photo by Tom, Erhlich • 2010 • Yoshi's, San Francisco

Last night we lost the most important Cuban musician since Arsenio Rodríguez. 

A few hours before getting this horrible news Orlando Fiol and I were working out the chord changes to a string of Juan Formell songs and marveling at his endless creativity. The track below, from 1996, is typical of Formell's best work - running the full range of emotions, starting with melancholy and building slowly and relentlessly through a series of higher and higher climaxes.

A handful of the greatest musicians are able to spend a few years in that magical zone where one brilliant idea flows out of the last and each connects directly with the hearts of their public. Juan Formell stepped into that zone with Aquí se enciende la candela in 1970 and stayed there for as long as he stayed on this earth. 

Among countless awards, Formell won the Grammy in 1999 for Llegó Van Van and the Grammy Latino a la Excelencia in 2013. He also composed the top two songs in our "greatest timba song of all-time" poll - Soy todo and Te pone la cabeza mala. I clearly recall counting the votes and it was not remotely close. But for every towering hit that you know by heart there's another - just as great - that you may not have discovered: Barriste con el, No somos de la gran escena, Quién no ha dicho una mentira, Ponte para las cosas, Pero a mi manera, Si tú te vas, Mis dudas, Me basta con pensar, Tú tranquilo ... we've lost the man, but his music will last forever.

Formell's death caps one of the most tragic two-week periods in memory, with the losses of Armando Peraza, Cheo Feliciano, Chuck Silverman, and Gabriel García Márquez.

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Pianist Jorge Luis Pacheco will be at Piedmont Piano for two shows Saturday and will be sitting in with Rumbaché and Walt Digz at the Cigar Bar tomorrow night.

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Alfredo Rodríguez, Henry Cole and Ricky Rodríguez held court at Kuumbwa tonight. In addition to being world-class virtuosos on an individual level these three have insanely great chemistry at a level seldom heard in jazz. You can hear them in the intimate atmosphere of SF Jazz's front room every night, Thursday through Sunday.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Mayito Rivera returns to the Bay Area (at Cócomo on Saturday night) with a great band including ex-Paulito drummer Mauricio Herrera.

Click "Continue Reading" for more of Tom Ehrlich's photos from Kuumbwa.

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Two monster jazz pianists from Cuba will be in the Bay Area in the next two weeks:

Alfredo Rodríguez at Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz this Wednesday.

Jorge Luis Pacheco playing the famous Fazioli grand at Piedmont Piano Store in Oakland (where we held the Melón clinic from a few years back) on Saturday May 3rd.

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