hand. Turns out to be the new Revé Website. Especially interesting is the Discography page, which includes some rare gems that we failed to include in our Revé Discography page. Michelle has more in her blog. [Kevin Moore] Friday,
November 7, 2008 POR
FIN! Issac in San Francisco - Tonight and tomorrow at Bimbo's. See you there! Pepe Gómez with La Bola in New York City - Pepe started with Azúcar Negra but became a major star with Pupy y Los Que Son Son. This is the last chance to hear him with La Bola until February.
Pepe Gómez
with La Bola Thursday,
November 6, 2008 TIMBA at the White House? Well......almost. Salsa for sure. That's Willy Chirino and his band playing at the White House earlier this year.
There's a sneak peek of Braily on trombone in the backline. Gearge W. is front and center. One day we'll get there....but only with your help. While Issac Delgado plays at Bimbo's in San Francisco tomorrow
Friday, November 7 and Paulito's concert is no more, the place to be at is THE PLACE,
located at 833 SW 29nth Avenue in Miami where at 10pm BRAILY will perform with his band:
Braily Ramos - Cantante While Braily's hit "La Cosita Chiquitita" is the darling of Miami's television shows, it's 'Quiero Tu Amor Para Mi' (based on the track 'Encuentro') that has been lighting up cell phones now that's its surpassed its 10,000th ringtone download.
Say hi to timba djs DJ Melao and DJ Walt Digz (from SF) when you see them at the Braily show. [Mike Lazarus] Wednesday,
November 5, 2008 POR
FIN! They
said it couldn't ever happen, but it did ... The United States has elected ...
as President ... an adult! Forget la
maldición - forget the celebrating - let's just start cleaning up
the mess. Thank you to all the Floridians who changed their votes since 2004.
And thank you to everyone like Jacira Castro from Davie, Florida
who worked tirelessly in this and previous elections. I hope, among other things,
to finally have some US timba tours to write about. Also, big
thanks to Michelle
and Mike for keeping La última up-to-date while I roamed around Europe. In the meantime,
Issac will be at Bimbo's in San Francisco on Nov.
7 & 8. Tom & I will be there for a full report. And Paulito's
scheduled Miami concert has been postponed. DJ Duni
has the scoop. [Kevin Moore] Wednesday,
October 29, 2008 New Photos by Patrick Bonnard
Timba photographer
Patrick Bonnard has shared a few of his Cubadisco 2008 photos with us as well
as photos of the concert with Manolito & Elito at Cabaret Sauvage this summer.
Here is a nice one of Elito Revé just in time for the Orquesta
Revé Fall 2008 Tour and a great promo shot of El Trabuco.
Click
here to see more of Patricks photos.[Michelle
White] Tuesday, October
28, 2008 Newsflash: Charanga Habanera in Buenos Aires After a tour of Peru where the Michel Maza once again performed
with La Habanera, David and the boys will be in Buenos Aires, Argentina at El
Auditorio Buenos Aires on Saturday November 8th. If you happen to be in the
vicinity, don't miss out![Michelle
White] Whassup with El Indio? Perhaps
you, like I, have been wondering what Sixto Llorente has been doing since leaving
the Trabuco. Well Gabriel of Yemaya's Verse has the scoop about El Indio's solo
project.
Click here for the details on El Indio as well as whassup with Bill
Wolfer of Mamborama.[Michelle
White] Monday, October
27, 2008 Michel Maza & La Charanga Habanera We've all dreamed of it, a reunion between La Charanga Habanera
and singer Michel Maza, who many feel was the best singer the band ever had.
Well
DJ Melao has posted a link to video from Peru where Michel did perform
with La Charanga Habanera again.
Click here for all the information and a video clip![Michelle
White]
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 Gabriel's Interview with Aisar Hernández
Just in time for Orquesta Revé's Fall
2008 Tour, Gabriel of
Yemaya's Verse has completed her English translation of an interview
she did in Havana this summer with Revé bassist and musical director Aisar Hernández.
As all serious timberos already know, Aisar has also begun work on a solo album.
Gabriel talked with him about his own CD as well as his work with Elito Revé
and the multiple award-winning CD Fresquecito. Click
here to read Gabriel's interview.[Michelle
White] Thursday,
October 16, 2008 2008 Monterey Jazz Festival - Third & Final Report
The third and final report of Tom Ehrlich and John Benjamin’s report on the 2008 Monterey Jazz Festival is ready – no Afro-Caribbean music, but some great jazz including the legendary pianist, composer, band leader Herbie Hancock. [Tom Ehrlich] Wednesday,
October 8, 2008 2008 Monterey Jazz Festival - Second Report
Part two of Tom Ehrlich and John Benjamin’s report on the 2008 Monterey Jazz Festival. This report features the second gig of Maraca’s Cuban Lullabies Project. Also features photos from concerts by Rebeca Mauleon & Afro Kuban Fusion, Maceo Parker, and Donny McCaslin. [Mike Lazarus] Sunday,
October 5, 2008 "El Hombre de la Voz Dinamita" Having already made his mark in the international salsa scene as a lead singer for Pupy y Los Que Son Son, the "Man with the Dynamite Voice" breaks into the US market with his debut this Friday, October 10 at Kaffe Krystal - 10855 SW 72nd St, Miami, FL 33173. Click here to see Pepito in action in these videos (by our own Michelle White) from Pupy's Copenhagen show. Momentum has been building for this concert Pepito, and manager Roberto Heredia, have put together with an all-star Miami band. He has been seen with Maraca and La Bola in NYC recently and there will be New York contigency at this Miami show. Let us know if you hear "el coro de TIMBA.com". [Mike Lazarus]
Saturday,
October 4, 2008 Festival del Tambor 2008 The annual Festival del Tambor will take place from October 21-25 in Havana. This year all proceeds from the festival as well as performances by the artists will be donated to the Cuban victims of hurricanes Ike and Gustav. The festival is packed with events including an international percussion competition, percussion classes, performances by Cuban groups as well as foreign guests, a tribute to Tata Güines, a tambor for Inle by the Yoruba association, an event about women in percussion, folkloric percussion performances and performances at Solan Rosado de La Tropical by some of the hottest timba acts today. Click here for the full schedule in PDF format (in Spanish). Below is
the performance schedule at La Tropical. October
23 - Folkloric Groups 10 pm - 1 am October
24 - 9 pm - 1 am For more
information contact Lisandro
Arias - DJ
Melao has an update on what's happening in Cuba with Lisandro,
director of Lisandro y Su Tratado,
and author of the hit El repartero de la Habana. Friday,
October 3, 2008 More Yuma Tour News Maraca is winding down his US tour tonight with a concert in Grand Rapids, Michigan. No reports in from DC last night, but we hear that at the New York performance at SOB's Pepito Gómez joined Maraca on stage and did a great job presenting himself to the New York audience. Issac Delgado will be playing some dates in L.A. and San Francisco, California in November so check out his tours page and if you know of any concerts we haven't listed, please send an e-mail. Afro-Cuban
All Stars 2009 Don't worry
about visa issues. Nearly all the bandmembers have European passports. Here's
the complete list of musicians. You'll find some familiar names there. Changuito
to Canada
Thursday, October 2, 2008 Issac
to Release New CD DJ Melao has the news, including the track list, about Issac's second CD since moving to El Yuma. Melao has also updated the Top 10 list in his media player so check it out.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008 Leonel Limonta &
All Star Line-Up Asi somos - Leonel Limonta, director of Azúcar Negra and one of timba's most prolific and talented songwriters, has just recorded a new song called Así somos at EGREM studios. The song is dedicated to those who were affected by the two recent hurricanes. In addition to Azúcar Negra's singers Ailyn, Yordis and Rusdel, Así somos features an all star line-up of guest artists such as Ricardo Amaray, Mayami and El Noro from Manolito y Su Trabuco, Alain Daniel, Leoni Torres, Aldo Isidro from Adalberto Álvarez y Su Son, Dantes from La Charanga Habanera, Arlenis and Monica Mesa ex-singers of NG La Banda, Barbarita from Anacaona, Rene from Charanga Latina, Nelson Manuel, Alexander Lara, and with the support of Juan Formell and César "Pupy" Pedroso. With Limonta's composition and a group of artists like this, Así somos is a guaranteed hit. I expect the song to be on the Cuban airwaves very soon and hopefully available for purchase as well. You can already listen to it at Azúcar Negra's MySpace site.
Exceso de equipaje - In
the meantime, the new Azúcar Negra CD is nearly ready for release. It is at
the manufacturer's in Colombia and should hit the streets (or internet stores)
very soon. The new CD includes a remake of the classic Con un canto en el
pecho and also Cola loka. The full track listing is:
Sunday, September 28, 2008 2008 Monterey Jazz Festival - First Report
Tom Ehrlich and John Benjamin (substituting for the vacationing Kevin Moore) present the first of a series of reports on the 2008 Monterey Jazz Festival, which featured an all-star Latin Jazz group project called “Cuban Lullabies” lead by Orlando “Maraca” Valle. Click on the above photo for the report on Friday night’s festivities. [Mike Lazarus]
Saturday, September 27, 2008 Matiné Gigante con Maykel Blanco The 4th Anniversary of Maykel Blanco y su Salsa Mayor will be held at a special matinee on Friday, October 10 at the Casa de la Música Habana (Galiano). Show starts at 5pm. This anniversary concert will feature ALL the singers who have worked with Salsa Mayor over the years. It will be sold out as Maykel has been gathering momentum for the show during his performances every Monday from 11pm - 6am at Café Cantante. Not a show to miss if you're on the island. [Mike Lazarus]
Thursday, September 25, 2008 A Treasure Trove of Classic Cuban Videos I first discovered timba right at the turn of the millennium, and for me "old Van Van" was Ay Dios Ampárame. As I wandered deeper into the vast jungle that is Cuban music, where you need a garabato just to make your way through, I realized how much "really old stuff" I had missed out on. If this experience sounds familiar to you, you will be as thrilled as I was with Pisicore's Channel. I don't know who this mystery person is, but I am enormously grateful that he is sharing these historic gems with us. He only started uploading videos one month ago and already has 152 videos dating as far back as 1965. There's something for everyone there. How about a 1981 video of Los Van Van on the Malecón singing Si a una mamita to compare with the current remake, or some 1980s footage from Para Bailar, the predecessor of Bailar Casino, for those who want to see how casino dancing has developed over the past 25 years. If you've been reading Kevin's on-line books there is priceless old footage of pre-timba groups such as Irakere, Rumbavana, Ritmo Oriental and Orquesta Maravilla de Florida. And if you're interested in fashion and grooming you'll find the Revé Ruñidera video from 1987 to be...well just take a look for yourself. Below are a couple of samples to get you started. A big thank you on the part of all timberos to Pisicore for sharing this treasure trove of Cuban video with the world. [Michelle White]
Friday, September 19, 2008 In the wake of the two hurricanes that have caused millions of dollars worth of damage to homes and crops in Cuba, Timberos around the world have gotten together to help. Canada - Sunday September 21st from 7pm to 1am, Lula Lounge will host a fundraiser for hurricane relief for Cuba with collaboration Christie and Hilario Duran as well as Sarita Leyva from Ireomo and Joaquin Hidalgo. The evening will include a rumba show by Ireome. Donations and goods can be brought to Lula Lounge. So if you are near the Toronto area don't miss this evening which promises to have a wide range of artists. France - Orly Solomon of Candela Productions informs that Paris will have a 2-day "Solidarity with Cuba" event. September 25th the party will be held at Back-up, the location of many great timba concerts. On the 26th the party moves to Habana Jazz. €5 from the cover charge will go to the humanitarian association Cuba sí for hurricane relief. Anyone who has partied with the French timberos knows that two days of hardcore timba parties are worth the trip to Paris. Miami - Mirco at TimbaPorSiempre informs that the Junto a Cuba stars together with Americateve channel 41 and Millenium Records have recorded a timbaton to raise funds for hurricane relief. Click here to read the article and listen to a clip of the song. I'm not sure yet how you can buy the song to contribute, but we'll try to find out and get back to you. 7th
Great Contest of Santiago de Cuba will again play host to the Contest of Popular Traditional Cuban Dances and Casino, which will take place October 16th and 17th. the contest is sponsored by the Casas de Cultura and UNEAC. The competition genres are Danzón, Son, Cha Cha Cha, Pilón, Mambo, Mozambique and Casino as well as Rueda de Casino. On October 16th the elimination rounds and the semifinals will be held, and the finals and the award ceremony take place October 17th. The goal of the contest is to promote Cuban traditional dances as well as casino, which apparently is too new to be considered traditional. The competition is open to both professional and amateur dancers, but competitors must be able to dance each genre of Cuban dance as well as casino and rueda de casino. Dancers will be judged on rhythm, style, originality, creative design and the interaction between the couples. If you happen to be in the greater Santiago metro area in mid-October, head on down to Parque Céspedes at 6:00 pm to catch the action. For more information contact José Antonio Prades Hung.[Michelle White]
Tuesday, September 16, 2008 Maraca's
Final Tour Dates Maraca has been knocking 'em dead on his current US tour with the New Collective. There are still 10 concerts left on the tour, including two at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Click here to find one near you. In a recent article Billboard says: "The first single from Lo Que Quiero Es Fiesta is the infectious 'Descarga Dura' which is already a radio hit and has been electrifying audiences at live shows around the country with Maraca's signature complex flute arrangements woven flawlessly into an irresistible Salsa beat." Click here to read the complete article.[Michelle White] Melao has updated his Timba Top Ten and also has information about upcoming concerts by El Pikete and Issac Delgado. Click here.
Sunday, September 14, 2008 Updates En Frequencia has information about a benefit concert for Hurricane victims that was held yesterday at Rice & Beans, as well as information about N'Taya's upcoming concert September 19th and a brief article (in Spanish) about Pupy's new CD, Tranquilo que yo controlo. DJ Melao also has a number of updates including information about Pepito Gómez' first concert in the US! He also has embedded a number of videos he found at youtube for various artists, such as Maraca, who is currently touring the US with the New Collective (click here for concert dates) , and Michel Maza in Peru. And I had the unfortuante news to report that Luis Alvaro Varona passed away yesterday in Copenhagen from pancreatic cancer. Timba.com send our condolences to his family. [Michelle White] Thursday,
September 11, 2008
Woo Hoo!
Tranquilo Que Yo Controlo Released! Finally the long-awaited CD by Pupy y Los Que Son Son has been released. If you've already heard some of the songs at local clubs you know that this is destined to be another classic timba album with Pupy giving a clase magistral in how it's done. If you haven't heard anything yet, check out muchoswing.com which features two videos of Pupy y Los Que Son Son performing songs from the CD. September 10th has the danzón Cuando los años pasan (as time goes by) and September 11th has Se parece aquel, sung by Michel Pérez who replaced Pepito Gómez when he went to Miami. Stay tuned for a full review. [Michelle White] Tuesday,
September 9, 2008 New
Yosvany Terry Photos from Tom Ehrlich Tom checks in with an extensive new gallery from recent Bay Area performances at Yerba Buena Gardens and La Peña Cultural Center.
Thursday,
September 4, 2008 NEW ALBUM - Chalo y su Aché
Pegando en la costa oeste de los EE.UU., Gonzalo "Chalo" Chomat lleva la batuta de la timba cubana contemporanea con su grupo Chalo y su Aché. Bajo la dirección de Chalo, los temas fueron grabados en Los Angeles con músicos del yuma. Contienen varias influencias de la música tropical pero siempre con enfoque en la timba bailable.
Músicos de Chalo y su Aché:
Mensaje personal de Chalo: Un abrazo a todos los que me han apoyado en mi nuevo hogar de Los Angeles. Para mi público les aviso que estaré estrenando temas nuevos en mis próximas conciertos en King King. Favor envienme un email a gonzalitochomat@hotmail.com y los mentendré actualizados con mi boletín y mi aché. [Mike Lazarus]
Tuesday,
September 2, 2008 Maraca
Photos from Tom Ehrlich Maraca
has a hot new album on Ahí Na'Má' Records and a real powerhouse
performing band with Osmany Paredes on piano and Nengue Hernández on
congas. Here's the photo
gallery. Next stops are Long Beach and Hollywood CA on Sept. 7th
and 9th. Here's the full
tour schedule. [Kevin Moore]
Friday
August 29, 2008 Braily @ The Place in Miami
Also featuring a Miami band is a new video album for those yearning for instructional material: a video bass lesson with Victoriano Napoles from El Pikete. The release includes special audio where one can use the balance control to isolate the bass from the band on separate channels -allowing for clear isolation of the bass. The resulting (right-channel) bass-less track allows you to play along with the band's hard-driving sound. Players take special note of how the clave fits with his bass lines.
On the west coast we just got our first photos from Chalo's show at King King
in Los Angeles. Chalo
y su Aché continue to deliver hard-core timba to south Cali.
Find the photos
here. [Mike
Lazarus]
Monday,
August 25, 2008 Maraca
at Yoshi's Wednesday & Thursday The
dance floor will be open for 8:00 and 10:00 shows Wednesday & Thursday at
Yoshi's
in Oakland. See you there! {Kevin Moore] Saturday,
August 23, 2008 COAST TO COAST TIMBA
In 1995 Gonzalo "Chalo" Chomat joined Coneccion Salsera, a nationally renowned group formed by the ex-members of Jose Maria Vitier, providing him with the opportunity to travel outside of Cuba for the first time. With Coneccion Salsera, Gonzalo toured Mexico where he subsequently defected to the United States.
Braily appeared yesterday on MEGA TV Channel 22 in Miami on Alexis Valdez' show "Esta Noche Tonight" following numeros appearences on America TV. Track #2 of Braily's album Disco Duro -dubbed "La Cosita Chiquitita"- is a local hit. The track has been featured in commercials and as a dance number on the TV show " La Cosa Nostra". Check out his videos here:
Tuesday,
August 18, 2008 Yosvany
Terry Tom
Ehrlich checks in with a concert
report and photo gallery covering
Yosvany's recent tour with his all-star jazz-meets-arará group Ye-dé-gbé
and the Afro-Caribbean Legacy. Salsa
Mayor in Rotterdam - Maraca in Oakland Michelle
has a report on Salsa
Mayor at Zomer Carnaval and a
new "video wall" to get us in the mood for the upcoming
Maraca tour, who hits Yoshi's
next Wednesday & Thursday with pianist Osmany Paredes, who also played with
Yosvany Terry. New
Pupy CD coming soon -- Tranquilo
que yo controlo should be available very soon. [Kevin
Moore] Friday,
August 15, 2008 Friday
Book Watch The
first volume of the long-awaited
9-volume treatise by David Peñalosa is due out soon. Stay tuned - we
should have a link within a month. The advance bits that I've been able to read
are the best explanation of the genesis of clave that I've found anywhere. Meanwhile,
two of the most important books ever written on Cuban music are now available
for so little that there's simply no excuse not to drop everything and devote
a few days to devouring them. I can't even imagine life without having read
them both. I've recently
come back to the The
Conga Drummer's Guidebook for the third time and it means
much more to me each time I read it - or, more importantly, each time I listen
to its audio CD. There's no one on earth quite like Michael Spiro. He plays
like a Cuban, talks in American street slang and is capable of thinking like
an academic when it serves his purposes. The only problem with this book is
the title. It has much more to do with understanding Cuban music than it does
with playing the congas and is equally valuable to dancers and listeners. And
it can now be downloaded
for $5.99 - about the same price as a cup of coffee or a gallon of gas. Meanwhile,
Ned Sublette's masterpiece is down to $12 in paperback over at amazon
- about 25 cents per life-changing revelation. This one is also inadequately
titled. I think of it as "The History of the World, and its Music,
from the perspective of a Cuban music freak". [Kevin
Moore] Thursday,
August 14, 2008 Music
from Alberto GV, Braily & Yorgis 'Little Girl Lost', a film directed by Paul Kaufman for the Lifetime (Television)
Network, is the true story of a woman, Luz Cuevas, who believed her infant
daughter had perished in a fire, only to find her 6 years later living with
another family. The film, set in Philadelphia and starring what is clearly
a family with strong Puertorican heritage, features music from TIMBA.com and
LPM artists like Braily
Ramos, PR based salsero Rigoberto
Rodríguez, Spain based rapper Alberto
GV, trumpeter Marina
Garza, Cuban tresero Heriberto
"Tito" González, Issac's Delgado's current bassist Yorgis
Goiricelaya and TIMBA.com's own Kevin Moore with Orquesta
Gitano. The songs are heard during festive party scenes and in the
background as radio tracks. Conratulations Kevin, Alberto, Braily and Yorgis!
[Mike Lazarus] Manolito
& Maraca -- Michelle
has updates on Manolito's European tour and Madrid radio interview, plus Maraca's
new CD and US tour. [Kevin Moore]
Wednesday,
August 13, 2008 The
Missing Van Van EP Early
Discography is complete --
Thanks to good old ebay, we now have the cover, number and tracklist of the
missing
1969 Van Van EP. [Kevin
Moore] Friday,
August 8, 2008 San
José Jazz Fest Tomorrow Bay
Area Timba -- Rumbaché
will be on the salsa stage at 4:00 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday, August 9. Also check
out our concert
review of their show at Moe's
Alley with photos by Tom Ehrlich. Jesús
Díaz y su QBA will be on
the same stage later that night at 8:00 p.m, and we also have a great
set of photos from their
recent concert at Moe's. Between these shows is Karabalí
- not timba, but featuring a full cast of Bay Area legends including Mike Spiro
and Karl Perazzo. And
in Europe -- Michelle
has reports on the Festival Cubain de La Seyne Sur Mer, Pepe
Espinosa's Euro-Cuban All Stars, and Klímax's new singer, ex-Charanguero
Noel Díaz. And
in New York -- Shabi has been updating more frequently that
I have lately, so keep checking Timba
in NY for the latest from the Big Apple. New
Angel Bonne clip -- Check
out the mp3 player at Yemayá's
Verse. She's also got a new post
and video clip featuring Manolito Simonet sitting in with la Revé. Thursday,
July 31, 2008 New
Photography from France Michelle
has the latest gems from Patrick Bonnard and Indochino, including this shot
of the famous songwriting duo, Lennon & Formell. Also the latest from El
Zorro. Wednesday,
July 30, 2008 Salsa
Mayor Updates Salsa
Mayor -- Michelle
has the latest on Salsa Mayor's European tour, including video interviews with
three new members. There's also news on Manolito's
European tour and audio clips
of Maraca,
who will be starting his US Tour soon. Tuesday,
July 29, 2008 Monday,
July 28, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008 Michelle
on Manolito -- Trabuco kicks
off its European tour in Madrid.
Maraca has a new CD and will be touring the US, including a date at the Monterey
Jazz Fest. Azúcar Negra has a new single, and she's also got
some amazing
rumba dancing video. Havana
Snapshot 2008 -- See Yemayá's
Verse to get the real story on
what's changed - and not changed - in Havana. Melao
con El Ciclón Trumpeter/Photographer
Eli "El Ciclón" Silva has joined forces with Melao,
who's updated about 1,000 times since my last post. Here's got rare footage
of Pepito's final days with Pupy y Los Que Son Son , Xavier Mili's solo project,
a poll on your favorite timba singers, Miami Libre and much more. Coming
Attractions Fajardo
Page Coming -- For Roots of Timba fans, we'll be adding a José
Fajardo discography soon. Papiosco
-- Jorge Luis Torres "Papiosco" laid down some incredible
conga tracks on Ases
de la Timba, one of the best albums of the 2000s in my book.
We'll have an analysis page soon. Papiosco is now reportedly living in Toronto.
If there are any sightings, please write in! Yosvany
Terry with Pedro Martínez -- Tom Ehrlich will be submitting
some photos from a Yosvany's series of "jazz meets arará" concerts.
I caught the show at La Peña in Berkeley and in the process discovered
the unbelievably talented Pedro Martínez, a brilliant percussionist with
one of the best voices I've ever heard. Keep an eye out for this guy!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Issac with Alain in Italy The
long-awaited concert tour reunion of Issac Delgado and Alain Pérez is
underway in Rome, Torino and Milano. July
9 July
10 July
12 Click
here for more tour dates. There's a possibility that Alain will
also be present on the US tour! Click
here for the Alexander Abreu interview in English. Pon
clik aquí para la entrevista con Alexander Abreu en español. Lost
in the Ozone - Estoy yo.
After finishing The
Roots of Timba, I dove head first
into a major study of the rhythm sections of all the major timba bands. It's
been very enlightening, let me tell you! We're finally starting to make sense
of some of the more complicated aspects of Revé, Bamboleo and the afore-mentioned
Mr. Delgado, all of whom have changed their gear and bloque systems many times
of the last ten years. Another
great Envidia release for studio gears is Soy la noticia, Rebambaramba's
second CD, which has a very interesting mixture of Pedro Pablo's Charanga Habanera
roots and interesting ideas from Revé and elsewhere. El
Pikete Educational Video Project
- If you're a musician or music student, or a fan who's always wanted to be
a fly on the wall at a recording session, this is beyond amazing. Here's the
story: When El Pikete did their famous "live
in the studio" album last
year, I, geek that I am, showed up with three video cameras. I put one on the
bassist (Nápoles), one on the pianist (Pepe Montes), and one on Mipa,
which also captures the violinist and a lot of what the drummer was doing. Later,
we took the multitrack recording and made 5 special mixes. Each one has the
featured instrument all alone on one side of the stereo and the rest of the
band on the other. This way, you can solo the instrument you're studying, or
mute it and play along. It was a spur of the moment idea, and I don't claim
that it's a perfect professional video job, but if you're trying to learn to
play timba it's absolutely priceless. I've never had an experience quite like
hearing the soloed bass track of Victoriano Nápoles, (probably the funkiest
living human being now that James Brown has moved on), while the camera zooms
in to his fingers. Quite amazing! Stay tuned for more news on the release date.
It will be available from LPM as an online download. New
Cuban Timba All Stars CD Coming
- Tomasito Cruz is in the final stages of releasing CTA's long-awaiting first
studio album. Their live album is still
available on LPM. Speaking
of Adalberto ... He's launched
a new site (for which we were proud to contribute some album fotos) at adalbertoalvarez.com. Frank
Rubio on Tour with Cubanismo
- Bassist Frank Rubio is one of the most under-appreciated figures of the timba
revolution. He played an important role in the rhythmic development of Paulito,
Bamboleo and Issac as well as having the honor of playing in the original Chucho
Valdés Quartet. Now he's touring Europe with Cubanismo but I can't find
a tour schedule. Please help if you can. There's
a lot more ... stay tuned.
[Kevin Moore]
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Vacation Time
- I honestly don't know where Kevin is these days. I have been on vacation in
Italy and am off again for the weekend tomorrow. I apologize for the lack of
updates. I'll be back on July 7th and will be able to update regularly again.
In the meantime I have just updated the Salsa
Mayor tour schedule. There are
several changes, so take a look at it to be sure you know where to catch them.
[Michelle] DJ
Melao Updates - Fortunately
Melao is still around to do some updates so keep checking Melao's
blog regularly. He has a link
to new video at YouTube taht I'm sure you'll find interesting as well as a new
poll. [Michelle]
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Pupy's New Singer
- DJ Melao has the news directly from Pupy himself. Click
here for more. [Michelle]
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Timba & Cubaton in Mexico
- If you live in the south western US you should know that Los
Van Van will be performing at Mama
Rumba at Plaza Loreto in Mexico City
on June 20 and 21st. Don't miss the chance to take a weekend in Mexico and catch
El Tren en vivo. Gente
D'Zona will also be in Mexico City performing reggaeton a lo cubano
at Mambo Café in front of the Wolrd Trade Center on
June 26. Manolín "El Médico de la Salsa"
will also perform at Mambo Café on July 3rd. [Michelle]
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Major Update to Tours Section
- In just a few days the summer tours start with Pupy
y Los Que Son Son playing their
first summer gig in Oslo on Friday. Just in the nick of time we now have their
full tour schedule. We also have all the dates for Maykel
Blanco y Salsa Mayor, Orquesta
Revé, NG
La Banda and Manolito
y Su Trabuco. So check the Tours
Section and plan your summer accordingly.
France and Italy seem to be the places to be this summer. [Michelle]
Monday, June 16, 2008
Tom Ehrlich Photos from Cachao Tribute
- On April 28 & 29 the John Santo Quintet
and Friend held a tribute to Israel "Cachao" López at Yoshi's in San
Fransisco.
Click here to see Tom's photos
from the event. [Michelle]
Sunday, June 15, 2008 En
Frequencia Updates - Duniel
has posted quite a few updates to En
Frequencia including a three CD
reviews: 24 Kilates by Los Ángeles de La Habana, Como gato
de angora by Michel Maza and Lo que tú querías by
Gardi. I recomend listening closely to La Habana se está mudando
by Los Ángeles...you'll see why. [Michelle]
Saturday, June 14, 2008 NEWSFLASH
- Mystery Solved Concerning Suprema Ley CD
- After talking with Maykel Blanco himself we can now resolve the confusion
and bring an end to the speculation about the CD Me olvidé quie era.
Maykel explained that the CD recently released by Envidia was recorded by Suprema
Ley in 1999 but never released to the market. He later recorded Ya llegaron
los cubanos with Suprema Ley and that was his first CD release. El
veterano, which was first recorded on Me olvidé quien era,
was the only song from that CD to be released on Ya llegaron los cubanos.
So we can tell the fans that this CD does not include any new recordings
but rather contains unreleased material from the Suprema Ley era. It should
not be confused with the upcoming CD by Salsa Mayor nor be considered representative
of Maykel's current work. Maykel tells
us that they are mixing the new Salsa Mayor CD now and it will be on the market
soon on the Planet Records label. He assures Salsa Mayor fans that the CD will
follow in the vein of Recoge y vete and the Anda pégate
demos we've heard so far. I've said
it before and I'll say it again with complete confidence. I think the new CD
by Salsa Mayor will be among the best releases of 2008, and considering all
the releases we have coming up this year, that's saying something! So have patience,
the new CD will be here soon or as they say in Anda pégate "no
te desesperaras, esperaras tranquilito que la máquina llegara".
[Michelle] What's
Up with the Recent Maykel Blanco Release!?!
- DJ
Melao has posted some information about the recent new CD released
by Maykel Blanco. It seems that this CD has caused some confusion among fans
so let me clarify a few important points. 1. First
of all note that it is Maykel Blanco y Suprema Ley,
even if it may be erroneously listed as Salsa Mayor at some Internet sites.
Suprema Ley is a defunct band. It does not exist anymore but was the precursor
to Salsa Mayor. Supreme Ley had a more traditional salsa style than Salsa Mayor.
When the group was in existence they recorded only one CD together: Ya Llegaron
Los Cubanos. I personally liked this CD but it's not the timba we know
and love from Salsa Mayor today. However, the Suprema Ley songs El veterano
and La discordia de las frutas from Ya Llegaron Los Cubanos
are part of the excellent potpourri on the Salsa Mayor Live, Desde La Casa
De la Música CD. When you compare you notice that the Salsa Mayor
versions are more to a timba fan's taste, i.e. the are timbafied versions of
the softer original versions found on the Suprema Ley CD. Pull out your Live,
Desde La Casa De La Música CD and check out the Potpurri
which features Pavel "La Figura" on El veterano and El Noro
on La discordia de las frutas and you'll see what I mean. 2. Me
olvidé quien era is a is a collection of previously recorded but
unreleased demos. That is to say that to my knowledge (although I am checking
to get confirmation), none of the songs are new and they represent earlier projects
in the style of Suprema Ley. This is the reason the CD says Suprema Ley. I personally
think the songs are danceable, but if you are expecting Salsa Mayor you won't
get what you expect. If you buy the CD think of it as a completely different
band. 3. Salsa
Mayor will be releasing their 2nd studio CD soon, probably titled Anda pégate,
but I don't know for sure. I don't know the date yet, but this is the one we
have been waiting for with songs such as Anda pégate, Marisela,
Adivina papá, Si le gusta repite, La balacera,
and Quítate que vengo volao. For reasons unknown to me, Maykel
decided not to include Ella dice on the new CD, although it's been
very popular as a demo. Keep an
eye out for the new Salsa Mayor CD and remember that Suprema Ley and Salsa Mayor
are not the same band. Maykel's style and arrangements have keep maturing
and I expect this to be reflected in Anda pégate. [Michelle] Danzón
está de moda en La Habana
- I just felt like mentioning that there seems to be a danzón trend in
Havana these days. 1.
Soneros All Stars new release La Timba Soy Yo has a very modern danzón
called Besos de miel sung by Mandy Cantero and while it's danzón
it's also timba, where a danzón normally breaks into a chachacha-like
montuno, Besos de miel turns to timba. I'll be posting a review of
the CD in the next few days so stay tuned. 2. Suprema
Ley Me olvidé quien era also has the danzón Como
el aire, which was originally recorded on the Salsa Mayor demo CD known
as Si Quieres Quiéreme. In the end when Recoge y vete
was released niether Como el aire nor Mi china Gladys was
on the "official release". [Update: we now know
that these two songs were recorded by Suprema Ley in 1999] 3. Pupy
y Los Que Son Son have also recorded a danzón for their upcoming album.
This will be a more traditional danzón with no vocals but some lovely
solos on piano, flute and violin. [Michelle]
Thursday, June 12, 2008
El Fenómeno Video Up at El Zorro's Site
- El
Zorro has filmed the first video
from his new CD Ay Como Me Sube. Ángel Bonne sings lead on this
"funky timba". The video was filmed in April 2008 on location at Playas
del Este from what I can see and directed by Arturo Santana. Click
here to watch the video.
[Michelle]
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Melao Update
-
DJ Melao
has uploaded video from TV in Miami where Vanessa Formell, when trying
to talk about her upcoming recording with Juan Formell, was forced to defend
her father and Los Van Van from accusations of communism. [Michelle]
Gabriel Updates
- I assume you
are all as heartbroken as I am that Gabriel has returned to Australia and we
have lost our almost-real-time link to what's happening in the capital of timba.
By way of compensation she will shortly be uploading interviews and video and
probably more pictures as well. Coming soon are interviews with Alexander Abreu
of Havana D'Primera and Aisar Hernandez of Orquesta Revé who gave her the latest
details about his solo project. Today she has a clip of Havana D'Primera at
Yemayá's Verse. [Michelle]
Tours Updates
- We are still
missing quite a lot of tour dates but will hopefully have them up at the end
of this week since the tours are beginning this month. Check the
Tours section
to find your favorites bands. If you know of any concert dates we are missing
please send an e-mail.
[Michelle]
Friday, May 31, 2008 Doing
Your Part To Restore Timba Tours in the United States
- Here's the bottom line folks. If Obama wins,
there will be timba tours. If McCain wins, there won't. End of story on that
one. Now - many people get their political information by searching the web,
so we need to ALL chip in and click on a few links
every day in order to make sure that the search engines display the truth about
John
McCain and dispel the ugly lies about Obama. Here's
your job: 1) Click
on this
link and then click on every link on that page. This is
not one of my crazy ideas. It's a proven technique championed by some of the
smartest political minds in the country. Do it now! [Kevin
Moore] Havana
Buzz New
Blog - Jen Paz,
the film-maker who brought us the Charanga Habanera documentary Popular,
now has a blog on timba.com: Havana
Buzz. Check it regularly! [Kevin
Moore]
Melao on a Roll
- Melao has added a significant amount of great video from Pupy's
new tour, including interviews with Pupy and his new singer Lily, concert
clips, and the latest chisme on personnel changes and the new CD. [Kevin
Moore]
Friday, May 30, 2008
Jannier Back with Pupy y Los Que Son Son
- Our woman in Havana,
Gabriel,
has confirmed that Jannier is indeed back with Pupy for the summer tour after
his stint with Havana D'Primera. The singer line-up for the summer tour is Mandy,
Lily and Jannier. I have still not heard who the new trumpet player is. The
band leaves in just over 2 weeks to begin their tour, but don't worry everything
is under control, or as Pupy might tell the fans tranquilo que yo controlo
. Click
here to see the current list of
concert dates, and check back because we will be adding more very soon.[Michelle]
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Dj Melao's Report from Pupy in Canada
- As we wait for the dust
to settle and for the replacements for Chocolate and Pepito to be selected,
DJ
Melao has posted a report from
the Canadian tour with quite a few videos. He has interviews, rehearsal, concert
footage and some "on the bus" clips as well. He has also updated his
media player with audio clips from Arrasando by Los Van Van as well as
two songs from Pupy y Los Que Son Son's new CD, No soy yo and Nadie
puede contra eso. Check out the clips because the release of Pupy's CD has
now been postponed by about two months, but Melao promises it will be "one
of the most explosive releases of the year".
War of Words?
-
In the past some of the best timba grew out of
rivalries between competing groups. Who can forget the
"Charanguerras" when La
Forever and La Habanera were constantly dissing one another in their lyrics or
the controversía between Michel Maza and Revé about the Uyuyuy coro?
It's been quite a while since we had a lyrics
war between any timba groups, but in 2008 things seem to be heating up a little.
I guess you can't call it a war yet, but the word on the street is that Pupy's
new song No soy yo is a reference to Maykel Blanco and all the
comparisons people are making between his style of piano playing and the sonido
of Salsa Mayor and Pupy y Los Que Son Son.
But Pupy isn't the only one
who is involved. Check out the lyrics to Azúcar Negra's excellent new single
La identidad and see if it seems to be a bit of friendly advice...to...well
you decide what you think it's all about. You can find it in their media player
at
MySpace. Time will tell if this will lead to any musical responses from Maykel. Or perhaps he will take the high road and simply continue barriendo caminos and respond by packing the concert venues on the upcoming European Tour. Either way I expect both Pupy's new CD and the new Salsa Mayor CD to be at the top of the 2008 releases. [Michelle]
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Canada Celebrates Pupy Pedroso Week - Pupy y Los Que Son Son kick off their tour of Canada with a concert tonight at Vieux Clocher in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Pupy y Los Que Son Son are a must-see group for any Cuban music fan. It is also one of those rare opportunities for timba fans in the US to actually enjoy the music of one of Cuba's legendary music figures live! To top it all off, the new CD by Pupy y Los Que Son Son will be released in conjunction with this tour, so don't miss your chance to get an autographed copy! Timba.com's DJ Melao will catch up with Los Que Son Son on the 23rd in Montreal and will follow the band for the remainder of their trip, providing the best timba tracks before and after the shows. In Toronto he will be working together with DJ Billy Bryans, who has declared it Pupy Pedroso Week in Canada. Yemaya's Verse Reports on Pupy - You can prepare for the concerts by reading Gabriel's report from Pupy's "Monster Jam" on the eve of the band's departure for Canada. The concert included performances by such guest artists as Alexander Abreu, Ángel Bonne and Tirso Duarte, who got into a major "controversía" with Mandy Cantero that just wouldn't come to an end.
Meanwhile in Another Part of North America...
-
Salsa
on the River-May 25, 2008 will feature live salsa as well as
3 DJs, one of whom is timbera DJ Reyna.
Tickets can be purchased in advance for $25.00 347-239-1485
www.LaFarraNY.com Pier 40 Houston & West Side Highway entrance 8:30pm.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Fresquecito Wins at Cubadisco 2008 - Elito Revé y su Charangón have won the Cubadisco award for Best Popular Dance Album 2008. Immediately on its release Fresquecito was hailed far and wide as one of the great Revé albums and as proof that the band under the leadership of Elito can maintain a leading position as one of Cuba's elite popular dance bands. The competition was tough this year as they faced La Charanga Habanera - El mundo se acabo Mañengo, Mamborama - Directamente al mambo, Taínos de Mayarí - Me mantengo and Suena Cubana - Mil razones. Congratulations to all the nominees and a special congratulations to Elito, musical director Aisar Hernandez, and all of the chamacos del charangón.[Michelle] Keep checking Yemayá's Verse - Gabriel continues her highly informative and entertaining daily posts from the heart the farandula habanera. She was on hand last night to see Elito Revé y Su Charangón on at La Tropical where the audience could celebrate the Cubadisco prize with the band. She says the Charangón will be performing with Manolito y Su Trabuco at Casa de la Música Galiano on Saturday.
Friday, May 16, 2008 Maraca & the New Collective US Tour - Maraca will be on tour in Europe this summer with Otra Visión and in September he will go to the US for a tour with The New Collective. Click here for all of Maraca's tour dates. Havana D'Primera European Tour - I have added a page for Havana D'Primera who will be doing their first European tour this summer. I expect we will be adding more dates soon. [Michelle]
Thursday, May 15, 2008 Updates from Melao - Kevin has disappeared into gearland again but Melao has been busy posting some interesting updates.
The birth of casino - Popular legend says that casino dancing was born in the 1950s and got it's name from Casino Deportivo, but Melao has found some vintage film of a couple dancing in 1938. Could this prove that casino has been around much longer than tradition claims? Or are they just dancing a very fast son? You decide! Carlos Camilo Video - Melao also has video of Carlos Camilo singing Bola de Nieve's Vete de mí. Miami Libre - And Melao has the latest on the upcoming event Miami Libre from July 25 - August 17, that will feature Tiempo Libre, cabaret and more.
Monday, May 12, 2008 Taking
No Prisoners! Chalo y su Aché in SF - Wow - I can't believe it's been almost 8 years since San Francisco stopped having 100+ timba shows a year, and I can't believe how good the real stuff sounds live. Chalo is pure timba dura - no reguetón, no salsa romántica, no chachachá, no Latin jazz, no "salsita", no R&B torch songs ... just throbbing, pounding, heart-stopping timba. After god knows how many nights in a row of sitting in front of my computer reverse engineering the "timba gears" of Revé, Issac, et al, it was a revelation to sit by the side of the stage and watch it happen in front of my eyes as Chalo threw out hand signal after hand signal, driving his world class rhythm section like a Lamborghini. Bassist Sawa Pérez and drummer Geners López were the real deal - they made me feel like I was back at La Tropical or La Cecilia. More like this please! There were also guest performances from Bay Area soneros Fito Reinoso and Erik Barbería and Walt Digz played several perfectly paced DJ sets full of interesting new tracks that I didn't even know existed, including Riki Ricón's new band, Ritmo Moderno from Camagüey. Speaking of the real thing ... Our plucky Australian reporter - lucky Tasmanian devil that she is - is once again in Havana - at least her 9th or 10th trip since the last time I went! She's already seen Salsa Mayor twice, Pupy twice, Manolito, Havana d'Primera and quite a bit more. Pull up a chair, get a cup of coffee, click here, and drown yourself in jealousy. New Releases from Michel, Mandy and Los Ángeles ... And Melao says the latter have added a timba.com reference to one of their songs! (Of course he didn't say what they said!). I've got mine on order. Melao also has extensive reports on LVV and Pupy. Michelle on the European Dance Scene ... and she's working on a top-secret but extremely exciting new series ... stay tuned.
Monday, May 5, 2008 Chalo y
Su Aché Friday Night in SF Friday, May 9 @ Jelly's in San Francisco - L.A.'s premier timba band, Chalo y su Ache, featuring Gonzalo Chomat and DJ Walt Digz for a show Friday night at San Francisco's Jelly's Cafe. Wednesday,
April 30, 2008 The misadventures of Gabriel - Gab seems to be posting regularly now. She ran into problems trying to get to a Pupy y los que son son concert. The lessons we can learn from her: always buy a phone card the day you arrive and leave your friends to their own devices. DJ Melao Updates - Speaking of Pupy y los que son son, Melao will soon be in Canada DJing at the los que son son concerts. Check his blog for his summer DJing plans as well as some of his own exclusive video of Los Van Van from Cubamemucho in Munich. Carlos Manuel at S.O.B.s - Carlos Manuel will play Friday May 2nd at S.O.B.s, shows at 8pm and 10pm. [Michelle] Saturday,
April 26, 2008 Gabriel in Havana - Kevin is out of town for a few days so I am hijacking his blog to remind everyone that Gabriel Wilder arrives in Havana today for another multiweek visit. Each year I look forward to her trip with an equal mix of excitement and envy. She will be posting as often as she can from the heart of la farandula habanera at her blog Yemaya's Verse. She will be there throughout Cubadisco as will timba photographer Cristian Muñoz. I am looking forward to her candid reports and Cristian's great pictures. Klímax 13 years and a new CD - Giraldo Piloto and his band have celebrated their April anniversary, demonstrating yet again why April is International Timba Month. Their new CD has been recorded and will be released by Bis Music in May. For more information, see me. [Michelle] Thursday,
April 17, 2008 QBA
Friday Night in SF Tomorrow Night at Café Cócomo - The Bay Area's leading timba band, QBA, will team up with hiphop timberos Bayonics and DJ Walt Digz for a show Friday night at San Francisco's Café Cócomo. Click here for a flyer with more info. Tom Ehrlich's QBA Photos -- Here's a new gallery of Tom Ehrlich photos from a great QBA concert I attended at Moe's Alley in Santa Cruz last week. Also, don't forget the ongoing exhibit featuring photos, by Tom, Peter Maiden, Walter Wagner, and Andy Nozaka at the Martin Luther King Library in downtown San Jose. I'll be there next Tuesday night at 7:00 to hear guest lecturer John Santos. Salsa Mayor to Europe -- See Michelle. MIchel Calvo in Miami -- See Melao. And last but not least ... Please check Michelle and Melao every day because I've had to cut back on posting while I research Volume II of my online book series. Don't worry - I'll be back soon with more timba madness than you'll be able to bear - I'm doing an exhaustive survey of every timba album since 1990. Major revelation so far: there were quite a few really good ones! Saturday,
April 5, 2008 Dandy Rodríguez at Yoshi's this
Weekend New Tom Ehrlich Photos - Click here for a gallery from Friday's Latin Giants of Jazz show at Yoshi's. You can catch them tonight and tomorrow night. Don't miss this chance to catch several true legends of Latin music. The gallery is only half finished and will be expanding over the next few days, so keep checking back. April is International Timba Month! -- see Michelle. Tonight! El Pikete Featuring Manolín and Mr. Haka at Rice & Beans in Miami -- A live DVD will be filmed. Melao and DJ Willy will be playing tunes between sets. Click here for more details. Tonight! Tough Choice on the West Coast -- I was at Yoshi's the Latin Giants of Jazz last night so tonight I'll be on hand to hear QBA play original timba in Santa Cruz at Moe's Alley. The Latin Giants continue at Yoshi's tonight and tomorrow night. Last night's show was incredible -- it's old school classic New York mambo a lo Tito Puente and Tito Rodríguez with a world class 13-piece horn section featuring Jimmy Bosch, Pete Miranda and the best of NY's young turks. In the rhythm section, Sonny Bravo was brilliant and Dandy Rodríguez is simply without peer. Photos from Tom Ehrlich coming soon. Tuesday,
April 1, 2008 Amazing Ongoing Photo Exhibit in San Jose -- Tom Ehrlich, Peter Maiden, Walter Wagner, and Andy Nozaka have collaborated on a photo show at the Martin Luther King Library in downtown San Jose. It's open every day, and there's a guest lecturer every Tuesday night at 7:00. Among others, John Santos is on the upcoming calendar. Sue Taylor was at the opening and will be submitting a photo report soon. Braily's CD Release Party -- Click here for info and upcoming television appearances. Sonny Bravo & Dandy Rodríguez in Oakland! -- From Thursday through Sunday, the Latin Giants of Jazz will be at Yoshi's in Oakland. This is members of Tito Puente's band and features at least two must-see giants of Latin music: pianist Sonny Bravo, and John "Dandy" Rodríguez, one of the great bongoseros of all-time, with a youtube cult following that rivals that of Obama Girl. The show is billed as "jazz" but there will be plenty of salsa as phenomenal singer Frankie Vásquez will also be on hand. QBA in Santa Cruz -- California's leading timba band, Jesús Díaz and QBA, will be at Moe's Alley on Saturday night. Volume II -- Sorry I've been absent lately - I'm deeply embroiled in researching Volume II. Ned Sublette Lecture -- Next Tuesday in SF at Bird & Beckett Books and Records at 653 Chenery St. More info coming soon. Friday,
March 21, 2008 Time Flies -- Having finally finished the world's first (I think) online audio book about music, I've been deeply embroiled in researching and writing Volume II and I'll tell you -- it's extremely exciting to hear the early history of timba after spending a year listening to almost nothing but the 2 decades leading up to it. While I get the first chapters ready, I'll be reposting just the audio parts of The Roots of Timba in the form of playlists, so you can "fast-forward" through the 20 years leading up to the timba era. To read along with the chapters covered by the audio collage, start here. Roots
of Timba Flashback - 1969 to 1973 Today's collage takes us from 1969 to 1973. Clicking the link beneath the picture should open Windows Media Player or iTunes or whatever you have and play a rapid-fire series of clips from the best parts of the best songs of the years in question. Let me know if it works on your system. Havana Update from Yemayá's Verse -- Back online after awhile with the latest chisme from Duñesky Barreto, who played congas for years with Bamboleo before moving over to Pupy y Los Que Son Son. Changes to Pupy's Canada Tour -- Bamboleo is also going to the saner region of North America. See Michelle. Carlos Manuel -- El malo cantidad is back and Melao has the latest. Also, Vanessa Formell and Cubamemucho. Friday,
March 14, 2008 Cuba in Mexico -- Now that it's so difficult for Americans to travel to Cuba, there's a new study program that meets in Mexico where students can study with the Cuban masters. This June 16th, in Morelia, Michoacan, you can study with: Roberto
Vizcaíno, congas and timbales For more info click here. Monday,
March 10, 2008 Carlos
del Pino Tom Ehrlich Interviews the legendary bassist -- Carlos del Pino was a founding member of Opus 13 and played with them until 1990. He's been in the US for 8 years and New York City for 5. Sunday,
March 9, 2008 Meanwhile ... Back in the Present -- The old familiar game of "musical chairs" has been raging in Havana with major personnel changes in many of the major bands, including, among others, Revé y su Charangón, Charanga Habanera, Pupy y Los Que Son Son, Manolito y su Trabuco, and Salsa Mayor. Michelle gives us a complete rundown on the current state of affairs, plus news on CDs, concerts, and special projects, in her lengthy post: "Ch ch ch changes". Saturday,
March 8, 2008 Fin
de Cuento! The Roots of Timba concludes with LVV's "perfect album" -- In terms of balance, flow, unique personality, uniformly high quality, and raw creativity, it's hard to imagine a more perfect album than Crónicas, the final chapter in The Roots of Timba. I'll have some interesting audio suprises in store over the next few days while I begin work on Volume II which will explain the inner working of timba rhythm sections before we pick up our history where we left off. Friday,
March 7, 2008 El Pikete este viernes en Rice & Beans - En frecuencia tiene todos los detalles. Thursday,
March 6, 2008 Roots
of Timba: 2 Chapters to Go 1989: Aliamén Celebrates their 25th Anniversary ... with references to everything from Manolito to Chaka Khan ... click here. Pupy in Canada - Coming soon ... Melao has the scoop. Speaking of Aliamén - Here's a nice interview with Tony Alba, the founding timbalero of Aliamén who moved to LA in about 1970. Tuesday,
March 4, 2008 Welcoming a new Photographer - Eli Silva - Timba fans already know Eli as "El Ciclón", a well-known Miami trumpeter. He also does photography and will be working with Melao to document the local scene. Click here for his section. Monday,
March 3, 2008 Crisis in Cuba Thanks to Martin Karakas for translating this Pedro de la Hoz interview with Elito Revé (español también). In a much more subtle way, it re-sounds the alarm set off by Formell (español) that the Cuban music scene is going through a major crisis. Reading between the lines, the political and economic situation in the 90s resulted in the Cuban government creating an ideal environment for music to thrive. Now, tragically, the government seems to be going out of its way to interfere with musicians and their ability to create new music and make a living. The result is that talented musicians are leaving the island in droves and those who stay have fewer and fewer places to play. Here's the money quote from the Elito interview:
Tracks & Singers of New LVV album - plus all the dance news that's fit to print -- plus amazing video of Pupy, Lazarito and Manolito, side by side on three pianos. Melao has been busy! The
End of an Era 1989: Ritmo Oriental -- I've run out of superlatives -- Will someone please send me a care package of adjectives? I've used, re-used, over-used and abused all the ones I know: epic, astounding, brilliant, incredible, dumbfounding, breathtaking, exhilarating ... Just as the hour arrives to write the epilog for one of the greatest bands of all time, my well has run dry, so I'll just have to give you this list of audio links and let you pen your own lofty prose: Yo
bailo de todo Monday,
March 3, 2008 'Clon knows fotos -- Melao on the great trumpeter El Ciclón. Cerrando el Ciclo
Timba.com Comes Full Circle -- Way back in 2001, timba.com set out on the mission of documenting the history and discography of its chosen genre with a lengthy section on the group often known as "the first timba band": NG La Banda. To set the stage we began with a review of No te compliques, the last album El Tosco made before retiring the band name "Grupo Nueva Generación". More recently we began the "Roots of Timba" project, beginning with Arsenio Rodríguez in 1940, continuing to the songo era of the 70s and most recently chronicling the "countdown" of the electic 80s. With today's excerpt, we finally return to where we began 7 years ago. As I started to review this album, I suddenly realized that I'd already written the review in 2001, so all I had to do was add the streaming audio. No te compliques was not the most earth-shaking album ever made. No one saw fit to reissue it on CD and in fact, we've never even found a photo of the vinyl LP. The only known evidence of its existence is the EGREM cassette shown above. The first NG La Banda album? -- Not really. The artist is listed as "Grupo Nueva Generación", and there are none of the rhythm section innovations that we normally associate with timba. Even after all of this "roots of timba" research, I would still argue that the first "timba album" was NG's En la calle, recorded in December of 1989 and released in early 1990. That said, No te compliques was Tosco's first recording with Tony Calá, Issac and Piloto, and contains, in one of its coros, the first use of the phrase "NG La Banda". (The track has never been released, so if you like it, write EGREM). Beginnings and Endings -- If No te compliques wasn't quite the beginning of the timba era, the departure of Tony Calá marked the end of the second great style period of Ritmo Oriental while the departures of Tosco, El Greco, Averhoff and Velazco marked the end of the second great incarnation of Irakere. Both bands have continued to this day but it was in 1988 that they relinquished their roles as leading-edge innovators. Now what? -- Our timba countdown still has 5 albums to go before we arrive at ... (drum roll, please) ... En la calle. That will mark the end of Volume I: The Roots of Timba. Volume II, (or so the best-laid plan goes), will introduce the building blocks of Cuban rhythms and Volume III will explain how they were reassembled in the 90s -- answering, once and for all, the age-old question "What is Timba?". Then we'll to return to our chronology and battle our way back to the present in Volume IV. By the time we get there we just may find that the next great Cuban genre has already risen up from the ashes of reguetón, the struggling Havana scene of the late 00s, and the continually heartbreaking disaster that we call Miami, FL. Sunday,
March 2, 2008 The
Roots of Timba - Rumbavana 1988 - Another Lost Masterwork -- Joseíto González, who died way too young in 1995, was one of the great Cuban pianists and arrangers, following in the footsteps of the great Lilí Martínez. After this great album (never reissued on CD), he spent the last years of his career with Orquesta Riverside. Click here. Lázaro Maya with Charanga Habanera -- Melao has the latest on the ex-Salsa Mayor singer's new gig. Tanya with Charanga Habanera -- Mr. Bryans has the video. I remain entirely unconvinced on both, but I've never seen Tanya live and haven't seen CH since 2001 (thanks, George). Saturday,
March 1, 2008
Keep the photos and track lists coming folks! Here are just a few of the vinyl albums we're desperately seeking: Opus 13: Reclamo tu cuerpo; NG La Banda: En la calle otra vez; Maravillas de Florida: El agua coge su nivel; Orquesta 440: Ven sígueme. We could also use some better photos of today's feature album ... The
Roots of Timba - 1988: Fin de semana Musical Chairs -- We just finished talking about Héctor Valentín's great singing on Revé's 1988 album - now he's with Adalberto! Meanwhile, his compay Alfonsito had departed for Dan Den and Tony Calá was about to join up with El Tosco. Friday,
February 29, 2008 Almost
30 Years with Adalberto Alvarez Actually he'd been writing and arranging well before that, but 1979 marked AA's debut as a bandleader with Son 14. Thanks to Ali Alvarez and Adalberto himself for helping us fill in the missing information on our AA - Son14 Discography page. You can now find the composer, singer, and arranger for almost every song since 1979! And please don't forget to check out our other discographies in progess and help us complete them with information and digital photos! Mayito on Fire! -- Michelle files this rave review from the Los Van Van Stockholm concert. I watched some of the video she plans to post and I've never seen Mayito dance like that! If you're in Europe, don't even think of missing this tour! Tired
of Waiting for the New Pupy Album? Here's an AUDIO CLIP -- Actually, that's the first track from Los Van Van's 1988 album, El negro no tiene na', but listen to it again. It's amazing how many great songs Pupy wrote and arranged on albums that most timba fans have never heard! Thursday,
February 28, 2008 1986-1987-1988:
The Trilogy8 1988: Revé's Juan Carlos Alfonso Era -- Today we cover Revé's final LP before Alfonso left to form Dan Den. Taken as a trilogy it's an astounding body of work. You can find many of the tracks on compilation CDs, but there's no excuse for this not being a lovingly-packaged box set, with the contents of De nuevo thrown in as bonus tracks. Please write EGREM and ask them to do justice this wonderful part of Cuban music history! The Alaskan Timba Dance Cruise -- Last chance to temblequearse on the North Pole before it melts! And with a very impressive dance faculty - check it out. Wednesday,
February 27, 2008 Google
Maps Does Havana! If only the cabbies had this -- As you look forward to 2009 you can start learning where all the good clubs are. Tuesday,
February 26, 2008 Debut of a new Charanguero? -- That's the rumor - see Melao for details. The
Roots of Timba: 19888 1988! -- This is the kind of lost gem that makes this "roots of timba" project so rewarding. We introduced Orquesta 440 way back in 1983 (seems like years ago), but the 1988 version this group was something else entirely. We've found all sorts of precedents for the technical aspects of timba but la 440's contribution to timba was more in the flavor department. See if you agree. More Van Van News from Michelle? -- stay tuned. Bamboleo in Canada? -- That's how I read this cryptic Mr. Bryans entry. Also, a new album from a famous ex-Bambolera. Haila Haila Haila - Yemayá's Verse has more on the release of Haila's Tal como soy, and still more (with video), and even a bit more. My Arsenio Box Came! -- Wow ... two long booklets, the whole Ayala database in chronological order, and quite a few drop-dead masterpieces that not even Orlando had ever heard. USA -- Europe. Monday,
February 25, 2008 It was 15 years ago today ... that Manolito Simonet left Los Maravillas de Florida to form Manolito y su Trabuco. Michelle has more. The
Roots of Timba: 1987 "What's The Difference Between Salsa and Timba (and Songo)?" -- We attempt to answer the age-old question as our chapter on Los Van Van's Al son del Caribe moves on to the biggest hit of 1987 - La titimanía. Juan Ceruto recorded a timba version on Gracias Formell in 1997 and Issac gave it the salsa treatment in on 2005's Prohibido. All three versions are great and the comparison is very interesting. Sunday,
February 24, 2008 The
Roots of Timba: 1987 The LVV - Rubén Blades Connection -- The New York salsa star covered LVV's Muévete for his 1987. In today's excerpt, Formell reciprocates. New
Ehrlich Photos - Pellejo Seco Northern California Son with a Twist -- Tom Ehrlich was on hand for Pellejo Seco's well-attended show Thursday night and filed this photo report. For more on this unique group, here's their website. Best Album of 1987 ... the envelope please -- Don't ask me to choose. I can narrow it down to three: Ritmo
Oriental: Guarachando What's The Difference Between Salsa, Songo and Timba? -- We try to answer the age-old question tomorrow as our continuing review of Al son del Caribe continues on to its biggest hit, La titimanía, which we'll compare to the Gracias Formell version and Issac's 2005 salsa version from Prohibido. Friday,
February 22, 2008 En frecuencia -- Duniel y Juan Tomás han regresado con noticias sobre el nuevo disco de Issac, el concierto de El Pikete y la carrera de Leonid Torres después de la CH. Havana D'Primera Video! -- Wow -- this is one of the best combinations of great musicians since Team Cuba. Click here for live video - also see Melao for more info. Titimanía-manía -- No ... I'm not having a mid-life crisis, but I have become completely obsessed with the three great versions of this song by Los Van Van, Juan Ceruto and Issac - hence the brief delay in The Roots of Timba - but it'll be back soon with a long chapter on this classic and the rest of LVV's 1987 LP, Al son del Caribe. Thursday,
February 21, 2008 'Rack & Raúl -- What if there were no embargo, Cuba had a healthy economy, everyone in Cuba had DSL, and Cuban musicians could come and go as they pleased? I'm not predicting that this will happen, but the chances that it might happen have increased by several orders of magnitude in few days. If it did happen, what sort of impact do you suppose it would have on the creative output of all our favorite groups? Timba in NYC Updates -- click here. Wednesday,
February 20, 2008 The Roots of the Roots: Pellejo Seco in Santa Cruz Thursday Night -- If you're in the mood for some authentic son, played by some of the top transplanted Cuban musicians in the Bay Area, tomorrow, head to Moe's Alley to hear Pellejo Seco on Thursday the 20th. See you there! Monday,
February 18, 2008 The
Roots of Timba: 1987 Opus 13: Merengue a quilo -- Before Paulito, Joaquín Betancourt and Juan Ceruto put together a Irakere-calibre band of virtuosos to play arrangements that were at least as terrifying as NG's metales de terror. The band included Angá on congas, Jacqueline Castellanos, a great drummer named Betún, Emilio Morales on piano and a brilliant bassist, Carlos del Pino, who's now in New York. We're hoping Tom can track him down on his next trip. Click here for rare vinyl audio excerpts of this pre-timba classic. The Politics of Music -- Looks like we're in for a ride on The Straight Jacket Express. Why couldn't they have nominated that other Republican from Arizona? And in this corner ... Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama Tiempo Libre -- Melao has a link to an article by noted music journalist Jordan Levin on Miami Libre. Sunday,
February 17, 2008 New
Ehrlich Photos III - Yosvany Terry Tom Ehrlich checks in with the last of his New York series - Yosvany Terry, son of Eladio Terry, a key writer and player in Los Maravillas de Florida. Saturday,
February 16, 2008 Havana
D'Primera Yikes! -- This is not just another new band. Havana D'Primera is most impressive all-star band since Team Cuba. We've been raving about leader/singer/trumpeter Alexander Abreu for years. The horn section, between them, has recorded on at least a couple hundred important CDs. Carlos Alvarez and Amaury Pérez, both Klímax alumni, are probably the most respected trombonists in Cuba and Alexander is definitely the top trumpeter. The pianist is the great Rolando Luna (Paulito & Issac). The drummer, Rodney Barreto, also played with Issac for several years. The conguero, El Toro, played with Paulito before becoming a founding member of Pupy y Los Que Son Son. Bassist Cristóbal Verdecia has been with Paulito since 1999. Enrique Pérez was Team Cuba's corista and has spent years with Manolín and later Issac. Rogelio Nápoles played guitar with Opus 13 and Paulito ... As I said ... YIKES! The
Roots of Timba: 1987 La explosión del momento -- This is the title of the most widely available compilation of Elio Revé Sr.'s music of the 80s, but it draws its name from an absolutely brilliant 1987 vinyl LP from EGREM with several tracks that never made it to CD. Manolito already had a surprising portion of his tumbao pega'o in his early work with Maravillas de Florida as did Tony Calá in Ritmo Oriental, but Dan Den fans will be bowled over with Juan Carlos Alfonso's masterful early arrangements with Revé, full of so many exquisite details that I had to slow the pace of our "countdown to timba" to even begin to do them justice. Make sure to listen to the audio examples on this one! We also cover Revé's other 1987 release, De nuevo. Next will be Opus 13's Merengue y quilo and Los Van Van's Al son del caribe, then it's on to 1988. Stay tuned. Thursday,
February 14, 2008 The
Pikete CD! When it Rains, It Pours! -- Another album I've been desperately awaiting. Last September, when El Pikete was in Oakland for this gig, they did this recording session -- recording an entire album - live in a rented rehearsal studio -- with no overdubs -- straight to tape. It was quite amazing and it's finally out. This is the real, raw timba -- no compromises. Here are some reviews of individual songs -- Seco y guardao and Este es mi tumbao (the audio links are from earlier demos, not the new album - the new versions are longer and better). Next ... there will be a series of educational products - videos of this album being recorded with closeups on the piano, bass and congas. So if you're a timba student, start getting used to this album as it will be "the curriculum" for a lot of incredible educational breakthroughs in learning to play and understand timba. New
Ehrlich Photos I - CoCoMaMa CocoMaMa is an all-woman salsa/Latin jazz group from New York. Shown here is flautist Andrea Brachfeld, who tore it up at Yoshi's when she sat in with Maraca last year. New
Ehrlich Photos II - Chembo Corniel Chembo Corniel is one of New York's top congueros. Tom caught up with him and Grupo Chaworó at the Nuyorican Poets Café. Wednesday,
February 13, 2008 The
Arsenio Box Set! Ya llegó!! Por Fin!!! -- It was supposed to be out for Christmas ... Christmas 2006! Well, it's out now. This is the long-awaited definitive 6-CD boxset from Tumbao Cuban Classics, by far the best reissuer of early Cuban music. It also comes with two long bilingual booklets including one by the author of Arsenio Rodriguez and the Transnational Flows of Latin Popular Music, David F. García. If you're in the US, it's cheaper to buy the boxset at amazon. If you're in Europe, it's probably quite a bit cheaper to buy it straight from the Tumbao Cuban Classics' website, which is worth visiting anyway for the full track list and lots of nice photos of the luxurious packages. Neither descarga nor prodland has listed it at this point. If you don't know much about Arsenio or why this is so exciting or just want to hear some excerpts while you wait for your package to arrive, here's our Arsenio page. Every song we mention is included in this boxset, and much more! Tuesday,
February 12, 2008 MIchelle
Interviews Manolito Simonet -- Twenty-nine questions covering everything from El Indio's departure to upcoming projects to some geeky questions about orchestration. Check it out! Global Cuba Fest -- See Melao. Melao will also be on the Alaskan timba cruise (see banner ad above). Saturday,
February 9, 2008 Vintage Van Van Video -- Yemayá just posted this great collage of LVV from 1974 to 1987, including one song that's not on any album. And here's another great one from 1984 that ties in perfectly with our Roots of Timba series. The
Roots of Timba: 1987 Cántalo pero baílalo -- Every timba singer quotes it ... here's where it came from. The rest of the song is also quite great, with all sorts of interesting harmonies and conga rhythms. Friday,
February 8, 2008 The
Roots of Timba: 1987 Tony Tony Tony -- In the 1980s, Tony Calá was truly godlike. Even hardcore fans of the early NG La Banda will be taken aback by the flawless ease and endless inspiration of his recordings with Ritmo Oriental. Michel Maza fans will also find some interesting background information on his latest album in today's excerpt, and for clave geeks we have perhaps the ultimate example of "clave license". Click here for the conclusion of Ritmo Oriental final album with Tony Calá: 1987's Guarachando. Thursday,
February 7, 2008 El
Pikete in NY Tomorrow The
Roots of Timba: 1987 Ritmo Oriental's Guarachando -- The last LP with Tony Calá was a great one and will take a couple days to cover. Click here for one of the greatest songs of the decade: Azúcar a granel. Manolito News and Maraca Concert Report -- see Michelle. Palo -- It's a Miami folkloric-influenced group featuring Mipa Cuesta. See Melao. Wednesday,
February 6, 2008 1986:
Manolito on Fire Unearthing an Incredible Maravillas LP -- Thanks to LA-based drummer Victor Barrientos for discovering this gem -- a shocking seven years before the first Trabuco album, giving new meaning to the idea of having one's tumbao pega'o. Click here for more audio examples. And please write EGREM so we can all get copies on CD. Tuesday,
February 5, 2008 1986:
Abriendo el ciclo A Twinkle in El Tosco's Eye -- The year was 1986. Lionel Ritchie topped the Yuma hit parade. The weak grounder that went through Bill Buckner's legs prolonged The Curse of the Bambino for another 20 years. The space shuttle Challenger exploded minutes after takeoff. The nuclear reactor at Chernobyl melted down. The whole world was moving radically to the right, with the Soviet Union about to plunge into capitalism even as Ronald Reagan's puppeteers methodically infected the American middle class with the cancer that's now metastasizing before our eyes. And in Cuba, the band played on. El Tosco and the rest of the future "metales de terror", without giving up their day gigs with Irakere, had already produced two albums under their new name: "Nueva Generación". But these had been jazz albums -- much farther from timba than the rucu-rucu the same musicians were playing with Irakere. In 1986, with Abriendo el ciclo, El Tosco began to experiment with vocal music -- most likely for the same pragmatic reasons that inspired his boss Chucho some 15 years earlier -- but these new experiments didn't produce another Bacalao con pan ... not by a long shot. Nothing had really changed ... but the pieces were quietly falling into place. Monday,
February 4, 2008 Rest
in Peace Tata Güines One of the most important congueros in history passed away today in Cuba. Here he is playing with Angá, another tragic loss of the last year. The
Roots of Timba: 1986 1986: Los Van Van's Eso que anda ... and a discussion of synthesizers in Cuban music - click here. Tomorrow: before it was "NG" La Banda, it was Nueva Generación. Also, note that the Discography pages are being updated regularly but still have a lot of missing photos and information. Thanks to everyone who's helped but there's more work to be done!! If you can add anything -- the names of lead singers, por ejemplo -- please send them in, and if you have any of the missing vinyl, please send photos. As long as all 4 corners are visible it doesn't matter how bad the digital photo is - I can fix it up. And, if you haven't done so recently, please write EGREM! The Roots of Marilú -- I think Mr. Bryans has a point here, but the Youtube guy has it misspelled - it's "Mersey". Also, Billy has some interesting takes on the Formell interview -- everyone always speculates about what will happen to Cuban music when the embargo is finally lifted, but what if there had never been an embargo and the Cuban music that was dominating the US scene in the 50s had continued? And if this sort of thing interests you, here's a book you really need to read. Sunday,
February 3, 2008 Van Van, N'Talla, Global Cuban Festival -- see Melao. The
Roots of Timba: 1986 1986: Elio Revé's Rumberos latinoamericanos -- This was the album where Juan Carlos Alfonso, future founder of Dan Den, joined Revé as pianist and musical director and it's one of the best of the 80s. It also features the arrival Valentín, Alfonsito and El Padrino -- perhaps the best 1-2-3 punch prior to Michel, Sombrilla and Lozada. Click here to read and hear more. Tomorrow: Los Van Van - Eso que anda. Saturday,
February 2, 2008 The
Roots of Timba: 1986 1986 Begins! -- We continue our inexorable march towards the dawn of timba with Adalberto's second album. It's so interesting to go through all this classic music in the order it was released and to watch all the pieces falling into place. Tomorrow, Juan Carlos Alfonso, the future founder of Dan Den, joins up with Revé. Friday,
February 1, 2008 The
Roots of Timba: 1985 1985 -- La Habana sí -- This was a particularly great Van Van album. Pupy fans will recognize the original version of the title track of his recent album El buenagente, and everyone will recognize the classic Se muere la tía that everyone constantly quotes. Also an interesting new approach to linking clave to the basic dance step. Tomorrow ... 1986! If only I could make it be January 2009 so easily! Thursday,
January 31, 2008 Saturday:
Peter Maiden Peter Maiden Photography Exhibit Begins Saturday -- If you're in Northern California, check out Peter's latest show in Santa Cruz. Details and directions.
Manolito's New Album Coming Soon -- See Melao. Also Oscar d'León and El Pikete's upcoming gig at Bongo's. The
Roots of Timba: 1985 1985 -- Déjà vu -- The Opus 13 chapter is now back, in the right place, plus Irakere's Quince minutos. There are also some new pictures, fixed typos, and additional info in the earlier parts of the countdown. Does anyone know how to make a link to a playlist? I'm working on this idea -- "20 years in 20 minutes" -- a collage of short clips that zooms from 1969 to the "dawn of timba". Tomorrow we conclude 1985 with an amazing Van Van album. Wednesday,
January 30, 2008 Revé Wins an Award -- see Michelle, who also interviewed Manolito today. Stay tuned. The
Roots of Timba: 1985 1985 -- Estreno de Adalberto -- Adalberto Alvarez breaks away from Son 14, snatches Félix Baloy from Revé, adds timbales to the conjunto format in the person of Calixto Oviedo, and forms a new group that's still going strong 23 years later. Click here for the debut album of Adalberto y su Son. Tuesday,
January 29, 2008 The
Roots of Timba: 1985 1985 -- A la derecha ... a la izquierda ... en los ojos ... arriba ... en el pecho ... pa'lante ... While everyone else was experimenting, Ritmo Oriental created a new and fully mature style in 1974 and waited for everyone else to catch up. They're still waiting! In 1985, they released their sixth consecutive masterpiece, featuring more of Tony Calá's best songwriting. Yemayá at Paulito's 15th Anniversary Concert -- (with video) -- click here. Entrevista con Aisar de Revé -- click here -- Aisar Hernández is the latest in a long line of brilliant Revé directors that includes Juan Formell, Ignacio Herrera, Juan Carlos Alfonso and Tony Gómez, and he's living up to the challenge, producing one of the best albums of the 2000s in Fresquecito. As Formell explains in his recent interview, Cuban music is in danger, with many non-musical factors conspiring to disrupt the delicate chemistry that's resulted in such an inordinate amount of brilliant music coming out of Havana over the last century. If that chemistry is going to survive it will be due to musicians like Aisar Hernández. Here he is in his own words. Timba In NY Updates -- Shabi's back with the latest on the Big Apple. The
Roots of Timba: 1985 1985 -- ¡Ay mamá esto se ha puesto caliente! -- Cándido Fabré on fire! And a huge influence on Pupy's singers, among others. Monday,
January 28, 2008 The
Roots of Timba: 1985 1985 -- Rucu rucu a Santa Clara -- Chucho Valdés says Irakere invented timba. Tosco says it was NG. Calzado says it was CH. Melao says he did it. And it's certainly hard to imagine timba without the innovations of Formell, Changuito and Pupy ... or La Ritmo ... or Arsenio Rodríguez for that matter. But today, we make the case for Irakere. Sunday,
January 27, 2008 Ay mamá! -- Go HERE and either watch the whole thing or fast-forward to 5:00. FANTASTIC
NEW FORMELL INTERVIEW! Another really fascinating Formell interview - this time from Juventud Rebelde with a brilliant translation by Martin Karakas. Juan Formell, in addition to his musical accomplishments, is the smartest, most articulate, most honest and most forthcoming interviewee in Cuban music. He outdoes himself here - telling it like it is on a wide range of sensitive and important subjects. Y no olvides revisar el sitio entero de Juventud Rebelde. Saturday,
January 26, 2008 Audio Clips of Manolito's New Singer! -- Michelle has a concert report with audio from a recent concert at Casa de la Música with El Noro replacing El Indio. I have a new nickname for El Noro - "el camaleón" ... or maybe "el zelig"! If you check him out with Salsa Mayor, he sounds nothing like El Indio - but his versions of Marcando la distancia and El diablo colora'o are amazing fascimiles. Hopefully Manolito will give him a song of his own soon. Another Formell Interview Coming from Havana -- stay tuned. Two excellent Manolito interviews -- These are in Spanish and they're not new, but they contain a lot of interesting information about his early career with Los Maravillas de Florida. Click here. Straightening out the Timeline -- I've re-posted 1984, fixing some errors in the Van Van album and removing Opus 13, which will be added in 1985 coming very soon. Xavier Milli Joins El Pikete -- See Melao, and make sure you see El Pikete at SOBs in New York on Feb. 8th!
Bobby Sanabria -- Tom's NY photo series continues with legendary percussionist, bandleader and educator Bobby Sanabria. Click here for more. Thursday,
January 24, 2008 Countdown Breakdown! -- I've realized that my timeline is messed up, so I'm temporarily winding the hands of time back to 1983. Any experts on Adalberto, please write in!! (later note: this got moved to 1985 - check back soon) The
Roots of Paulito: 1984 1984: Opus 13 -- Five years before PFG joined up, Betancourt, Ceruto, Angá and Emilo Morales were already developing some of the underlying musical concepts at the heart of the great Élite bands of the 90s. Wednesday,
January 23, 2008 The
Roots of Timba: 1984 Van Van Forever -- Back on top, with their personnel shakeups behind them, LVV settled down and started putting out an album every year ... each one better than the last. Enjoy the ride! Tuesday,
January 22, 2008 Melao & Yemayá Make Mr. Bryans' List -- Also Tony Soprano ...check it out! El Nuevo Herald Interviews Formell -- Michelle beat them to it, but this looks interesting as well. See Melao for the details. Speaking of which ... Michelle has Revé news, a link to Indochino's new site, and will soon have an interview with Revé's brilliant musical director Aisar Hernández. The
Roots of Timba: 1983 Manolito Simonet's Debut ... and other momentous events -- Like the dawn of Spandex. But yikes! ... a huge amount of music came out in 1983! In addition to Manolito's debut with Maravilla, there was David Calzado's debut as an arranger with Ritmo Oriental (although it turns out his first group was ... you guessed it ... Revé). Then there was the Van Van album with Sandunguera, Adalberto's last Son 14 record before going solo, the great Rumbavana record we talked about yesterday, the first Orquesta 440 album, with its distinct pre-echoes of NG La Banda, Irakere's timba-foreshadowing El tata, and last but not least, another monstrous Ritmo Oriental album, the first featuring future NG singer Tony Cala. All of this with light reading and heavy listening examples. ENJOY! Monday,
January 21, 2008 Issac, Manolín & Luis Bu Together in the Studio -- All right. Seriously. If this combination doesn't produce some serious fireworks, we're going to have to send a sample of Miami tap water to the lab and have it tested for sedatives. See Melao for more details. The
Roots of Timba: 1983- pt. 1 Son 14, Rumbavana, Irakere, Original de Manzanillo -- '83 was a busy year as the horn-based conjuntos started to modernize to keep up with the songo and cha-onda of the charangas. Click here. Sunday,
January 20, 2008 Michelle has posted her Interview with Elito Revé. Also lots of updates on Salsa Mayor. Next up is another great interview with Revé's bassist and musical director (the guy who wrote most of those great arrangements on Fresquecito). Friday,
January 18, 2008 The
Roots of Timba: Another 1982 "Comeback" It's hard to imagine, but at the time, El baile del buey cansao was considered a comeback of sorts for Van Van, who had just emerged from the only brief period in their history during which they were slightly less than superstars. Also in 1982 - Irakere had a studio album and a blazing hot live video, and we cover our first LP by Orquesta Típica Juventud. "Típica Juven-who?" you ask? This is just another of the many treasures we've uncovered on vinyl that never made it onto CD. Thursday,
January 17, 2008 El Pikete in Miami & NY -- El Pikete will be at Kimbara Cumbara in Miami tomorrow night. Kimbara
Cumbara On Friday, Feb. 8th, Pikete travels north to New York's famous SOB's club. For more, see Melao. These guys are the real deal - support them! Wednesday,
January 16, 2008 Rewritten Roots -- I finished what has become a full-length review of Revé's breakthrough masterpiece, rewriting the opening in the process. You really need to listen to these excerpts, which aren't available on CD, but which rank among the most inspired passages in all of Cuban music. Pupy in the Studio -- See Michelle. Tres de La Habana ... "de la Habana" as in past-tense. See Melao. Tuesday,
January 15, 2008 Timba.com Needs Your Help! -- As you may have noticed, this site has a massive amount of content - videos, photos, audio clips, etc. All of that takes a lot of server space, which is paid for by Latin Pulse Music. LPM stays afloat by selling music, video, and eBooks digitally - a timba version of the iTunes store. The problem ... is Envidia / Camajan, which has released more than half of the really good timba produced in the 2000s. Latin Pulse Music can push Envidia, and TIMBA.com needs Latin Pulse Music to keep our servers running. I know I just asked everyone to write to EGREM about reissuing all the great music in its vaults, but this is more important. If you can find a minute, please write to Envidia and ask them make their catalog available on LatinPulseMusic / TIMBA.com. The address is general@camajan.com. Here are two sample emails:
Thanks! Michelle's Video Interview with Juan Formell Is Up! -- Click here. The
Roots of Timba: 1982 I Love This Album! -- Revé 1982 "comeback" album is just unbearably good. Too bad you can't buy it -- or any of its songs -- on CD! This is why I implore you to participate in my email campaign to convince EGREM to reissue, with the original artwork and track ordering, remastered versions of the hundreds of classic recordings in their vaults. It's been a goldmine for Fania - why not EGREM? In the meantime, you can hear many excerpts from Elio Revé's most important album in today's and tomorrow's chapters of The Roots of Timba. Keep in mind that I've saved the best three songs for tomorrow! Meanwhile, back in the present -- In case you missed it, and in case you happen to live in a country where the frikkin' government doesn't restrict your right to travel, Yemayá's Verse has a great guide to Havana's top bands. Sunday,
January 13, 2008 The
Roots of Timba: 1981 It was a very good year -- In 1981, Ritmo Oriental laid the groundwork for Charanga Habanera's stage choreography with Cuidao con la percusión, one of Tony Calá's greatest compositions and vocal performances; El Tosco really started to hit his stride with Irakere's No quiero confusion; Rumbavana's Silvio Vergara and Irakere's Carlos del Puerto started experimenting with the bass slides that would play such an important role in timba's "bomba" gear, Félix Baloy joined Son 14, and Van Van added trombones and reunited with Lele, Sr. to produce their best work since 1976. But wait til we get to 1982, when Elio Revé snatched Baloy from Son 14, Vergara from Rumbavana and added 3 trombones of his own, plus tres, bongó and batá, producing almost undoubtedly the greatest Cuban vinyl album never to be reissued on CD ... I haven't even found any of the songs on compilations. Earth to EGREM ... Earth to EGREM! It takes a lot to distract me from timba, but ... The Wire is flat out the greatest drama I've ever experienced -- including novels, movies, television, or plays. It's like a 60-chapter novel on film - epics like The Godfather seem like short stories in comparison. All 5 seasons were worked out in the minds of the creators before the first episode was filmed and every scene is critically important to the overall arc. One bit of advice: you have to watch it from the beginning and you have to pay attention to every detail. The first few episodes move a little slowly but the time spent absorbing them pays off big-time. Mr. Bryans and Yemayá have uncovered a brilliant interview with creator David Simon. Saturday,
January 12, 2008 El
regreso de Michelita Michelle is back from her pilgrimmage and has filed her first post of 2008. Coming soon will be news on the upcoming Salsa Mayor CD, report and video from the Changüí Festival in Guantánamo, and interviews with Elito Revé, Aisar Hernández (the principal arranger of Revé's brilliant new CD), Pascualito Cabrejas, Giraldo Piloto and Juan Formell. Today: Juan Formell's advice for young bandleaders! (Same as my advice, and last time I checked, Juan Formell is in fact Cuban, so listen up dudes ... escuchen el maestro!) The
Roots of Timba: 1980 The Roots of Manolito -- To conclude our 1980 section, we introduce three groups that contributed many of timba's biggest stars. Manolito came from Maravillas de Florida (although he hadn't yet joined in 1980); El Indio came from Aliamén (and you can hear the earliest known recordings of him in today's chapter); and Opus 13 gave us two of timba's greatest arrangers - Joaquín Betancourt and Juan Ceruto, as well as pianist Emilio Morales, guitarist Rogelio Nápoles and others. Friday,
January 11, 2008 Audio Preview of El Pikete's New Album -- See Melao -- hear Mil amores. Michelle Almost Back -- When the jetlag subsides, we should have a lot of great new postings to look forward to -- stay tuned. The
Roots of Timba:1980 Four More Pre-Timba Monsters -- For 1980, we add three more groups to our Roots of Timba survey. Today, Conjunto Rumbavana - tomorrow Maravillas de Florida, Orquesta Aliamén and Opus 13. Thursday,
January 10, 2008 The
Roots of Timba: Pupy's First Songs and Adalberto's First LP -- Los Van Van's 5th album featured Pupy's first two songs and he already had his "tumbao pega'o". Also, the amazing debut of Adalberto Alvarez y Son 14 - Bayamo en coche. Also the overall plan for the online book is starting to make a little more sense - four volumes now. The Roots of Timba should be done this month and then it's on to "The Elements of Timba". Thanks to all who are sending me information and photos - keep 'em coming. Wednesday,
January 9, 2008 The
Roots of Timba: Ritmo Oriental Vol. 5 -- Tony Calá is playing violin, but not yet singing. This album has some of la Ritmo's best songs, and also some of the best performances of singer Sammy Castro. Tuesday,
January 8, 2008 Michelle to Interview Angel Bonne - I really love Angel Bonne's music. The
Roots of Timba: Irakere en Vivo -- Well, I was going to do a year a day, but 1978 is going to take two. Today Irakere's torrid summer of 78 with Arturo and Paquito establishing themselves internationally. Tomorrow, another sublime Ritmo Oriental album. Monday,
January 7, 2008 El Indio is NOT joining Van Van -- That's from Juan Formell to Michelle to me to you ... a pretty reliable chain of chisme. So ... what else did JF tell our intrepid girl reporter in her 55 minute interview? We'll know soon! The
Roots of Timba: Year by Year by Day -- Think of it like the 12 Days of Christmas. Picking up our pace considerably, we'll start closing in on the timba era a year at time, expanding our coverage from three groups to over a dozen. Less reading ... more listening!
Sunday,
January 6, 2008 The Rumor Mill ... is milling furiously ... stay tuned. The
Roots of Timba: Here's a little listening test: see if you can: name that tune in 10 notes or less. Got it? Wrong! As explained in detail by Ned Sublette in one of the articles in the 2007 anthology Listen Again, it's El loco cha cha by René Touzet. My theories about the Cuban roots of Motown are admittedly speculative, but the connection between the Cuban chachachá and the origins of rock and roll, as you can hear from the audio clip, are patently transparent. As exciting as the Louie Louie connection is the revelation that at least a chapter of what will eventually be the long awaited sequel to Sublette's Cuba and its Music is already in print in Listen Again. Saturday,
January 5, 2008 Two Hugely Important Releases -- Tirso Duarte's Fin de juego and Los Van Van's new DVD/CD combination are both available and Melao has clips and more info. You can hear considerably more of the Tirso disc at Envidia's site. I'm still deeply immersed in the 80s these days, so take me with a grain of salt, but here's my current take on Tirso and the current scene: |
Also
amazing was pianist Ariacne Trujillo whose long years of classical training
at la ENA and la ISA have given her effortless technique and control to go with
her natural Cuban sense of swing. On the last tune of the night she revealed
that she also has a powerful and soulful singing voice and I think we'll be
hearing her sing lead on at least on song at tonight's concert at 
Pikete
Piano Videos - LatinPulseMusic has recently released 
The
first volume covers the deepest and most profound Yoruban roots of timba: batá,
iyesá and bembé.
First
Batch of Instructional Videos Now Available -- 
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Timba in Santa Cruz Next Thursday
- Rumbaché is
the new name for Quimbombó, the great Bay Area timba band we've been
telling you about for several years. They'll be playing at 
The
Alexander Abreu Interview
- Gabriel of Yemayá's Verse has returned from a lengthy stay in Havana.
Among her many exploits (
But
wait ... there's more! -
Gabriel of Yemayá's Verse has returned from an extensive stay in Havana
which you can relive through her 
Mystery
Solved! -- Thanks to Yemayá's
Verse and Barry Cox from New York for sending us photos and info on that great
mystery Maravilla album with Manolito Simonet that we were 
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Part
II of Michelle's Interview with Revé's Musical Director -- If
anyone is heeding the 
Today
we tackle 