Bárbaro Fines y su Mayimbe Europe 2016

On the heels of the release of "Te Vi Nacer" - their third and hottest CD yet - Bárbaro Fines y su Mayimbe are in Europe and will kick off their month-long tour tonight with a concert at Palacio de la Salsa in Riccione, Italy. The tour will take them to Italy, France, Spain, Germany and Sweden.  Click here to find a concert near you. The band is also planning a tour of the US later this year, so stay tuned for more information.

Emilio Frias "El Niño" y La Verdad in Venezuela

Also touring right now Emilio Frias "El Niño" y La Verdad are in Venezuela for three weeks. We have updated the tours page so check it out. We know that El Niño y La Verdad have been in the studio working on their next release, so stay tuned for updates about the new CD, which features a number of guest artists including José Alberto "El Canario" and Alexander Abreu.

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continue reading Timbera Mayor

"History was made earlier this week when President Obama became the 2nd sitting American president to visit Cuba in nearly 90 years, and while all eyes (and ears) continue to await the results of the recent thaw in US-Cuban relations, it is clear that the Bay Area has had a long-standing love affair with Cuban music for decades." -- Pianist & Composer Rebeca Mualeón, form an interview with Jesús Alemañy of ¡Cubanismo!, performing at the SF Jazz Center this week March 24-28. Click here to read the full interview. 

Jesús Alemañy & ¡Cubanismo!
March 24-27 @ the SF Jazz Center
7:30 pm every night
SFJAZZ Center
201 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
Click HERE for tickets
Box office 415-788-7353

check out and listen to ¡Cubanismo! on youtube

¡Cubanismo! founder Jesús Alemañy came to fame as a brilliant 15-year-old trumpet player for the iconic Cuban group Sierra Maestra – the band that led to the formation of Buena Vista Social Club – and carries on in that fiery Cuban tradition. Alemañy’s all-star orchestra plays sizzling dance tunes full of swaggering horn charts and wild polyrhythms that recall the vintage big-band son sound of the 1940s and 50s, embracing traditional rumba, cha-cha, danzon and pa’ca rhythms arranged in the classic descarga, or “jam session” style. Their 1996 self-titled debut album was a global smash, listed in the Top Ten lists of Billboard, Latin Beat, and Afropop Worldwide that year. In the two decades that followed, ¡Cubanismo! have toured the world relentlessly, while releasing a series of recordings that have expanded the venerated son sound to incorporate influences from American music, in particular the swampy, second-line rhythms of New Orleans, as well as the dancehall sounds of Jamaica. Since its beginning, ¡Cubanismo! has been a proving ground for many of Cuba’s greatest young musicians including pianist Alfredo Rodríguez and bassist Carlitos del Puerto, and the current incarnation is no exception, presenting a blazing ensemble of horns, rhythm section and percussion that transforms a concert hall into a hot night in Havana. 

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continue reading Pa' Ponerte en Talla

Click here for Ian's review of this exciting new album with a Who's Who list of New York-based guest musicians: Dandy Rodríguez, Pedrito Martínez, Pepe Espinosa, Rubén Rodríguez, and many more.

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continue reading La Última

ENGLISH:  One of the mainstays of the small but impressive Jazz scene in Santiago de Cuba is Ivan Acosta and his Grupo De Cuba Somos.   I had the opportunity to meet him, record an interview and listen to his music in December.   You can read a review, see some photos and listen to the interview (in Spanish) here.  You can also listen to the interview and some music by the group on the radio program From the Isle of Music on Monday night, March 21; for more information, see the From the Isle of Music Facebook page. 
ESPAÑOL:  Uno de los pilares de la pequeña pero impresionante escena del jazz en Santiago de Cuba es Ivan Acosta y su Grupo De Cuba Somos. Tuve la oportunidad de conocerlo, grabar una entrevista y escuchar su música en diciembre. Usted puede leer una reseña, ver algunas fotos y escuchar la entrevista (en español) aquí. Tambíen pueden escuchar la entrevista y la música del grupo en el programa radial From the Isle of Music el lunes, 21 marzo; para más infomación, visiten la página Facebook de From the Isle of Music. 

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continue reading Sin Clave No Hay Na