Miriam Ramos To Perform in Miami - Ernesto Vega To Perform in Houston

ENGLISH: Cubadisco 2013 Grand Prize winner and Latin GRAMMY nominee (also 2013) Miriam Ramos will be performing at the Miami Dade County Auditorium on January 18 and 19, Also performing in this concert will be pianist Ulises Hernández. Miriam will be singing selections from her award-winning trilogy La Canción Cubana (you can read our review here) and will be accompanied by an excellent pianist from that project, Rolando Luna. For more information and to purchase tickets, see the Fundarte web page for the event.
ESPAÑOL: Miriam Ramos, ganadora del Gran Premio de Cubadisco 2013 y nominado al Latin GRAMMY (también 2013) cantará en el Miami Dade County Auditorium el 18 y el 19 de enero. También actuará en este concierto será el pianista Ulises Hernández. Miriam estará cantando selecciones de su galardonada trilogía La Canción Cubana (puede leer nuestra reseña aquí) y estará acompañado por un excelente pianista de ese proyecto, Rolando Luna. Para más información y para compra boletos, visite la página web de Fundarte sobre el evento.

ENGLISH: On January 23, Cuban Jazz clarinet wizard and composer Ernesto Vega will be performing at the VIP Preview for the Trinity Jazz Festival in Houston,Texas. His debut release Venir al Mundo won Cubadisco awards for Jazz and Design in 2009 along with being nominated in the Ópera Prima (Best New Artist) and Liner Notes categories. (You can read our review here.) Ernesto recently performed at special event at the JEN (Jazz Education Network) conference in Dallas, and we expect to see and hear a lot more about him in the future, especially since he is expected to release a new recording with Harold López-Nussa later this year. For more information, see the Trinity Jazz Festival website.
ESPAÑOL: El 23 de enero, mago cubano de clarinete Jazz y compositor Ernesto Vega tocará en el VIP Prevista del Trinity Jazz Festival en Houston, Texas. Su album debut Venir al Mundo ganó premios Cubadisco en las categorias Jazz y Diseño en 2009 junto con haber sido nominado en las categorias Ópera Prima (Mejor Artista Nuevo) y notas discográficas. (Puede leer nuestra reseña aquí.) Ernesto tocó recentemiente para un evento especial en la conferencia JEN (Jazz Education Network) en Dallas, y esperamos ver y escuchar mucho más sobre él en el futuro, sobre todo porque se espera que lanzará un nuevo fonograma con Harold López-Nussa más adelante este año. Para más información, visite el sitio web del Trinity Jazz Festival.

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Sunday, 05 January 2014, 02:14 AM

Photo Gallery 1 - Havana Jazz Plaza International Festival

ENGLISH: Anyone who despairs about the current state of Jazz in the world need only look to Havana, Cuba to find solace. We have written before about the musical renaissance currently underway among Cuban musicians living in New York, and Havana is simultaneously experiencing one of its own. This atmosphere of excitement and innovation was evident everywhere during Jazz Plaza 2013, the 29th International Jazz Festival in Havana. You can read the rest of the article in English here...

ESPAÑOL: Cualquier persona que desespera por el estado actual del Jazz en el mundo sólo necesita mirar a La Habana para encontrar consuelo. Hemos escrito antes sobre el renacimiento musical en curso entre los músicos cubanos que viven en Nueva York, y La Habana está experimentando lo suyo. Esta atmósfera de entusiasmo y la innovación era evidente en todas partes durante el Jazz Plaza 2013, el 29º Festival Internacional de Jazz de La Habana. Puede leer el resto del articulo aquí...

Photo Gallery 2 - Havana Jazz Plaza International Festival

Photo Gallery 3 - Havana Jazz Plaza International Festival

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Sunday, 29 December 2013, 09:46 AM

Bill Tilford went to Havana with a licensed cultural/educational "people to people" group trip organized by Plaza Cuba this month, and Jazz Plaza, the great Jazz festival in Havana, was going on at night during the trip. Plaza Cuba's trips are a great way to visit Cuba legally in a structured, culturally-oriented setting, and while there, he also obtained a lot of information and recordings. Next month, you will see impressions (with photos) of Jazz Plaza, more information about the music industry in Cuba, more about Cubadisco (Cuba's music awards program and festival) and many, many CD reviews. In the meantime, Happy New Year!

Bill Tilford fue a La Habana este mes con una licencia culturales / educativos "pueblo a pueblo" viaje en grupo organizado por Plaza Cuba, y Jazz Plaza, el gran festival de Jazz en La Habana, estaba pasando en la noche durante este viaje. Viajar con Plaza Cuba es un gran manera de visitar Cuba legalmente en un ambiente estructurado y orientado culturalmente, y mientras allí, él obtuvó también un montón de información y grabaciones. Proximo mes, ustedes verán unas impresiones (con fotos) de Jazz Plaza, más información acerca de la industría de la música en Cuba, más acerca de Cubadisco (el programa y feria de premios de la música en Cuba) y muchísimas reseñas de CDs. Mientras tanto, ¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

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Sunday, 08 December 2013, 02:54 AM

Musicians born in Cuba figure prominently in four of the five nominees in the Latin Jazz category of the 56th GRAMMY® Awards, and two of the nominees (Yo by Roberto Fonseca and La noche más Larga by Buika) are good illustrations of why it can be a challenge to assign a genre to some of the best new music being made today. Here are the nominees in alphabetical order by title:

Eggῡn by Omar Sosa. Omar was born in Cuba and is now based in Spain.This recording's origins are in a commission from the Barcelona Jazz Festival.
You can read our review in English here

La noche más larga by Buika. Although Buika herself was born in Mallorca and is still based in Spain, her key collaborators (including Musical Director Ivan Melón Lewis) have usually been Cuban in recent years.
You can read our review in English here
Se puede leer nuestra reseña en español aquí

Latin Jazz - Jazz Latin by the Wayne Wallace Latin Jazz Quintet. This quintet is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, This writer admits that he didn't see this one coming, but it's a quality album from a bandleader who was already a five-time GRAMMY® nominee.
Not yet reviewed.

Song For Maura by Paquito d'Rivera. Born in Cuba and now based in the United States, Paquito needs no introduction, and he now works in multiple styles. This time, he teamed up with Brasil's Trio Corriente for a Brasilian Jazz recording.
Not yet reviewed.

Yo by Roberto Fonseca. Roberto was born and is still based in Cuba, and the group toured the United States earlier this year, electrifying audiences wherever they went. This recording won the Cubadisco Award in the Fusion category (it was also nominated in Jazz) earlier this year.
You can read our review in English here
Se puede leer nuestra reseña en español aquí

Finally, one of the recordings that this writer had hoped would make the cut was Expectativas, the second recording by Manuel Valera and the New Cuban Express. It didn't, but a video from the recording session was recently published on YouTube and is worth sharing: