Wednesday, August 13, 2008
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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
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San José Jazz Fest Tomorrow
Rumbaché and QBA

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
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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
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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
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Monday, July 28, 2008
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Friday, July 25, 2008
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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 Moe's Alley next Thursday, July 31st. They'll also be at the San José Jazz Festival on August 9th.

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
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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
Rome, Italy
Fiesta

July 10
Torino, Italy

July 12
Milan, Italy
Latinoamericando

Click here for more tour dates. There's a possibility that Alain will also be present on the US tour!

The Alexander Abreu Interview - Gabriel of Yemayá's Verse has returned from a lengthy stay in Havana. Among her many exploits (recounted in detail here), she interviewed Alexander Abreu, the genius trumpeter - singer - writer - bandleader of 2008's most exciting new band, Havana D'Primera.

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.

I've also found some tasty rhythmic advancements on some of the Envidia releases of the last few years, most notably Los Ases de la Timba and Michel Maza's Que hablen los habladores both of which feature the amazing conga-playing of Jorge Luis Torres "Papiosco", who started with Klímax and is now living and playing in Toronto. If you're near there try to catch up with him and see what he's up to. If you're not, check out his playing on these albums.

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.

But wait ... there's more! - Gabriel of Yemayá's Verse has returned from an extensive stay in Havana which you can relive through her many excellent posts. She also went vinyl-hunting and submitted a treasure trove of shots of albums I've never seen by Rumbavana, Típica Juventud and Maravillas de Florida. The latter is particularly fascinating because it lists all the personnel and you can see which of the Trabuqueros got their start in the earlier orquesta. Here are the updated discography pages:

Maravillas de Florida

Orquesta Típica Juventud

Rumbavana

Adalberto Alvarez y su Son

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
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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
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Pupy's New Singer - DJ Melao has the news directly from Pupy himself. Click here for more. [Michelle]

Wednesday, June 18, 2008
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
2) Do it every day - bookmark the page.
3) Do it from every computer you have access to.
4) Get your friends to do the same.

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
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Photo ©Cristian Muñoz

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