The Latin GRAMMY awards are getting most of the industry's attention right now, but the Lotus Festival in Bloomington Indiana will be presenting Cubadisco winner Roberto Fonseca on Friday, Sept. 27 at 10:30pm. Roberto's recording Yo won the Cubadisco 2013 awards (Cuba's equivalent of a GRAMMY)  for  Fusion and Recording, and it was also nominated in Jazz and Design.   Bill Tilford spoke with Roberto on the telephone Tuesday night, and you can hear that conversation (in English) here (audio quality is mediocre but listenable, and Roberto is interesting). 

Roberto is also opening for the Buena Vista Social Club concert at Orchestra Hall in Chicago on Sunday the 29th (if you haven't bought your ticket yet, that one is already sold out.) 

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Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana is celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival, a wonderful event that deserves a lot more national notice than it usually receives. This year's offerings include Cuban Jazz and Fusion artist Roberto Fonseca, whose recording Yo won Cubadisco 2013 awards in the Fusion and Recording (engineering) categories this year (you can read a review of Yo here).  Roberto is playing Friday, September 27 at 10:30 pm, and this show, which will be an interesting departure from what most US listeners typically expect from Cuban music concerts if the material from Yo is performed, is highly recommended. Click here for the Lotus festival's page, which includes a live video. While you're there, check out the rest of the festival schedule, there aren't any additional Cuban acts, but it is very impressive.

In Los Angeles, the AC Jazz Project is having its official CD release party for the new recording Conga Buena at the Catalina Bar and Grill in Los Angeles on Thursday, September 26 at 8:30pm.  This group is based in Los Angeles California and features veterans of Maraca, Klimax, Afrocuba and Opus 13.  The leader, trumpeter/composer Josiel Pérez, is originally from Piñar del Rio, played with Maraca and Klimax, and is just getting established in the US after coming here in 2011. The group does both Cuban Jazz and Cuban dance music (Timba, Rumba, Son etc.), and some tracks are already on the radio in a few cities. The album is now available in CD Baby and iTunes

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Available Now:  Expectativas by Manuel Valera & New Cuban Express

Expectativas is the second New Cuban Express recording, and like the first one, it is extraordinary. You can read a review of the recording here.  Better yet, an extended sample of one of the TimbaJazz tracks, Chamber Timba, is posted on manuelvalera.com
This is available now through CD Baby, Amazon.com and iTunes. The group will be performing at a CD release party November 6 at the Jazz Standard in New York.

Available September 17:  Conga Buena by the AC Jazz Project

Conga Buena is a potent mix of Afro-Cuban Jazz and modern Cuban dance music, and the AC Jazz Project, led by Josiel Pérez (ex-Maraca and Klimax) features alumni of many of Cuba's best bands. This recording features some heavy hitters like Luis Conte, Jimmy Branly, Kamasi Washington and Dennis Chambers.  The recording will be available for purchase from CD Baby and iTunes. The group will be performing its CD release party on September 26 at the Catalina Jazz Club in Los Angeles, California.

Available October 18:  Con la música cubana no by Timbalive

Timbalive is coming out with a brand new Timba album, Con la música Cubana no, on October 18. The group will be touring Europe in November 2013. More about the album closer to the release date, but in the meantime, Timbalive has been floating a single from the album.  Here is their official video of that song, Conmigo No:

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Dayramir González (see Dayramir González Brings it to LA and Beyond , July 16) recently sent word about another great video, Iyesa con Miel:  

Ivan Llanes  (see Ivan Llanes & The Cuban Way , March 30) checked in with one of his own, La Caliente :

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