After a well-deserved break, Maraca is back on tour beginning  September 3 in Pennsylvania followed by  a series of dates on the West Coast.  See our Maraca page in the Tours/Giras section, which Michelle White has updated, and stay tuned for new dates as they are added.  You can hear their single Preguntale A Mi Mujer on Timba Radio. 
A couple of months ago, we reviewed the CD/DVD Reencuentros, which was recorded by Maraca's other recent project, Maraca and His Latin Jazz All Stars (read that review here). Downbeat magazine also liked it well enough to make it one of their Editors' Picks for August 2011.
There is also a new YouTube channel, Maraca's TV  (descargatotal's channel) which at this writing has over 70 video uploads including live clips of recent performances.  Here's a taste:

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     After an absence of far too long, Ernán López Nussa, a piano phenomenon,  will be visiting the Midwest for a small series of performances in Wisconsin and Iowa.  Ernán is part of an emerging family musical dynasty (we recently reviewed his nephew Harold's new CD release as well), and those of us who follow the jazz portion of the Cuban musical spectrum have enjoyed his work as far back as his time with Grupo Afrocuba and Cuarto Espacio.   A decade ago he wowed American audiences with some performances in support of his CD release Delirium (not always the easiest thing to find here but worth the effort to do so), and most recently he has been working in a trio format with Ángel Gastón Joya Perellada and Enrique Plá Garcia.  For these US appearances, he will be performing with Jimmy Branly and Jorge Sawa Perez.  Ernán is one of the top Cuban jazz pianists in a field of brutal competition for that distinction.
     For this trip, the performances will be as follows:
26 August 2011:  Orton Park , 1200 Spaight Street, Madison WI at 5:45pm
27 August 2011:  Helen Bader Recital Hall, Wisconsin Conservatory of Music , 1584 Prospect Av, Milwaukee WI at 7:30pm
28 August 2011:  Orton Park again at 5PM, then The Cardinal Bar, 418 E. Wilson St, Madison WI at 9pm
30 August 2011: Legion Arts , 1103 S. 3rd St. East, Cedar Rapids IA at 7pm
     Good news/bad news:  The bad news is that there are unlikely to be additional appearances here just now.  The good news is that we are hearing talk of a possible more extensive tour in 2012.  His official website, which includes a discography and some video clips (but does not post his tour schedules) is Ernanlopeznussa.com

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  All of the people who talked to us about seeing Maraca live during this current tour said some version of "That was great, we wanted more!"  Well, folks, more has come to your doorsteps -- on Monday, July 25th at 6PM Eastern, Maraca will be performing on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and this performance will be webcast live on the Kennedy Center's website.  If you are able to attend the performance live, admission is free, and if you can't attend in person, the webcast is free.  Opportunities like this don't come along very often, so enjoy it while it's there. 
CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO THE KENNEDY CENTER WEBSITE

The Kennedy Center folks  aren't going to win the "Most Eloquent Description of What A Musician Is Presenting" contest for their promo blurbs, but the fact that they stage these concerts and do these webcasts at all more than compensates for that.  AND, best of all, if you couldn't be there for the live stream, they archive performances on their website.  (Remember though, there's nothing like an in-person experience when you can do it...)

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      Sierra Maestra launched its 2011 United States Tour in Chicago with a rousing outdoor concert at Chicago's Millennium Park on Thursday, July 14 followed by a great indoor dance party at the Mayne Stage on Friday, July 15.  The Millennium Park concert had an opening set by Chicago's own Funkadesi,  which does a mix of bhangra, funk, reggae and the kitchen sink quite well.  They made a tasty appetizer to Sierra Maestra's main course of la musica Cubana.  Much dancing erupted, even in the seated area.  It's always fun to time how long  the city's "Please don't dance in the seats, there is space for that back in the park" requests actually remain effective when a band like Funkadesi or Sierra Maestra hits the stage.  Kudos to the city for bringing them here.

Sierra Maestra 's followup at the Mayne Stage was a high-energy Cuban dance party with Son, Guaracha and  other rhythms that ended with a Conga line (we're saving  that Conga line  for a future post). Now then, there's really no substitute for catching a band like this live, so Timba.com's own Michelle White has posted their tour schedule here , but for those of you who live on another planet or just can't get to a live concert for some other reason, there is some relief available:
click here to read the full story about Sierra Maestra in Chicago and more concert photos

1.  Chicago's radio station WFMT (98.7 FM) is broadcasting its recording of  the Millennium Park concert on Friday July 22 at 11pm Central time, and they stream on the web!
2.  You can always buy (you should really do that anyway) their recent CD, Sonando Ya, which was nominated for a Latin Grammy last year and which we reviewed here a few posts ago.  
3.  We have posted a few photos from the Chicago concerts.  We also sat down with some of them for a fascinating video interview last Friday, and we'll be posting that in the future after we add in an English translation. For now, Click here for photos of Sierra Maestra's Chicago concerts

Item Two:  Maraca Tour Continues

     We caught Maraca 's performances in Milwaukee and Chicago and can't say enough good things about the current incarnation of his 13-piece band from Havana.  In fact, we're going to help you see what the crowds thought:  We have a gallery from Chicago and Milwaukee (and Colorado thanks to Celine's help) that includes, in addition to the usual shots of the musicians,  some pictures with a "band's eye" view of the crowds.  This group is throwing down some serious dance music (including some killer Timba), and the crowds are responding accordingly. click here to read the full story about Maraca and for more photos from Colorado, Wisconsin and Illinois

Item Three:  ¡Que Palo, Palo!

When the music is good enough, we have a special place in our heart for musicians and bands that defy labels if they really do have the music to go along with the posture.  Palo! is based in Miami, and its highly-talented members include Ed Calle, whose sax work alone is worth a listen, along with a vibrant singer, Leslie Cartaya, mad musical scientist Steve Roitstein (the leader), and two killer percussionists originally  from Cuba,  Philbert Armenteros and Raymer Olalde. Click here to read the full story and for more photos from Palo's recent Chicago concert.

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