Tom Ehrlich has added another gallery from Pupy y Los Que Son Son's recent Bay Area tour.

Coming soon - photos from Revé, Los Terry, and the Afro-Cuban All-Stars. You can also see a lot of photos by Tom and Gimena Berenguer in BSP 9.

Pre-sale is today July 29 from 10am to 10pm only. Click here for tickets and use the code word "venue" to get first dibs on tickets. Pre-venta de los bolétos para Silvio es HOY de las 10am a las 10pm. Tienes que usar el código "venue " para completar tu pre-venta. 

Cuban singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Pablo Milanés Arias returns to the US after many years beginning with a show October 10, 2010 at the Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles. Pablo is considered one of the founders of the Cuban "nueva trova" (new troubadour movement) along with Silvio Rodríguez and Noel Nicola. He is a pianist and guitarist whose Brazilian-like melodies set him apart from the raw style of Silvio Rodríguez. 

Beyond Salsa Piano - Volume 9 - Available Now!

Click to download the sample pdf. Beyond Salsa Piano Volume 9 is the fourth of four volumes featuring note-for-note transcriptions of one of the greatest timba pianists, Iván "Melón" Lewis and featuring extensive analysis and multiple tumbaos for the hits "Catalina" (I-IV-V variations) and "Se te fué la mano", "Con la punta del pié", "La tématica", "La soga" and "La competencia". Volume 9 also includes the cuerpo (verse) piano parts for each song. Beyond Salsa Piano is an instructional (eBook + audio), play-along history and anthology of the role of the piano in the Cuban rhythm section –from its first appearance to the present. This is the ninth book in a instructional series set to become the new standard for contemporary Latin piano styles. 130 pages (130 páginas) with 120 audio tracks (120 pistas).

There are also extensive chapters on Melón's playing on two Issac masterpieces which were only played live: La competencia (Hit Parade), and my all-time favorite piano tumbao, the legendary La temática.

The most dramatic difference between this volume and the eight that preceded it is the inclusion of cuerpos, mambos and transitions. On three songs, Se te fue la mano, Con la punta del pie, and La soga, we provide a full written part for everything Melón plays up to the improvisational open montuno section.

I'm already deeply embroiled in writing Volumes 10, 11 and 12 on Pupy Pedroso , and Volumes 1, 2 and 3 of Inside Cuban Percussion, featuring the amazing Calixto Oviedo . The long-awaited video product of Melón is still on the back burner, but the video has already been shot for Calixto - and it's amazing -- so the video will be part of the initial launch of the Calixto project. Drummers have been bugging me to do something like this ever since the first Tomás Cruz Conga Method came out in 2005. The wait will soon be over, guys, but start practicing your perididdles and 7-stroke rolls, because Calixto is going to rock your worlds!

Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor are back with another hot timba album. Maykel is a prolific composer and the band has been churning out one CD every other year to their fans' delight. Maykel consistently composes solid, catchy lyrics and combines them with irresistible dancefloor-ready arrangements that make  Maykel’s songs favorites among DJs and dancers. Click here to read the full review .

For all of you who have been asking for instructional material for musicians other than pianists and congueros, your prayers will soon be answered, with Calixto Oviedo playing the role of God. After three days of filming I have enough material for at least  three mind-bending volumes to launch the Inside Cuban Percussion series. We also planned the NG La Banda Reunion Tour (someone needs to tell El Tosco!).

Calixto with Carlos Caro and Jesús Díaz

It took about 10 seconds for word of Calixto's presence to reach every percussionist in the Bay Area and the filming was attended by such luminaries as Carlos Caro, Jesús Díaz and the legendary Walfredo de los Reyes, all of whom were as knocked out as I was. (Click "continue reading" for much more).

Elito y Su Charangón have two more concerts on their US tour before heading back to Cuba: Miami and Tampa. Don't miss your last chance to catch them live in the US! But the Charangón is not stopping long to rest, in September they have two very special concerts in Lima, Peru together with Los Van Van ! Then on October 1st they play in Toronto and in mid-October they begin the long-awaited European tour . Check here for the current list of 2010 concert dates for the Charangón and send me an e-mail if you know of any dates that are missing!

Se dará a cabo un concierto de lanzamiento del CD ELEGANCE de Yorgis Goiricelaya el jueves 22 de julio 2010, en la localidad de THE PLACE OF MIAMI. Se harán los principales temas en vivo del CD y a la vez se va a grabar disco y DVD en vivo donde van a participar selectos músicos cubanos de Miami, Costa Rica y New York. Issac Delgado estará participando y Luis Enrique (aún por confirmar), va a ser un evento el cual será promocionado por Radio WDNA jazz, y Canal 41 Miami, respectívamente días antes del concierto, y contando con el apoyo de ustedes 

Elegance es un proyecto sexteto de jazz latino con fusiones de música cubana y "world music". En la grabación participaron músicos como Isaac Delgado, Paquito D´Rivera, Osmany Paredes y muchos mas, grandes exponentes del género viviendo en USA. 

Bass / Director: Yorgis Goiricleaya
Piano: Osmany Paredes, Liván Mesa  -- Drums: Hilario Bell
Conga: Robert Vilera, Ramses Araya  --  Trompeta: Cheito Quiñones
Sax: Aldo Salvent  --  Trombon: William Paredes

Invitados: Voz: Issac Delgado -- Voz y percusion: Luis Enrique (por confirmar)

ACAS had a capacity crowd of North Coast Yuppies dancing their asses off. This concludes their short 12-stop tour. More soon, and more photos from Tom Ehrlich coming.

Congratulations Aisar from everyone at Timba.com!

Tonight is a unique opportunity for Cuban music fans to see what is  in my opinion the most hardcore of all the bands today: Elito Revé y Su Charangón and to celebrate the birthday of one of the most talented young musicians in Cuba today: Aisar Hernández, bassist and musical director of the Charangón. His brilliant arrangements and amazing bass style are a huge asset to the band. Like Elio Revé Matos, Elito Revé has a rare talent for finding the best and the brightest musicians and forming them into the monsters of Cuban music.

So here is my recommendation to the people of New York and anyone who lives close enough. Take a plane, a train, an automobile or even a bike to SOBs tonight. The concert will blow your mind and afterwards you can buy Aisar a drink and wish him well on his birthday...and no, I don't know how old he is. Oh, and someone send me a better picture of Aisar for his page at Timba.com please.

One of the classic lineups for one of the classic bands of all time, one night only in New York City. It's rare that for any band -- even Revé over it's 55 year history -- to achieve the level of chemistry that the current incarnation of el Charangón has achieved. It's truly hitting on all cylinders. If you miss this you'll be kicking yourself for years. They're doing at least 5 songs from the new album, De qué estamos hablando, which is easily among the best of the 2000s thus far and a brilliant cross-section of the very best of the previous two albums and the previous 5 decades.

I've created a special section for tour news .

Here's Peter Maiden's gallery from the first SF show - more coming from Tom Ehrlich in due time.

This Saturday, July 17th, Revé takes their unbelievably great show to SOB's.

The songs from the new album, De que estamos hablando are instant classics and had San Francisco singing along on the first hearing. With his third classic masterpiece in succession (Se sigue comentando, Fresquecito, De que estamos hablando), Elito Revé has proven once and for all that he's inherited his father's genius for putting together historically great groups. This current incarnation of the band can stand up beside any of its illustrious predecessors - one of the best rhythms sections ever, possibly the best horn section ever, and four great singers who work perfectly together, while presenting four very different and compelling personalities. All perfectly in sync with a genius musical director in the person of Aisar Hernández. Don't miss the chance to hear this group.

And hey, New York - I'm talkin' to you! Get off your butts. San Francisco sold out three nights straight - you should be able to sell out one on a Saturday night, eh? It's no wonder the Giants and Dodgers moved out here.

After New York, it's on to Miami and Tampa .

07/12/2010 Mon  Santa Cruz, CA Kuumbwa Jazz Club
07/14/2010 Wed  Oakland, CA Yoshis Jazz Club
07/16/2010 Fri  Winston, OR Riverbend Park
07/17/2010 Sat  Los Angeles, CA MacArthur Park 
07/23/2010 Fri  Lowell, MA Lowell Folk Festival
07/24/2010 Sat  Providence, RI Sound Sessions Festival
07/25/2010 Sun  Lowell, MA Lowell Folk Festival
07/28/2010 Wed  New York, NY River to River Festival, Wagner Park
07/29/2010 Thu  Huntington, NY Huntington Summer Arts Festival
08/01/2010 Sun  Rochester, NY NY Puerto Rican Parade Fest

The masters of Puerto Rican plena, Plena Libre will be touring the United States in July and August of 2010. Captivating and moving audiences over the course of a fifteen-year, thirteen-album career, this fine-tuned 12-piece Puerto Rican-based ensemble of virtuoso musicians has only gotten better with age, as evidenced by their four recent Grammy nominations. And now, for the 2010-2011 touring season, Plena Libre has created an all-new exciting repertoire along with new choreography and compelling new stories told from the stage between songs. 

Unlike salsa bands, who usually only have two singers, Plena Libre features five vocalists singing in lush three and four part harmonies; a musical representation of a traditional community gathering. Further giving their live performances a memorable standout quality, occasionally, the entire band will vocalize the percussion parts of the plena, creating an a cappella polyphonic polyrhythm. These artistic choices drive home the core of the tradition in an aesthetic that appeals to broad audiences and aficionados alike.

Along with providing exhilarating entertainment, Plena Libre-which has performed in fifteen countries, from Morocco to Malaysia-has a deep commitment to educating their audiences about the traditional culture of Puerto Rico. Since the founding of the group, the ensemble has offered three levels of workshops tailored to the needs of particular demographics. For young audiences, the band has conducted hands-on demonstrations, taking an interactive approach to helping kids play Caribbean rhythms and learn various dance steps.

Giraldo Piloto in Cannes - Photo ©Patrick Bonnard

While Elito Revé y Su Charangón are blowing minds in the US, the European Tour Season is also underway. Pepitín sent us a message yesterday saying that the Trabuco was back in Europe. Check here for Manolito's complete list of tour dates. And Giraldo Piloto & Klímax are already touring, but you still have time to catch them at Festival Bayamo in Seyne-sur-Mer on July 18 and Latinoamericando in Milan on July 19th.

Patrick Bonnard saw them in Cannes on July 2nd and has shared some of his outstanding photos with us. He promises a full report later but in brief he said:
I send you photos of Klimax 1st european show in Cannes at "Palais du Festival", you know where the movie stars...:) It's been 13 years since they had a concert here in France. The show was explosive, one of the best of this year. i'll try to send you later a little report...photos from Paris concert to follow. Elpidio Chapottin and German Velazco are joining the whole tour. Maraca was in the audience in Paris as they rehearse here for their Monterey All Stars project (Rotterdam 11th of July concert). Try to catch Klimax if you can, they sound wonderful.

Take Patrick's advice and don't miss this chance to see Klímax. Click here to see the Cannes photogallery.

Click Continue Reading Below for More Photos by Peter Maiden

Where has THIS band been all my life? I waited a long to finally hear them (a whole lot of people in the crowd said those exact words), and it was well worth it. Everyone was in heaven.

They're back tonight Saturday (8:00 and 10:00) and tomorrow Sunday (matinee at 5:00, 2nd show at 7:00) Yoshi's San Francisco. Don't even THINK about missing this people. The second Friday show sold out, so don't wait too long.

We'll never know how Elio Revé would have responded to the timba revolution of the late 90s because his live was cut tragically short by a car crash. The band was taken over by his son Elito, who inherited both his father's gruff voice and his astounding ear for talent. Elito is a graduate of the music schools but also owes much of his musical education to his father. He began at the age of 20 as pianist for the charangón and also worked as arranger for many of the band's hit songs. Elito has employed many extraordinary singers, such as El Gallo, Lele Rasalps and El Nene, and several brilliant musical directors, but none greater than the present one, bassist Aisar Hernández, whose work on Fresquecito made it one of the best ten albums of the 2000s.

See you at Yoshi's tonight.

Vissión Latina's new album "Sonando Como Un Cañon" (thundering like a canon) highlights the talents of the Bay Area's top Salsa and Afro-Cuban talent, among them vocalists Félix Samuel and Eduardo Herrera, and blind percussionist Julio Pérez. 

Founded by CARLOS CARO (percussion - born in Guanajay, in the Havana province of Cuba), SAUL SIERRA (bass - born in Mexico City) and MARCO DIAZ (trumpet, piano - a San Francisco native), and known as the top rhythm section in the Bay Area, VISSIÓN LATINA is a unique musical project that features the trio's original compositions.

VL has backed up top artists like Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez, Jimmy Bosch, Israel Cachao López, Herman Olivera, Nino Segarra, Anthony Cruz, Ska Cubano, Bobi Céspedes, John Santos, QBA, Candela, Tito Nieves, and Eddie Santiago. Be sure to catch VL at their upcoming CD release concert party.

Here's a great video clip from Spain . There's footage of Melón's group, of Melón with Buika, and an interview where he talks about the new CD, which can be bought, with a bonus DVD, here . 

Meanwhile, my fourth and final book on Melón, Volume 9 of Beyond Salsa Piano is at 125 pages and growing, promising to be the mother of all timba piano books. In addition to the usual tumbaos, it will also include extensive transcriptions of the rest of the arrangements. Stay tuned. I hope to go live with it in about a week. It will have La temática, La competencia, Se te fue la mano, Pa' que te salves, Por la naturaleza, Tú tranquilo, Movimiento, Me falta La Habana, Catalina, and a special study of Melón's approach to the good old I-IV-V-IV progression.

But that's not all! Adalberto is celebrating 35 years with a DVD/CD set called "Que suena el son" that was just released on July 1st. The CD contains 15 songs including collaborations with a number of guest artists such as Omara Portuondo, Frank Fernandez and María Victoria, Orquesta Aragón and Grupo Rumbatá. The DVD includes a concert in Karl Marx Theatre, the documentary "Son para un sonero", a photo gallery, sheet music for Adalberto's songs (a treasure trove for musicians) and even a karaoke of Adalberto's hits for your Cuban parties and much more!

Adalberto Álvarez y Su Son will be touring Europe in November, so have a little patience if you live here in Europe. Buy the DVD and the new CD when it is released and that should tide you over until the band arrives.

Tom's photos of Pupy y Los Que Son Son in San Francisco are up. You can also see his photos from Cócomo here. The Oakland photos are still coming.

Meanwhile, Gabriel of Yemayá's Verse is going wild on the island, with many posts since the last time I linked to her site.

And of course, don't forget REVÉ AT YOSHI'S all weekend.

Get ready for the New Explosion! Elito Reve arrives in the US on Sunday followed by su Charangón on Thursday July 8th. The band will hold its first concert on July 9. And all you charangoneros will be thrilled to hear that the tour will be extended to one month! This information comes directly from Elito Revé himself! We are obviously lacking most of the concert dates so send me an e-mail with any missing dates you know about and I will update their tour page.

The band is in the process of releasing their new CD "¿De que estamos hablando?". I have heard the entire CD and it is likely to be the best of 2010. The band is already performing several of the songs live. For the latest scoop on what you can expect in concert see Gabriel's post at Yemayá's Verse about her carnaval trip with the Charangón.

The charangón has a few new members since I saw them last. Among the singers we now have Emilio who you know from Tumbao Habana and Suzel who was with Sello L.A. Additionally there is now a full-time keyboardist, Gretchen Revé. On the new album Emilio sings lead om "Niña relájate", "La Nueva Explosión", "A Matanzas" (a tasty guaguancó), and the hit "Agua pa' Yemayá". Suzel sings lead on the son montuno remake of "Ya sé bailar, ya sé cantar". Sinsonte interprets the funny song "Open the door" and there is a real changüí with invitados Pipi de Yateras y sus Estrellas Campesinas, Chucho Valdés and Cotó. The rest of the album is expertly handled by veteran vocalist Dagoberto. You have a lot to look forward to at the upcoming US concerts. For Cuban music fans and salseros this is another must not miss tour! 

¿De que estamos hablando? Ya tú verás!!

MP3s killed the CD.

DJs killed live music.

But then again, there's DJ Walt Digz - the DJ musicians love because he always plays the tracks they didn't even know they needed to hear yet ... the DJ who's put together a LIVE, real, timba band with the very cream of the cream of the real musicians of the Bay Area scene - Carlos Caro, Colin Douglas, Marco Díaz, Ayla Dávila, Jason Möen, Erick Barbería, Orlando Torriente ... the list goes on ... the best person in every chair. We'll have a section for them soon, but their first big show is this Saturday, at Jelly's, Saturday, July 3rd.

Philly, NY and Pittsburgh next. Here's the full schedule. Tom and I will cover the Napa gig on July 17th. Among the many luminaries will be Calixto Oviedo on timbales and Gabriel Hernández on piano.

Melón celebrates the long-awaited release of Travesía, a fresh new take on Latin jazz featuring sax luminary Román Filiú and ex-Pupy bassist "El Negrón" Elizarde. Negrón is out of the country, but not to worry, Melón's old partner from the Issac band, genius bassist Alain Pérez, will be playing at Clamores .

Melón is also coming to the US in fall with Buika and will hopefully fit in some solo gigs and clinics. Meanwhile, Volume 9 of Beyond Salsa Piano , the fourth and final volume on Melón, will be done soon. It will include the songs from Exclusivo para Cuba as well as various unreleased masterpieces like La temática and La competencia, as well as some of his work with Manolín and some of the tumbaos from his Latin jazz originals. Stay tuned.

If you are a Facebook user you know that the word has been out since Mirco's post yesterday, Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor's latest album, "Soy lo que te hala", has been released at iTunes and the hardcopy is at latinmusicstore and will certainly hit other on-line stores soon. I am a hardcopy fan myself  and decided to wait for the CD to appear at local stores, but after previewing the songs at iTunes, I couldn't resist buying it. I'll pick up the hardcopy later but I just had to have the songs now !

This album is packed with hits! The songs you have probably already heard if your local DJ is up-to-date are "Que tu crees?", "Se acabó el amor", "Pa' cualquiera", "La cara de salir pa' andar" and "Soy lo que te hala". If you caught them on their March tour of Europe or back in Havana you have also heard several other songs from the new album. A full review will be coming shortly. In the meatime here's the short review: great album, dancers will love it, you should buy it.

Track list:

title	lead singer
Que Tú Crees? (A La Ñaqui)	Pavel “La Figura”
Se Acabo’ El Amor (Ya Tú No Estás En El Bombo)	Yordi Larrazaba
Arriba De Lo Mal Hecho	Yordi Larrazaba
Pari Parara	Yasser Ramos
Publícalo	Yordi Larrazaba
Reposa	Yasser Ramos
Pa’ Cualquiera	Yordi Larrazaba
La Cara De Salir Pa’ Andar	Pavel “La Figura”
Pacotillera	Pavel “La Figura”
Soy Lo Que Te Hala	Yasser Ramos

If you're going, please contact me at kevin@timba.com. I need pictures and a concert report for Volume 9 of Beyond Salsa Piano, which is nearing completion.

Tonight they play one night only at The Salsa Room in Arlington Virginia.  Don't miss it - Obama and Michelle Bachman are both scheduled to sit in on congas.

Tomorrow, Sunday, Pupy returns for another show in New York at SOBs.

Tuesday they'll be at Boston's Wilbur Theater. 

It gets hotter every night. I've seen every Bay Area show and will definitely be at Yoshi's Oakland for the grand climax tonight. Los Que Son Son has always had one of the most torrid grooves of any timba band but their new style is a quantum leap forward, featuring the pedales and bombas of bassist Daymar Calvario ("the cavalry is coming!"), Miguelito Escuriola, Duniesky Barreto and founding member Bombón Reyes, who of course also played in the legendary 2000 Issac band.

When the bass starts to pedal, slide or thump, the energy level simply goes through the roof and it happens repeatedly on every song. In my geeky opinion, this is the factor that was missing in both Pupy and Van Van - they made up for it with a relentless basic groove and masterpiece songs, but adding the "gear" factor is the pièce de resistance.

Percussion solos are a regular part of the show and Pupy's solo on La bomba soy yo  has brought the house down nightly. There was even a baby bass solo one night in SF. Many Bay stars have sat in, highlighted by Fito Reinoso, Rebeca Mauleón, John Santos and Carol Steele. Members of the Terry family are supposedly still in town and we're hoping for a last-minute guest appearance from the world's greatest chékere player.

See you tonight! Next tour stops are Washington DC and Boston. The band returns to Havana on July 2.

Septeto Santiaguero with "Esa niña, qué cintura!"

click here to listen to samples

Pitit's (aka Limpia Timpanos) new album CONFRONTACIÓN draws from his artistic experience to deliver a hard hitting Latino hip hop album. Intended to reach a more commercial audience, the record embeds deep lyrics with the driving beats and arrangements from producers Jhon Po and Jean DC.

Yaimir Jiménez aka "PITIT" aka "LIMPIA TIMPANOS" was born and raised in Havana, Cuba. Now living in Sweden, Limpiatimpanos is known for his work in the 2004 release Seres Humanos with the group Alianza, a unique mixture of Latin Hip Hop, Caribbean rhythms and traditional Cuban music. Before forming ALIANZA and creating the album 'Seres Humanos', PITIT was the director of the hip hop group Grandes Ligas and he also participated in two of the most highly regarded Hip Hop projects in Cuba: Cuban Hip Hop All-Stars and Cuban Rap Ligas (Delabel Editions, France).

photos by Tom Ehrlich

MORE PHOTOS JUST ADDED

Saturday's Cócomo show was sublime. I could watch this rhythm section night after night -- in fact, that's exactly what I intend to do and six nights won't be nearly enough to satisfy me. Their approach, originally architected by Changuito himself, is unlike any other timba band. Along with güirero Julito Noroña (the son of Van Van founder Julio Noroña) the timbalero, Miguelito Escuriola holds down the fort by covering both bell parts, as Samuell or Riverón would do, while also working in the jamblock, freeing the magnificent drummer/arranger Bombón Reyes to orchestrate the arrangement with his inimitable left-handed combination of kick, snare, hihat and toms. Bay Area fans will remember conguero Duniesky Barreto from Bamboleo's many tours in the late 90s. Pupy uses a lot more gears than he used to, giving Duniesky a lot of space to shine. This band's groove grabs ahold of you and won't let go, and Pupy's songs are all timeless classics, from 1970s Van Van masterpieces to fresh-out-of-the-oven estrenos from the upcoming album.

The concert kept building and building to an extraordinary climax on a new arrangement of Pupy's Van Van classic, Ni bombones ni caramelos. Bay Area sonero Fito Reinoso sat in and delivered one of the most inspired vocal performances I've ever heard. Fito can always be counted on to rise to the occasion with his Cándido Fabré-inspired improvisations, but this time he really outdid himself. Seconds after he took the mike, the energy level, already high, went off the scale. Pupy himself was grinning from ear to ear and shaking his head. The standard Cándido approach is to find a catchy melodic phrase and repeat it with minor variations, improvising words to fit the occasion, but Fito transcended this completely, fluidly responding to the band's every accent and changing rhythm and melody as well as words in myriad brilliant and completely spontaneous ways. When the rhythm section locked into an extended bomba behind him the groove was almost unbearable. Next, they seamlessly broke way down to a short 3-part coro with minimal accompaniment and Fito slid right into it, keeping the same rhythmic intensity at a fraction of the volume.

It's been a long, painful decade of musical drought, but the floodgates have opened and it's catch-up time for the city by the bay. Wherever you're reading this from, catch a boat, plane or train and get yourself out here.

NY Times Review   --  Central Park Video Clip

Pupy & Los Que Son Son are just at the beginning of their US tour . They have already played in Florida and at Summer Stage in New York, and you can catch them again on the East Coast tonight at S.O.B.s before they head out for 12 concerts in California . If you can't make tonight's concert, don't worry they will be back east again with a concert the 19th at the Salsa Room in Arlington, VA. , back at S.O.B.s on the 20th and the final concert is Boston on the 22nd. I tell you quite seriously, you don't want to let this opportunity pass you by, so find a way to make it to at least one of the concerts on this historic first tour! Click here for a full list of remaining gigs.

For La Unteresita's exploits in greater detail, check Yemayá's Verse daily for the next month or so - it's the next best thing to being there.

Actually -- and I have to pinch myself as I type this -- this time,  the next best thing to being there just might be ... gasp ... being in San Francisco! We Have:

June 12 - Los Terry at Yerba Buena (free!) 
June 12 - Silvio Rodríguez at the Paramount in Oakland
June 12 - Pupy y Los Que Son Son at Cócomo in SF

(and yes ... Tom Ehrlich plans to be at all 3 ... I'm skipping "Cuba's Bob Dylan" (don't worry - I'll listen to Blonde on Blonde to console myself).

June 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 - Pupy y Los Que Son Son at each Yoshi's venue.

July 9, 10, 11 - Elito Revé, por fin!

And last but not least, in book news, we're planning another series - "Inside Cuban Percussion" - with the first featured artist being none other than Calixto Oviedo. Stay tuned.

Internacionalmente han viajado por más de 20 países de Europa, Asia, África, América y el Caribe actuando en importantes festivales y múltiples escenarios entre los que más se destacan: La gira por 34 ciudades de la República Popular China; su participación en la obra teatral “El Burgués Tropical” bajo la dirección de Gerome Sabarí, inspirada en el clásico de Molière, “El Burgués Gentilhombre”; la gira realizada en agosto de 1999 por algunas ciudades de los Estados Unidos en la que también sostuvieron un encuentro muy emotivo con Graciela Pérez, cantante y fundadora de Anacaona y el show “Sabor de la Habana” que abrió la temporada de espectáculos cubanos en el Cabaret del Gran Casino Montecarlo del Principado de Mónaco.

Georgia Aguirre González	Bajo, Coros y Dirección
Dora Aguirre González	Cantante y saxofonista
Bárbara A. Zamora Vargas	Cantante
Yoanna Alvarez Peña	Cantante
Yanet C. Rodríguez Boza	Cantante
Ana Maria Vila Martínez (Anika)	Piano y Teclado
Yissy García Calzadilla	Batería, Timbal y Bongo
Ursula Madelainne Gómez Matos	Tumbadoras
Yarima Blanco Ramos	Guitarras, Tres y Coro
Vivian Jiménez Valdez	Flauta y percusión
Martha I. Torres González	Trompeta
Massiel Milán Pérez	Saxo Alto
Dayamí Acosta Rodríguez	Trombón y Coros

"The Cuban Agency Musicalia reports that the orchestra Elito Revè y su Charangón  will not make Summer Tour 2010 scheduled for Europe because it canceled the contract for breach, with the company that represented him in that continent. The next tour to Europe was made in the month of October-November 2010, with the launch of his new album De que estamos hablando ".

Our loss is the US fans' gain. But at least we know that the Charangón will be back in Europe this fall following the release of the new album which is hot, hot,hot!

Here are the trailers for the full song videos (aquí les va las muestras de los video clips de las canciones completas).

 click here to visit the free download page 

Tickets to Pupy's first show in San Francisco available here. Handheld recording will be allowed at this show! Oprima aquí para boletos para Pupy en San Francisco. Se permitirán grabadoras de mano en este show.

  oprima aquí para visitar la página de la descarga gratis

My Cuban landlord Pablo Menéndez returns to California with his full Cuban band, featuring Octavio Rodríguez, for the first time since the dark ages of the Bush Administration. You can pay homage at:

Kuumbwa Jazz Center - Santa Cruz - TONIGHT - Monday, May 24

Yoshi's Oakland - Thursday, May 27

Click "Continue Reading La Última" for more photos by Tom Ehrlich

Pupy y Los Que Son Son 
June 20, 2010 - New York City, NY - S.O.B.s 
June 22, 2010 - Boston, MA. - Wilbur Theater

Manolito y Su Trabuco 
May 29, 2010 - Arlington, VA - Yorktown Bistro

We are also beginning to get in tour dates for Europe Summer 2010 so start checking the Tours Section to plan your summer vacation.

Update = Silvio has secured his visa and his shows are highly anticipated. Here's a new video:

Update = this Combinación de la Habana video is TIGHT. Un abrazo para Gersón y compañía.... están echando candela. Quémala.

UPDATE: I added two more dates, June 3 in Tampa at Whiskey North and June 5 at Aché in Miami. Stay tuned as the updates keep coming in.

Manolito y su Trabuco will be in New York at SOBs on Thursday (May 20) and in Chicago at 6:00 p.m. at Park West on Friday (May 21). Support Timba in La Yuma!

And click here for Tom Ehrlich's gallery from last week's show in San Francisco.

Meanwhile, the Pupy Pedroso tour is looking solid, with:

June 11 - Los Angeles - Sportsmen's Lodge
June 12 - San Francisco - Cócomo
June 14 & 15 - San Francisco - Yoshi's
June 16, 17, & 18 - Oakland - Yoshi's

Closest to my own heart is the winner of the Ópera Prima category (first work). Havana D'Primera's "Haciendo Historia" was my personal favorite from 2009 so I am happy that the judges saw fit to award Los Primeros with the Best First Work award. The band has taken Havana and now the world by storm with their combination of poetic lyrics and serious timba. And on stage there is no harder working singer than Alexander Abreu who gives everything at each performance as if it were his last.

In honor of their award, Patrick Bonnard has shared a few of his pictures from the "Haciendo Historia" tour 2009/2010. Click here or on the picture below to see more.  The complete gallery is at Patrick's website .

Alexander Abreu & Havana D'Primera - winners Ópera Prima Cubadisco 2010
Photo ©Patrick Bonnard used by permission

Congratulations to all the Cubadisco winners and hasta la próxima .

The new album "A Time for Love" was released on May 11th and can be ordered from Amazon. I have only heard one song so far but the album is described as follows: "The album features classical compositions for orchestra and jazz trio by Grammy-winning arranger Jorge Calandrelli along with a sprinkling of American jazz standards by composers including Gershwin and Chaplin.  Also featured on the album are Chris Botti, Monica Mancini, Shelly Berg, and Kenny Barron. "

Here is a sample you can listen to and enjoy yourselves: Paven pour une infante defunte . It features guest artist trumpeter Chris Botti.

On February 26, 1993, after spending at least six years as musical director of Maravilla de Florida, pianist Manolito Simonet departed along with most of the group's members, added a horn section, synthesizer and kick drum, and started playing timba under the name Manolito y su Trabuco.

El Trabuco is one of the largest timba bands - a "super-charangón" if you will - with violin, cello, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, flute, and synthesizer in addition to the standard piano, bass, drums, congas and güiro.

Manolito is one of Cuba's most meticulous and prolific arrangers, making excellent use of the vast timbral resources at his disposal and frequently finding time to produce side projects such as his recent Tributo a Lilí Martínez. As of 2009, the group has released 8 studio albums, toured the world countless times, and risen to the top tier of the Havana club scene.

El Trabuco other main composer is singer Ricardo Amaray whose R&B influences are perfectly balanced by Simonet's encylopedic mastery of all the traditional forms of Cuban music.

Pupy will blow you away....read a concert report from Michelle La Timbera Mayor....click here.

César "Pupy" Pedroso (aka, "Pupi Pedroso") is one of the key figures not only in Timba, but in the last 40 years of Cuban pop music. As well as being one Cuba's best and most prolific composers, he played a seminal role in revolutionizing the art of salsa piano playing.

He started with Orquesta Revé and then became a founding member of Los Van Van. In the summer of 2001, he left to form his own group, "Pupy y Los Que Son Son", which has now released four of the best CD's of the decade.  

Also, Pupy Pedroso has apparently cleared the visa hurdle and will follow Manolito's pattern of back to back shows in LA (June 11 - Sportsmen's Lodge) and SF (June 12 - Café Cócomo).

Meanwhile, Maraca has put together what may be his most aggressively timbafied band to date with El Nene on vocals and a great new pianist named Andy Rubal. Check it out:

A true percussion master and music celebrity Francisco Aguabella passed away yesterday in Los Angeles after a battle with cancer. Aguabella emigrated from Cuba in the 1950's and played with jazz greats Dizzy Gillespie and Tito Puente. Later he broke into celebrity status by playing with Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Paul Simon, Santana and the Doors. 

From his distinct, clear, sharp tone to his enigmatic, quinto-driven phrasing, Francisco, though a staple of the New York scene for many decades, never left Havana. Producer Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez, a Latin jazz headliner himself, managed to capture the raw, no-frills energy of Aguabella's style on Francisco's album H2O beautifully. Sonically, the record has the closeness and intensity of first-row seats in a small, smoky club. 

Francisco is a recipient of awards such as the National Heritage Fellowship of the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and received a fellowship for the Durfee Foundation. Rest in peace.

Click here. Online only ticket pre-sales available now. Oprima aquí. 
for more info call - 408.241.0000 - llame para más información

IMPORTANT = When you get to the special ticketmaster page use the word "tango" in the left hand box titled TANGO PRESALE. Cuando veas la página especial de ticketmaster pones la palabra "tango" en la cajita (a mano izquierda) que dice TANGO PRESALE. 

Manolito y su Trabuco at Cócomo was the most fun I've had since 2001. Click CONTINUE READING LA ÚLTIMA for my review, more photos, news, and - most importantly - to add your own reviews in the comments section.

Esta noche en el Café Cócomo de San Francisco hay boletos disponibles en la puerta.

MANOLITO Y SU TRABUCO - EN VIVO - DIRECTO DE CUBA
Mayo 8 2010 - Puertas abren a las 8pm
Café Cócomo - (415) 824-6910
@ Mariposa and 19th St., near hwy 280
650 Indiana St., San Francisco, CA 94107

Fotos por David González reportando desde Los Angeles

Yoshi's SF also reports that Elio Revé and his Orquesta Revé is slated to perform at Yoshi's SF July 29 through August 1.

Press Release from Monterey International - Thu, May 6, 2010 at 11:06 AM

LOS VAN VAN TOUR POSTPONED 

The coordinators of the tour of Los Van Van regret to announce that, due to an unresolved business matter between the group and a third party and circumstances beyond their control, the U.S. tour of Los Van Van must be postponed.  This decision had nothing to do with U.S.-Cuba relations or any visa issues. Their I-129 visa petitions were approved.  

We hope to bring Los Van Van to the United States soon after resolution of the factors that prevented us from realizing this tour at this time.  

For more information, please call Bill Martinez, (415) 974-6485, bill@billmartinez.com 

Manolito Simonet y su Trabuco replace La Charanga Habanera on their USA tour May 7 @ Sportsmen's Lounge in Los Angeles and May 8 at Café Cócomo in San Francisco. These concerts are presented by Albert Torres and he confirms that Manolito is already here in the USA (but we already knew that as reported by La Timbera Mayor Michelle White). All other concerts by this artist announced in SF by other venues have been cancelled. All tickets purchased for the Charanga Habanera concerts will be honored. 

For May 7 tickets at The Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City (Los Angeles) click HERE.
For directions call 818-755-5000 or for ticket info call 310-445-9705.

For May 8 tickets at Café Cócomo in San Francisco click HERE.
For directions call 415-305-9265 or for ticket info call 310-445-9705.

Great news from, Miami. Manolito y Su Trabuco have arrived in the US. With all the changes to the concert schedule I only know of 3 concerts. The first two are May 7 & 8 in LA and San Francisco, respectively and the third is May 14 in Miami. I hope they set up a few more because the people of the United States have a right to More Trabuco! If you know about any concert that is missing from out list please send me an e-mail.

Update: Make that 4 concerts. I found one for May 20th at SOBs. But according to Mirco's information at TimbaPorSiempre, Manolito said that they will be playing in 14 states, so we must be missing a lot of dates!

If you're having trouble seeing La Charanga Habanera in California, take a summer vacation to Europe and catch them July 13 -  August 8. Havana D'Primera will be back in Europe from May 29 -  June 29th and they already seem to be scheduled for a concert  at the Musicport Festival in England in October, so I guess they'll be back in the fall. Giraldo Piloto & Klímax will be here from  July 6 - August 7. Monika Mesa will be touring with her Maquina Perfecta from June 27 - August 29. Reggeaton fans can see Los Cuatro (Los salvajes)  during July 22 - August 29th. Stay tuned for more updates as they become available.

Here's the latest:

1) No Charanga Habanera - May 7 in LA (Sportsmen's Lodge) and May 8 in SF (Cócomo) are both cancelled.

2) Manolito y su Trabuco - who have their visas in hand will play BOTH of those gigs. If you have tickets, you can either use them to see Trabuco or get a refund at the point of purchase.

3) Yoshi's has cancelled Manolito for May 5 and May 6

On a more positive note I strongly agree with Michelle on those Revé tracks - the rhythm section sounds measurably hotter than Fresquecito, which was easily one of the best albums of the 2000s.

Also, the Ned Sublette Lecture at MoAD in SF is still on for Thursday night, April 29.

The band has some exciting additions this year. While young soneros seem to be an endangered species, Maraca has added both Alexei Sánchez "El Nene", and Lester Ciarreta to the group. You know Alexei "El Nene" from Azúcar Negra and Elito Revé, where he both composed and sang several of the hits on the "Se sigue comentando" CD. When El Nene left Azúcar Negra it was actually Lester Ciarretta who filled his place, moving over from Salsa Mayor. Well now both these young sonero/timberos are together in one band under the leadership of one of the most sucessful young bandleaders in Cuba today. French DJ Jack El Calvo informs us that Maraca even has other new musicians including a new trumpet player, from Klímax. Stay tuned for video of the new Maraca line-up!

As with all of our sections, you can see when CMP has been updated by looking under "New Stuff/Lo Nuevo" to the right of the post, or you can access the site directly by typing timba.com/schools/cmp.

More Dates

In this controversial 8 minute video narrated by Rosendo "El Gallo" Díaz himself, this ex-Manolito y su Trabuco & Orquesta Revé lead vocalist describes the loss of his voice, all the unsuccesful treatments performed by IFA Yoruba priests that followed, and his full recuperation triggered by his new religious beliefs. 

Press play then pause to allow for the video to load.
Oprima aquí para leer el reportaje en español. 

El Gallo is also in the news with a new release by Proyecto Sonidos de Júbilo -a Timba and Son collective. Rosendo, along with vocalist Andy Marcos of Monte de Sión, deliver very powerful vocal performances on this new album. Led by trumpeter David Eduardo Ríos, Sonidos de Júbilo is a unique musical project that unites the forces of sacred music and contemporary Cuban dance music (Timba). Sonidos de Júbilo has incorporated traditional Spanish Baptist hymns and orchestrated them with a modern big band tropical sound. Along with Rosendo and Andy, the album features performances by Cuban musicians Alberto Salas (piano) and Yuri Pérez (saxophone). This digital release also includes two (2) Rosendo "El Gallo" Díaz music videos. Total playing time = 36:16 mm:ss.

From this point I will only report concerts in the United States as being "advertised".

NG La Banda - Santa Palabra complete with choreography

Next up is Azúcar Negra which will celebrate 12 years on April 8th. Leonel Limonta is unquestionably one of the great composers of the timba era having penned some of the best songs ever written from a woman's point of view. Here are a few of my personal favorites: Andar andando, Se acabó la rabia, Yo no me parezco a nadie, Vengo de estreno, Con un canto en el pecho, Te traicionó el subconciente...well I could go on but just take my word for it and go buy one or two of their CDs. They will be back in the US in June for their first tour in 10 years!

La Palabra from Toque Natural

Also celebrating an anniversary in April is Klímax under the direction of Giraldo Piloto winner of the Best Timba Drummer Award and director of the annual Fiesta del Tambor which just took place in March.  The arrangements are a thing of beauty on so many levels. People often talk about their complexity but don't let that scare you off. They are highly danceable tunes, and Piloto is one of few who has been able to successfully and tastefully inject reggaeton into his timba arrangements, in my opinion.

Classic Klímax - Consejo a una amiga

So how to best celebrate International Timba Month (ITM)? In Copenhagen tonight the fans are celebrating with a concert by Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor. They played here in Stockholm last night on ITM-eve and we got to hear 5 of the songs that will be on the new album "Esta que te hala". They are all great so get ready for another dose of Los Mayores. In Toronto you can celebrate ITM with La Charanga Habanera and El Chacal on April 10th. In the US Orquesta Revé will be touring giving many Yumas their first look at this band en vivo! Havana D'Primera continue amazing the European audiences in April but will even make it over to Mexico before ITM comes to an end for two concerts at Mama Rumba in Mexico City. Poland will celebrate with two major Cuban festivals the final weekend of April.

If you don't have any concerts of congresos nearby and can't afford to take a timba trip, why not just invite a handful of casineros over to dance and celebrate this fantastic music.

Alexander Abreu & Havana D'Primera continue blowing the minds of their European fans. Last night was their first ever concert in Sweden and as always they gave 110% playing non-stop for over two hours. Tonight they play in Copenhagen before returning to France and Italy to complete their European tour. But they won't be getting much rest. They will play two shows in Mexico City on April 23 and 24th at Mama Rumba. Don't miss them!

Sixto Llorente El Indio                                                                                               Angá El Indio

Fortunately which ever event you decide to attend you will be getting excellent dance instructors and great music. In Warsaw you get Angá better known as El Indio from Orquesta Revé and Rei Ceballo & Calle Sol on April 30th, Calle Real on May 1 and a rumba party on May 2. In Krakow you get Tirso Duarte and Sixto Llorente El Indio on April 30, Pedrito Calvo Jr. & Leo D on May 1, and José Torres y Salsa Tropical and Calle Real on May 3.

Then it happened. I saw them live in Copenhagen in 2009 and I became a believer too. There is something special that happens at a Havana D'Primera concert. Alexander connects with his audience in a way that has to be experienced to be understood. And this Thursday March 25th, in a concert at Södra Teaterns Kägelbanan, Sweden will finally understand too. Check their tour schedule for the nearest concert. It will make a believer of you.

Estreno...El palo más duro

Tom was at both the Stuttgart and the Erlangen concerts and says that they did the standard Arrasando Tour playlist, opening with "Arrasando" and closing with "Te pone la cabeza mala". Both concerts were attended by over 800 people. Juan Formell is not on this tour, but bassist Pavel Molina does an excellent job. I just have to say that I love the dress that Yeni wore in Stuttgart!

And before I give you the link to the first set of Stuttgart pictures I thought we'd play a little game: Name That Van Vanero! using three pictures from Tom's collection. It shouldn't be too challenging for Van Van fans, but try to answer who's who before looking at the picture gallery.

Whose feet?                                Whose hands?                          Whose hands?

When you have answered the questions you can go check out the Van Van in Stuttgart picture gallery and see if you got the answer right.

Pepito not only sang with Pupy, but wrote some of his best songs, including Un poquito al revés, containing the title coro of Pupy's epic Tranquilo que yo controlo, one of the best albums of recent years. As always, the lovely and talented Ariacne Trujillo will be the pianist and musical director and  this time the rhythm section will consist of Bay Area monsters Carlos Caro and Jesús Díaz. Between sets, it will be Walt Digz, a fabulous timba DJ who always embarrasses me by playing some absolutely brilliant track that I haven't heard, forcing me to sheepishly ask what it is. Let's try to sell this thing out so we can keep shows like this coming! Click here for advance tickets.

Click here to see the widescreen video - Oprima aquí para ver el video (alta resolución)

RUMBANKETE @ Yoshi's Oakland - Open Dance Floor - Thursday, February 11 2010 
13-piece All Star contemporary Cuban music (Timba) orchestra from Los Angeles
Presenting Sponsor: CUBAVERA® (a subsidiary of Perry Ellis International)
Associate Sponsor: e.K. Clothing (salsa dresses & dancewear) 

Led by master trombonist & arranger Denis Jirón,  RUMBANKETE reigns supreme in the greater Los Angeles area. This new group is the only musical force currently performing contemporary Cuban dance music (timba). The band plays in various formats but prefers to perform with its full 14 piece line-up. Its front line includes singers Gonzálo "Chalo" Chomat (ex Conexión Salsera) and Iris Sandra Cepeda (ex Arte Mixto), both consummate musicians from Cuba who have made LA their home.

Click Here for Hard-copy of V5
Click Here for Hard-copy of V8
Click Here for a master list with all links to all volumes

That's it for a while - I'm going to work on the Beyond Salsa Percussion series and go see some timba concerts!! Volume 9 on Melón will come later this year and be followed by volumes on many other great timba pianists.

USA Timberos & Timberas alert! Preparense que viene Van Van. Mi gente aquí les presento las primeras fechas de la giras del verano:

June 6  - Sun - NEW YORK - Summerstage
June 7 - Mon - NEW YORK - S.O.B's

June 9 - Wed - DENVER - venue TBD* (check for upadates)

June 11 - Fri - ALBUQUERQUE - Alburquerque Museum Amphitheater

June 12 - Sat - LOS ANGELES - Hollywood Bowl

June 13 - Sun - SAN DIEGO - Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay

June 14 - Mon - SAN FRANCISCO - Yoshi's
June 15 - Tues - SAN FRANCISCO - Yoshi's

June 16 - Wed - OAKLAND - Yoshi's
June 17 - Thurs - OAKLAND - Yoshi's

June 19 - Sat - BOONVILLE - California Sierra Nevada World Music Festival

*the Yoshi's SF dates replace the Stern Grove show. LVV will not play Stern Grove.

*for promoter inquiries please contact Mr. Paul Goldman of Monterey International

If you know the story behind this, please tell us in the Comments section. Si sabes la historia de este video, explícanosla en la sección de comentarios, ok?

Thanks to "Mr. Elana" for the link.

I have finally overcome my technical difficulties and can share with you all the experience of attending the Contrabando release concert for "Abriendo Caminos". It was really a very elaborate event with several different segments culminating in the concert itself. The band was not stingy. They played every song from the new album, with the exception of the bachata version of "Siempre tú". You can already listen to the song "Mentiras" in our Timba.com Radio. I have also included a little live video in the report as well as a post-concert video of the goings-on in the dressing room after the concert. Click here to check it out and get to know the band a little better. Non-Spanish speakers will be happy that I have gone hi-tech and started adding subtitles to the interviews. If you haven't already seen the interview with bandleader "El Paísa" I recommend you take a few minutes to watch it. You will get an idea of what Contraabndo is about. And check out the entire Contrabando section as well.

QUESTION: Have you tried to log in to timba.com to comment and given up in frustration? If so, please email us and let us know.

I'm thinking of changing the theme song of La última:

OLD SONG

NEW SONG

There's a "Plan B" in the works, but no dates yet.

Actually ... that's a pretty slick keyboard tumbao, eh?

Calendario de Marzo
3/5 Liga Habanera & Dance show & Workshop by Tropicana Stockholm - Club Guantanamera
3/7 Ladies Afro-Cuban dance day (in honor of International Women's Day) - Cumbé
3/12 El Médico de rap Cubaton & Reggaeton + Robertico "Galán" & "Moreno" - Club Guantanamera
3/12 Calle Real at Fasching
3/13 Gilito y Su Clave at Mosebacke by Cuba Nocturna
3/19 DANCE SHOW: Saúl Perez & Diasmanin Silva 22.30 La Rueda de Casino - Club Guantanamera
3/25 Havana D'Primera at Kägelbanan by SELAM
3/26 Raices Afro-Cuban dance & music show - Club Guantanamera
3/31 Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor at Kolingsborg (Slussen)

Also, Volume 5 is live.

El Zorro has posted a couple of high quality videos from the Aquí Cuba Festival. El Zorro is aguably the most prolific of the European timberos and has produced a stready stream of projects working with many of Cuba's biggest stars. If you are a big Ángel Bonne fan like myself, you will be excited to see these songs performed live. I have added a Video page for El Zorro to timba.com, but the full selection of videos is found at his homepage. Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Ten Timba Piano Innovations - here, we isolate the ten important ways that timba piano differs from its predecessors.

Chapter 4: Estudios - these are 32 tumbaos, all on the same chord progression, created to demonstrate the innovations in various combinations.

Chapter 5: Timba Gears - at last, the explanation of why you can learn Paulito's gear system and still be confused about Charanga Habanera - it's the "general theory of timba gears", explaining how everything fits together into one nice, logical, and endlessly creative and flexible combinación perfecta!

Then, after the FAQ and Glossary, we get to the craziest part, the Timba Harmony Appendix, which takes hundreds of timba coros and analyzes their chord progressions in Roman numerals.

After this ... the deluge ... note-for-note Melón transcriptions in large quantities in Volumes 6, 7, 8 and 9. I haven't actually written Volume 9, I have to admit, but 6, 7 and 8 are done and will be out soon, and if anyone can play all the tumbaos in those 3 before I finish Volume 9, you'll be ready for the big time.

Finally - get ready for Beyond Salsa Percussion - that's all I'll say about that for now, but expect something in first half of 2010 (knock on wood).

Rumbankete takes a bow after a great show at Yoshi's Oakland !

Rumbankete looking good at Yoshi's Oakland !

Chalo la pone buena  -  dirige Denis Jirón

Introducing the band for the second set

muchas gracias e.K. Clothing!

muchas gracias C - U - B - A - V - E - R - A !

Maykel Blanco at the 5th anniversary party of Salsa Mayor

The album won't be released until after they get back from their tour. Currently they are planning on an  April release. So by the time the summer tours begin the fans should all be familiar with the new material. The lucky Cuban audiences are already enjoying the new songs and judging from Mirco's reports about the popularity of the Salsa Mayor concerts in Havana, they are hits. Fortunately Salsa Mayor kick off their March tour of Europe on the 17th in fair Verona, Italy so we don't have to wait for too long to hear the new songs. And the singer line-up has got to be one of the most charismatic around with Pavel "La Figura", Yordi and Yasser. This is going to be a very exciting tour that you don't want to miss!

Pavel "La Figura" and Yordi at the 5th anniversary concert

Saturday, February 27th, 2010 from 4:30 to 6:00 PM
The Jazz School - 2087 Addison Street - Berkeley, CA 94704
FREE
www.jazzschool.com - (510) 845-5373

As for the final line-up for Cubamemucho Munich it is: March 18 - Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, March 19th - Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor, March 20 - Havana D'Primera, March 21 - Los Van Van. Stay tuned for more tour updates as the summer tour season bookings get underway as well as more tours of the US are confirmed.



                                                                                            Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor
                                                                                        are on their way to a city near you!

The 2010 tour season is underway here in Europe with Alexander Acosta currently on tour and Tumbao Habana's upcoming French concert dates this weekend. Also starting this weekend is Los Van Van's traditional winter tour, which begins with concerts in Helsinki and Copenhagen terminating in Spain in March before they return to the US for a longer tour in June. Also touring in March is Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor. We have just updated their tour page with additional dates today. Havana D'Primera will be returning to Europe for the second time and will finally play in my hometown of Stockholm on March 25th. In April Monica Mesa will be doing a promotional tour with her band Maquina Perfecta under the musical direction of Joel Dominguez. Orquesta Revé is also expected to tour in March and April just as they complete the mixing of their new CD "De que estamos hablando", but currently the only date we have for them is March 21 at Cubamemucho in Munich. And finally El Indio and Tirsio Duarte will be in Europe from March through May so keep a lookout for their concerts. Right now all we know about is the festival in Dampierre - Nevoy, France on March 12-13. If you know of any tours we have missed send me an e-mail.

And in the US this spring there are a number of exciting tours planned as the floodgates open. While we wait for the confirmed dates to be released we can at least tell you that Alaín Daniel has announced a US tour at his Facebook site, so all you Mikis get ready.

This is like watching the actual ballet performance of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring  after hearing the music alone for years. Rueda con Ritmo have started with Issac's December 1997 El Palacio version of La vida sin esperanza -- in my humble opinion the greatest  single live timba performance of all time --  carefully edited it down to 5 minutes and choreographed an elaborate rueda routine that does justice to all the incredible gear changes.

Behold!

Since the first decade of the new century is coming to a close, I decided it was time to go high-tech. I bought a program that easily adds subtitles to videos. So now both Spanish and English speaking fans will be able to enjoy the interviews! Click here or on the image above to watch the video. And stay tuned for the complete concert report.

Fabrice Delpech (Nombre real de Deldongo), es un músico trascendente. Nacido en Cahors, la zona occitana de Francia, lugar de origen de los famosos trovadores o juglares. Fabrice Delpech, tiene formación musical adquirida en el conservatorio. Inicia sus estudios musicales a los 6 años. Es ejecutante de piano, bajo, guitarra y cantante. Además usa a la perfección el español, inglés, portugués y francés (su lengua natal). Es compositor de la mayoría de sus temas, arreglista y Director. También ha enseñado música en Toulouse y París. Se ha desempeñado como líder de varias agrupaciones musicales, con los cuales ha incursionado en diferentes géneros musicales; Jungle Cost (Funk Pop), Cuban Corezos (Salsa), Deldongo (Jazz Fusión), Aguacate (Big Band Latin Jazz Salsa), Torcida N 1 (Jazz Brasilense), Electricum (Jazz Rock).

USA Timberos & Timberas alert! Preparense que viene Van Van. Mi gente aquí les presento las primeras fechas de la giras del verano:

June 6 & 7 - NEW YORK - venue TBD* (check for upadates)

June 9 - DENVER - venue TBD* (check for upadates)

June 10 & 11 - ALBUQUERQUE / LAS VEGAS - venue TBD* (check for upadates)

June 12 - LOS ANGELES - Hollywood Bowl

June 13 - SAN DIEGO - Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay

June 19 - BOONVILLE - California Sierra Nevada World Music Festival

June 20 - SAN FRANCISCO - Stern Grove Park

*for promoter inquiries please contact Mr. Paul Goldman of Monterey International

Click here to see all the soundcheck VIDEOS
 Oprima aquí para ver los VIDEOS del soundcheck

February 11, 2010 - RUMBANKETE - Sound Check - Yoshi's Oakland

Presenting Sponsor CUBAVERA.com

Associate Sponsor e.K. Clothing

Tom Bauer was present for the annual Fiesta Latina at Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich. This year's concert was held by Alexander Acosta y La Nueva Propuesta, and Tom has sent us a selection of his excellent photos. Click here or on the photo above to see all of the pictures.

The Fiesta del Tambor is a multifaceted event. Each day from 9:00am to 4:00pm at Palacio de la Rumba percussionists compete in the international Drum Festival Contest. Winners receive new instruments within their area of specialty. The contest is open to both Cuban and non-Cuban musicians. There is also a prize for best female interpretation and best child's interpretation. Masters classes and conferences are held as well.

Closest to my own heart, every day there is a selection of great concerts to choose from. Here are some of the groups you can see if you are in Havana at this time: Klímax celebrating their 15th anniversary, Yoruba Andabo celebrating their 25th anniversary, Rumbatá de Camaguey, Conjunto Folklórico Nacional, Maraca y Otra Visión, Muñequitos de Matanzas, Pupy y los que Son Son, Elito Revé y Su Charangón, Lázaro Valdés y Bamboleo, Manolito Simonet, Los Papines, Rumberos de Cuba, Pachito Alonso y sus Kini Kini, Maykel Blanco, Addaché de Matanzas and Habana C. For the complete program of the 2010 Fiesta del Tambor and instruction for registration in the contest click here.

click on this banner to register and for more info
April 26-29 2010 | Conrad San Juan Condado Plaza, Puerto Rico

Latin Pulse Music, the parent company of TIMBA.com, is participating as a media sponsor in the 2010 Billboard Latin Music Conference & Awards. The event -hosted at the Hotel Conrad Condado Plaza in San Juan, Puerto Rico- will take place April 26 through the 29nth. This industry conference culminates with the Billboard Latin Music Awards ceremony, which will be broadcasted on Telemundo. It features four days of programming including Educational Panel Discussions (guided by Billboard’s Leila Cobo), Superstar Q&A sessions, Artist Showcases, Networking Events and The Billboard Bash, a separate celebration highlighted by performances by Billboard Latin Music Award Finalists. Be sure to stop by our table to say hi. Nos vemos en la isla del encanto....Puerto Rico!

The Billboard Latin Music Conference - the single most important Latin music industry event in the world -unites today's top industry executives to do business, discuss hot button topics and celebrate Latin music.

Use Promo Code: LPM & SAVE $200! - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TODAY!
Contact Lisa Kastner at 646-654-4643 or LKastner@billboard.com

Pascualito Cabreras posted today at Facebook that due to factors beyond their control, Tumbao Habana is not on the tour with Alexander Acosta. They will still be performing two concerts in France: February 27 at Salle Victoire 2 in Montpellier and February 28 at New Morning in Paris. If other concerts are scheduled during their stay in Europe, we will post the information at Timba.com so keep checking with us. For more details see Tumbao Habana's Facebook page.

I tried to contact Alexander Acosta's manager, but they are on the road returning from a concert in Munich and I have not recieved an answer. However, I have been told by  a person who attended the Bayerischer Hof concert last night, that Alexander is performing with musicians from Italy and as far as I know, the remaining concert dates for his tour are unaffected.

If you're in the New York area don't miss tonight's double feature at Iguana's with Pepito Gómez, who needs no introduction to timberos, and Grupo Irek. This evening's performance will include special guest drummer Mauricio Herrera who played with top groups in Cuba including Paulo FG.

Tonight - Thursday: Rumbankete at Yoshi's Oakland

Saturday - Sandy Pérez, Michael Spiro, Lázaro Galarraga at Dance Mission Theater

Friday the 19th: Issac Delgado at Bimbo's 365 Club

Friday, Feb. 26 -- Premiere of Rebeca Mauleón's symphonic debut: Suite Afro-Cubano.

It's been an extremely interesting process, but I'm definitely ready to return to Volume 5: Introduction to Timba, which is 90% done and will hopefully go live in a week or two.

Click here for some previews of Volume 4.

oprima aquí para oir pistas - click here to listen to previews

Dirigido por el ex-Pupy y los que Son Son trombonista Andrés "El Paisa" Fernández Ordoñez, esta orquesta de Bélgica realiza su segundo disco. Creativos arreglos con buena marcha destacan los temas originales del joven grupo. Invitados especiales José "Pepito" Gómez (tema 4) y Marc Bishoff (temas 6 y 8). La producción es el resultado de la busqueda de nuevos caminos e interpretaciones de la música popular cubana. Con un repertorio propio han logrado fusionar con gran elegancia la timba con la bachata, salsa, jazz, bomba pertorriqueña y otros ritmos latinos. La descarga de este álbum incluye el librito completo del CD (full CD booklet pdf included). MUY RECOMMENDADO.

Directed by the ex-Pupy y los que Son Son trombonist Andrés "El Paisa" Fernández Ordoñez, this Belguim based orchestra presents its second release. Creative arrangements mark the great original compositions and tight performance. Special guests include singer José "Pepito" Gómez (track 4) and pianist Marc Bishoff (tracks 6 & 8). The production is a result of the quest for new interpretations of popular Cuban music. Its success lies on the successful mix of Afro-Cuban traditions with bachata, salsa, jazz, puertorican bomba and other caribbean rhythms. Highly Recommended.

The title song was written and arranged by Pachi and Andy, the pianist and timbalero respectively. They did other arrangements on the album as well. Aisar Hernández, bassist and musical director, also contributed songs and arrangements, and Elito himself wrote two of the songs on album. All in all there are 12 songs including a rumba as well as a traditional changüí performed by Pipi y sus Estrellas Campesinas. I have a particular fondness for Pipi having spent time at a real changüí party at Casa de Pipi in Yateras.

As for the new charangonera, 26-year old Susel "La China", she is the most recent addition to the band having been with Sello LA previously. Although she's not well known...yet...she sings well and has good technique. I am looking forward to seeing this new addition to the group. As I mentioned in the previous report, "La China" sings "Ya sé cantar, ya sé bailar", a song that was recorded by Elio Revé Matos, probably in the 70s according to our discography. It has been given new life by a Pachi/Andy arrangement.

The more I hear about this CD the more excited I get! So ya'll better get ready over there in El Yuma!

Come and join us as we explore and network percussive traditions from the African Diaspora with some of most experienced artists and performers in the U.S. 
Contact: Berta P. Jottar = berta.p.jottar [at] williams [dot] edu 

New Meanings: Afro-Descendant Percussion Practice - A Symposium
Williams College + Mass MoCA | February 12-14, 2010

New Meanings: Afro-Descendant Percussion Practices, explores the impact and direction of musical developments in the African Diaspora.  Through interactive workshops, panels, lecture-demonstrations, video and concerts, the symposium will examine the contemporary interconnectivity that exists between percussion practices from West Africa, the Caribbean and the U.S. Guest lecturers and artists include: Pedrito Martinez, Roman Diaz, M’bemba Bangoura, Ilu Aye, Café da Silva, Tyshawn Sorey, Mike Wimberly, Barbara Browning, Sonny Allen, Frisner Augustine, Atiba Rorie, Berta Jottar, Bashir Shakur, and more!!

Student Registration $35
Early Registration $75  (before Jan. 29)
Late Registration $85  (before Feb. 12)
Door Registration $100 

Nos hemos acostumbrado a escuchar agrupaciones timberas de USA, Cuba y Europeas, pero en América del Sur, hay una agrupación que está dando que hablar y tiene su base en Venezuela,Timba Club Orquesta.

La agrupación fue formada en el año 2006. Ellos radican en el Estado de Boliva. El Director General es Robert Barreto, quien además es Pailero o Timbalero; tambien la integran Erwin Rojas (cantante), Felix Pinto (Cantante), Robert Gonzales (Cantante), Alejandro Alcalas (cantante), Jairo Barreto (Trompeta), Luisito Ruiz (Trompeta), Jorge "Kinito" Barreto (Trombón), Johan Mejias (Trombón), Fernando Silveira (Tumbadoras), Elvis Rambert (Bongó), Esteban Campos (Piano y Arreglos), Martin Muñoz (Teclado), Nidio Figueroa (Bass y Baby Bass), Robert Barreto Jr (Guitarra).

Timba Club Orquesta es una agrupación netamente timbera, pero en su repertorio también incluyen otros géneros. Ya en el programa la tenemos sonando desde hace 2 años o más. Ahora los visitantes de timba.com escucharán el nuevo material que ya está sonando en Radio Timba.

click here to listen to sample tracks

This December 2009 CD release coincided with their celebration in Dallas at Cirque Night Club (6-9pm) where close to 600 patrons, fans & media will unite to taste the savory recipe that this hot young band cooks up before continuing their hectic tour schedule. It also marks the radio debut of the CD and as ‘defenders of the music realm’ we ask that you support Havana NRG! Cuban Orchestra this weekend by playing the opening track, “DIME SI TE VAS”, as the official launch of the CD.

Receta Perfecta made our friend Tijana Ilich's well read Latin music blog on About.com Top Ten Salsa and Timba Albums of 2009. Tijana reports: 

"Listening to lots of the timba albums that came out this year, I was disappointed with perennial favorites Charanga Habanera and even the new Los Van Van. Surprisingly, I loved Receta Perfecta by Havana NRG. Why surprising? Havana NRG is a young timba band from Texas -- not exactly the place you expect to hear a lot of timba. But this group of young, mostly Cuban expatriates makes the genre oh-so-approachable with infectious melodies and boundless energy. The album's timba tunes are clear and crisp. They also mix-it-up with other tropical rhythms, which adds to a well thought out album. The 'NRG' stands for 'New Rhythm Generation' and seems to be the prescription for putting new life to a genre that's rumored to be on life support."

Way to go Mariela, Maiquel and crew! Thank you for your continuing support of independent artists and their projects and the preservation of our music. If we do not do it ‘commercial’ radio certainly won’t!

All told there are 106 audio files covering a wide range of tumbaos and exercises for feeling folkloric rhythms correctly.

Click here for a quick preview - and here to download the eBook and audio.

Many heartfelt thanks from TIMBA.com & Rumbankete to CUBAVERA and e.K. Clothing for their financial support. Participation from Cubavera, as the presenting sponsor, and e.K. Clothing as the associate sponsor allows contemporary Cuban big band music to thrive and deliver its cultural contribution to the community at large.

PRESENTING SPONSOR
shop online for CUBAVERA guayaberas, jackets, suits, pants & hats
Cubavera is a division of Perry Ellis International

Building on the success of Perry Ellis International, George and Oscar Feldenkreis decided to capitalize on the growth, potential, and appeal of Latin culture by expanding into a full lifestyle brand, and in 2000 launched CUBAVERA. Since its inception the Cubavera brand has transformed the ideals, joy and "sabor" of Latin culture into apparel. Taking authentic fundamentals from the traditional guayabera, the brand couples innovative fabrics and design for a new twist on a traditional staple. The line has developed from its signature shirts into a collection offering a variety of suit separates, shirts, jackets, pants and shorts.

ASSOCIATE SPONSOR
shop online for salsa dresses, dancewear, dance shows & dance accessories 

e.K. Clothing is a Los Angeles based store devoted exclusively to offering REASONABLY PRICED social dancewear. Because we specialize in Latin dancewear, our styles are very popular with Salsa, Tango and Ballroom dancers looking for social dance outfits or practice wear. However, the wearability and fit of our styles make e.K. Clothing even more practical when looking for night clubwear, party attire and cocktail dresses. 

Click on the continue reading link below to get the full story...

Unfortunately the great master pianist many of us were lucky enough to see with Cubanismo has not come back from the dead, but the young and very much alive Alfredo Rodríguez is well worthy of his famous name. Tom saw him at the 2009 Monterery Jazz Festival and was completely blown away. Next Tuesday.

Para esta producción se ha movido hasta Miami para grabar con una selección impecable de músicos: Ángel Arce (pututi II), Edward Magariaga, Robert Vilera, Alexis Arce (pututi I), Yanko, Tony Pérez y Alberto Barros, entre otros.

Esperamos ansiosos este nuevo disco del amigo MOise. Hasta entonces podemos ir disfrutando con este tema promocional que está disponible en su web oficial. Para ver videos de Moise oprima aquí.

Más información: www.moise.es

Inspired by the recent surge in Cuban tours, I've also made quite a bit of progress lately on the first three Melón volumes - V6, V7 and V8.

Ailyn was only 17 when she joined the band and 19 when she shouldered the role of lead female vocalist. She has always had a beautiful voice but with the years she has also developed a professionalism and a charismatic stage presence. Now at the ripe old age of 23 she will be hitting "El Yuma" for the first time. But Ailyn isn't the only singer. The ladies will enjoy Dayan, ex-Charanga Forever, who has a great voice and is an excellent dancer. He adds a shot of testosterone-loaded energy to the band. Speaking of Ailyn and Dayan, Gabriel from Yemayá's Verse in her 2009 Havana Report said: "Limonta must have two of the most charismatic singers in Havana in those two", and Gabriel is one of the most hard-to-impress people I know, so don't miss it when Azúcar Negra hits the States.

Azúcar Negra - "Con un canto en el pecho"
from the CD "Exceso de equipaje"

But now Lily has taken a step out on her own forming her own group, Lily y Su Sonora Clásica. Having her own orchestra allows Lily to express her passion for son but with a modern take or as she puts it: "traditional son with the energy of timba". The band is a septeto with an impressive list of musicians: Lily Hernández, Calixto Oviedo, Pepe Espinosa, Oldrich Gonzalez, Ramon Rodriguez, Oslen Ceballo, and with Yarién Oviedo and Whitney Hernández on vocals. You can check out a fan video from the first performance below.

José comes from a musical family. His cousin Alina Torres is well-known as a composer of hits for groups such as  La Charanga Habanera, Los Van Van and Pupy y Los Que Son Son. His son is the band's drummer and recently Salsa Tropical has expanded it's repertoire with new songs written by yet another Torres, 18-year old Fernando Torres of La Habana. The catchy and danceable tunes "Dándole la vuelta al mundo" and "Tiki Tiki" were both written by this talented young composer who happens to be José's nephew.

José Torres y Salsa Tropical are in the process of recording their new material. The instruments are finished and now the vocal tracks, mix and master remain. But you don't have to wait, you can already listen to a good live recording of "Dándole la vuelta al mundo" with Juanky on Timba.com radio. And below is a video of the live performace. Stay tuned because we will soon be adding "Tiki Tiki" to the radio as well. Click on the link below that says "Continue reading" for a video of "Dándole la vuelta" al mundo and the list of bandmembers.

Chékere Making & Playing

with Bobi Céspedes
Join us: January 9th, 16th, 23rd, and February 20th
From 1pm to 3pm
(Chekeré Playing starts April 3rd)
For registration and location of classes information please call 510-290-8551 - Oakland, California

Registrations open January 4th 2010.
1. Chekeré Making starts January 9th, 1 to 3pm
2. Orisha Song Class starts January 10th 1 to 3pm
3. El Igbodu February 22nd through 26th  7to 9pm
4. Chekeré Playing starts April 3rd

Among the 800+ attendees of the Dec. 22 Charanga Habanera show in San Francisco were Nick & Serena of SalsaValeTodo, happily reporting that registration is almost full for their upcoming and 2nd Annual SALSA RUEDA FESTIVAL at the Hotel Whitcomb. 

This year they will be offering over 40 workshops in Cuban-style salsa, Rueda de Casino, Rumba, Afro-Cuban Folkloric, Son, Cha Cha Cha, Danzon, Salsa Suelta, Cuban Styling for Ladies, Cuban Cabaret and Mambo, and Music appreciation and listening classes. Beginning dancers will have the unique opportunity of extensive study in a Beginner's Track devoted to giving new dancers the basics and introducing other dancer's to Cuban dance. 

The festival will also host special guest, Roberto Borrell who will teach danzon, son, cha cha cha and present his multi-media demonstration and lecture on "Timba: Dancing Though Time".  Four nights of parties will include performances and three live Timba bands.

Enjoy dancing with casineros from around the world!!

It was twenty years ago today...Juan Formell taught the band to play. Actually forty, and as far as Miami is concerned, its more like ten years since Los Van Van's last appearance. At that time the show was cancelled due to the protests that rang clear -there is an understanding between the Cubans who lost everything and have suffered in exile. In response to this, another message has also continued to ring true. Los Van Van is a group of artists that herald a lasting musical movement, used by many to get in touch with their culture and shun the political spin. Inside of that tension many wish they could enjoy the music more openly and that some of the barriers can be brought down.   

This picture is the present. One that would have been impossible just two years ago. Take a good look at it. Corporate America is behind it. Maybe you should be too?

Many thanks to Eli Silva for this outstanding photograph. An ex-trumpet player based in the Miami area, Eli writes music reports and has an extensive photo gallery here on TIMBA.com. To solicit his professional photography services you can contact him at photographybyeli [at] aol [dot] com. Te botaste con esta foto Eli.

He also reports that, after many years, master percussionist from Puerto Rico Giovanni Hidalgo is set to perform in Cuba along woth Orlando "Maraca" Valle and other music greats. He states that because Giovanni has a very special set of hands he is well regarded and respected by many percussionists in Cuba. 

As with past CDs, bandleader Pascualito Cabrejas has put together an album with a mix of music styles ranging from timba to son to bachata to ballad, which makes this a CD you can take with you to "latin" parties since it has a little something for everyone. Stay tuned for the full review. in the meantime here is the track list.

Track list: 
Y tu quisieras saber 
Padrino 
A la familia cubana (with Alexander Abreu) 
No hay como mi son (son)
No me conformo (bachata)
Ella no tiene na' 
Candela 
Mambo duro 
Devuelveme la vida (ballad)
No te rompas la cabeza 
De que lado esta la luna 
La nena

SOB's website show another band playing an earlier show at 8pm but the CH show (at 1:00 a.m.) is definitely happening. Get your ticket now or you'll be llorando en Nueva York!

Tiempo Libre plays SOBs later this month, on Friday, January 22.

José Antonio Rodríguez González, better known to timba fans as Pepitín, is back in the studio after leaving Salsa Mayor. He is not cutting a new timba CD, but rather recording some traditional style songs that will be released when the mix is finished.

The musicians are:
Cesar 'El Lento' - tres
San Miguel - guitar
Ernesto Palmas (director of los clasicos del son) - bass
Rolando Salgado 'el niño mentira' - percussion
Robby (Manolito y Su Trabuco) - trumpet

QBA at Moe's Alley in Santa Cruz tonight, Jan. 1st.

Charanga Habanera at Club 90 Degrees in Miami tomorrow, Jan. 2nd.

Nuestro amigo Américo Miranda nos informa que Los Van Van tienen los siguientes conciertos confirmados: el 28 de Enero en Key West, Florida (sitio exacto indeterminado), el 31 de Enero en el James L. Knight Center en Miami, y el 4 de Febrero en Puerto Rico en el Coliseo José Miguel Agrelot de la ciudad de Hato Rey (area metropolitana de San Juan).

Para más información presionen en los siguientes enlaces:
Key West Commerce - James L. Knight Center  -  Coliseo José Miguel Agrelot

Mayito Rivera de Los Van Van  --  foto cortesía de Tom Bauer

Click here for Tom Ehrlich's gallery of photos from the Dec. 22 San Francisco Show and don't forget about today's show at Rancho Gaspar!

If you can only catch one, Rancho Gaspar, (the outdoor venue that was the scene of Manolín's El puente concert), is one of my favorite venues of all-time.

As the premiere of AVATAR 3D courses through the hi-tech veins of the Bay Area, there were other accounts on an intense visual spectacle. After 9 years very long years, David Calzado y su Charanga Habanera delivers its now signature timbatón -timba con reguetón- concert to 800+ in attendance in San Fransisco on Tuesday night just past. More pictures and analysis to follow from Tom Ehrlich and Kevin Moore, but here are some quick juicy bits so you can get a taste of what you missed...click on the images to check out the video clips. Read the FULL REPORT, including the famous "despelotera" challenge by clicking on the continue reading link below...

Irrefutable evidence above - Charanga Habanera has made it safely to the Bay Area - the concert is on - go get your tickets - show up early because Sandy Pérez y su Lade with Erick Barbería  is opening with a rumba show.

click here for tickets and join the celebration!

This, my friends, is a picture of David Calzado at Miami International Airport, taken today!

Tomorrow night, Tuesday, Dec. 22nd, Charanga Habanera finally returns to the Bay Area after 9 long and extremely painful years. Click here for tickets and join the celebration!

See you in San Francisco Tuesday Night!

The Nokia Center in Los Angeles hosts the new Conga Room where Chalo Chomat will be performing with La Palabra for their new CD release today the 17nth, Día de San Lázaro. Doors open for this CD release party at 8pm and admission is FREE. Along with Chalo, powerhouse Cuban vocalist Iris Cepeda will be appearing at the Conga Room on Saturday December 19nth with hard-core TIMBA big band Rumbankete, led by monster trombonist Denis Jiron. 

Monster pianist Iván González "Melón" (on vacation in Havana) sat in with Havana d'Primera last night at Casa de Música and reports that the band is on fire. What a combination!

También les ofrecemos este video de NG con muy buen sonido grabado en Japón en el 1992. Incluye el equipo clásico de Feliciano Arango (bajo), Calixto Oviedo (batería), Humberto Sosa (congas), Ignacio (piano) Miguelito Pan con Salsa (teclado), Mena (cantante), Tony Calá (cantante) entres otros. Para ver los videos de NG haz click aquí. Chequeate la versión rusa del bailecito Azucar. Ataca Chicho!

Latin Grammy nominated master Cuban pianist Chuchito Valdes, has been tearing it up at festivals all summer including the Detroit Jazz Festival, Lancaster Music Series, Oakville Jazz Fest, Daytona Beach International Festival and the Pensacola Jazz Festival.  He just completed a 3 day engagement at Latino Arts in Milwaukee where he conducted a number of clinics and a sold out grand performance to rave reviews. Chuchito was featured in a 3-disc CD with his father Chucho and his grandfather Bebo on "Dinastia Valdes" released by Sony this past April.

Click on "continue reading" below for video and tour dates...

Jesús Díaz y su QBA will be at Sweet's Ballroom tonight for the first what what will hopefully be a steady string of Cuban music concerts at this classic (and massive) venue in downtown Oakland. The next event will be a rumba party with Sandy Pérez, Jesús Díaz and Erick Barbería Sunday night, from 7:00-11:00.

La Charanga Habanera - Stockholm, Sweden 28 November 2009

What is undisputeable is that under director David Calzado’s guiding hand, the band has remained at the top of the Cuban charts since 1992, adapting to the recent reggaeton explosion in Cuba by successfully integrating reggaeton into their music and collaborating with some of the most popular reggaeton bands such as Eddy-K, Gente D’Zona and Baby Lores & El Chacal. With the approaching “new premier” of the Charanga Habanera in the US, I think it is timely to share my concert report from Stockholm, November 28, 2009. Click here to read the full concert report including video.

"Tenemos varias giras ya para el próximo año de inmediato -Canada para principios de año,  Peru desde el 25 de febrero al 21 de marzo está confirmado, el sudeste mexicano , por supuesto la gira veraniega de Europa y  de ser posible repetir los EE.UU."

"Para esta gira de EEUU el repertorio sería por supuesto temas del último CD 'La caratula' que contiene varios éxitos como 'Gozando en la Habana' y 'La Caratula'. Además se toman temas mas viejos como 'Pa'que se entere la habana' , 'El Temba', 'Soy Cubano soy Popular' y 'El ciclón de la Habana'. 

Los integrantes actuales son:

Gracias por mantenernos al día Sr. Otero.

Junior, Heikel, Dantes, Lachy & Aned

Last Saturday, November 28th I took the opportunity to talk with Lachy and Heikel so they could introduce themselves to the readers of Timba.com. Junior was on the move most of the time so I didn't get a chance to talk to him, but you should know him from the very popular song "Mentirosa".

Charanga Habanera in SF Countdown Site

Do I hear the distant rumblings of floodgates opening?

Of course, readers in Canada, Perú and Europe, must be rolling around laughing as they watch us poor yumas flailing around in agony and anticipation.

click on the image above to see the full official flyer

Further fueling the news that Cuban bands will begin a new US invasion, this new flyer has surfaced presenting David Calzado y su Charanga Habanera in Miami on Saturday December 26 2009. We know that Danny Lozada is back in the US after his concert at Yoshi's Oakland and rumors are flying that he will sing with La Charanga in Miami. Danny que nos comentas de tu polémica? Anyone with further info on this please write us. The venue is called Dolce Miami, located at 1501 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach. For tickets please visit www.charangahabaneramiami.com.

France based, Cuban singer Donaldo Flores has released a new single -simply called "El Son" (listen to it here on RADIO TIMBA)- in anticipation of the release of his third album. Born in Matanzas, Donaldo's musical career started taking off when he joined la Orquesta Yaguarimu. Moving to Havana he worked with Orland "Maraca"Valle and then replaced Aramis Galindo in Adalberto Álvarez' group.  In 2003 he recorded his first album "El Solitario" and moved to Bordeaux. He is also known as the host of a radio progrma called "Llegó La Música Cubana" on FM 90.1 French radio. His European performances include participation with la Orqeusta Gali and the London based group "Ska Cubano". 

And speaking of hot young singers in Havana, I just saw the Charanga Habanera last night for the first time since 2006 and I had a great time! Report with video coming very soon so stay tuned...

En una publicación pasada anunciamos la llegada de Mayito Rivera a Lima, esta no se produjo por motivos ajenos a la voluntad de Mayito. Muchos de nuestros seguidores se mostraron contrariados por esta situación.

Muchas veces se producen inconvenientes que frenan la llegada de agrupaciones o cantantes a destino fijo, por suerte lo de Mayito, se concretará este fin de semana. Como se anticipó, la presentación de Mayito Rivera, será en el Habana Latin Salsa, ubicado populoso distrito de La Victoria, el Domingo 6 de Diciembre.

Nosotros asistiremos y ofreceremos detalles de dicha presentación, la cual estamos seguros será del agrado de los asistentes, ya les tendremos mas sorpresas.

The first gallery is from the extremely educational rehearsal sessions, where the differences between the Cuban and American approaches was quite apparent.

At one point, Danny mentioned the idea of a reunion tour with Sombrilla, Juan Carlos González and Michel Maza. That would be quite a feat!

Adalberto Álvarez, llegó a Lima. Estuvimos presentes en la conferencia de prensa, realizada en una salsoteca del distrito de Miraflores. Adalberto, estuvo acompañado de su hija Dorgeris Álvarez (pianista de la agrupación) y por los 2 vocalistas de la misma; Michel González Poli y Aldo Isidro Miranda Álvarez. Sigue leyendo con el enlace abajo.....

Danny Lozada 8 and 10 pm shows at Yoshi's Oakland November 25, are a dream come true for timba fans hungry for the fast, intricate music he composes and performs. This is his first Bay Area appearance since 2007. Danny arrives Sunday night, 11/22, for a guest appearance at Jelly’s with Fito Reinoso.

Then Wednesday, 11/25, he’ll light up Yoshi’s Oakland with two shows. Danny’s performance and band leading abilities are amazing and seeing him at this world-famous venue – with an open dance floor and the best sound system anywhere – will be extraordinary.


His 11-piece band of great timba musicians will begin full force at 8 pm, and by the 10 pm show there may be some surprises. 

Hearings this week in Washington, D.C. on lifting the embargo, along with sold out Septeto Nacional shows on the East Coast – have added to the buzz across the U.S. that Cuban music is back full force. Support these internationally recognized musicians and our Bay Area musicians as well.

Both shows are expected to sell out - advance ticket purchase is recommended (click here to buy).

Please help us figure out if any of this is true or just BS. Click here to follow our forum thread on the coming wave of Cuban music. Bring those bands over already people.

Promoters send us your dates to giras [arroba] timba [punto] com

Click on the "continue reading" link below to see a larger version of these mysterious flyers....

Grupo: DOBLE IMPACTO -  Tema: SOY YO
Doble Impacto es una agrupación cubana, cuya música gira en torno a la fusión de reggaeton, timba y otros géneros de la música popular cubana.

Grupo: CONTRABANDO - Tema: MI TURNO
Contrabando, es una agrupación que tiene su base en Belgica, el Director es el trombonista Andrés Fernandez Ordoñes "El Paisa". Su sonoridad gira en torno a la timba y otros géneros de la música cubana.

Otra razón por la cual, Rumba y Son, continua marcando la diferencia. Lo demás es pura especulación.

First - the most exciting show in years from my perspective: On Wednesday, the night before Thanksgiving, Danny Lozada will be at Yoshi's for two shows with a truly killer band and Septeto Nacional sitting in at the 10:00 show. His set list includes 4 songs from Tremendo delirio, 3 from Tanto le pedí and three strong newer originals, including La Habana a revés. Danny will also be sitting in at Jelly's with Ritmo y Armonía on Sunday evening.

Septeto Nacional has been selling out shows in New York and will be at Yoshi's San Francisco on Thanksgiving night and the three nights before that. On Wednesday, they play an 8:00 show and then zip across the bridge to join Danny's late show.

Meanwhile, in Miami, Tiempo Libre will be at Broward Center's Amaturo Theater in Fort Lauderdale.

Whenever anybody changes a page anywhere on timba.com it shows up here, so all you have to do is type www.timba.com, look in this box and you'll immediately know if anyone has added a tour date, an album review, a video, a photo gallery, a new club, a new music teacher, a new dance school, etc. Pretty cool, eh? You can also just click on the link to go to the newly edited page. You can also click "Next" to go back as far as you want through the additions of recent weeks.

These buttons change the menus and other global text and also store the preference so that when a page is available in both languages, it displays in the one you've chosen. Of course, if an article is only available in one language, it always appears.

UPDATE: They were on fire! Like a band from Cuba, the years of rehearsing and arranging have resulted in an overwhelming arsenal of gears and bloques. Murray Low has got that crazy Rolando Luna finger action going and I don't think I've heard any Cuban drummer play the snare drum more creatively than Carlos Caro who was completely off the hook tonight. Look for a photo gallery and maybe even a bit of video from Tom. His fancy new still camera actually takes better video than most dedicated videocams. Also, mark down Dec. 11 at Sweet's Ballroom in Oakland. Jesús didn't give too many details, but it sounds like a major event. This could be a great new Bay Area venue.

Click on "continue reading for more on this.

Issac will be singing tonight, Thursday, Nov. 12, at 8:15 p.m. at the Berklee Performance Center, 136 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston.

Another "Fotos del Día" gallery from Tom Ehrlich

If you check out the post just below this one, note the "comments" link:

If you click on the "2 comments" link - you can join in the discussion.

Tom Ehrlich and I attended the rehearsal for Tuesday night's show (dance floor open) at Yoshi's, Oakland. Click "continue reading La última" for more. Tom's photos are here.

Tony Calá & El Tosco