This is going to be a little Chicago-centric, but multiple cities are sometimes involved, and Aruan Ortíz, Mezcla, Harold López-Nussa and Alfredo Rodríguez are all going on tours in the United States very soon, and all of them have stops in Chicago:

1.   Aruan Ortíz Orbiting Quartet.  In Chicago on August 29 at the Beverly Arts Center and Detroit on August 30 at the Detroit Jazz Festival.   This Santiago-born piano virtuoso is now an internationally-famous Jazz artist.   READ MORE HERE 

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There's still an avalanche of photos from SJ Jazz to come, but for today, we have Roberto Roena and Joe Bataan at Stern Grove (with opening act Vieux Farka Toure) and Conjunto Chappottín at Santa Cruz's Kuumbwa Jazz Center.

Joe Bataan with Roberto Roena

Roberto Borrell (playing clave) with Conjunto Chappottín

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Club Fox in Redwood City, located next to the Fox Theater, was on fire Friday night August 15 when Hermán Olivera took the stage with Orquesta Taíno. Olivera has a new album out, “La Voz del Caribe,” which was recorded with Venezuelan musicians. Taíno played Olivera’s difficult charts with a solid groove. Percussion was tight and the three-trombone horn section did very well, with some solos reminiscent of Barry Rogers or Juan Pablo Torres. [click to continue reading ...]

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In exactly one month on September 18 Buena Fe will return to Miami Dade County Auditorium, the site of their remarkable 2013 sold-out release concert for the CD "Dial" . This year Cuba's favorite pop-rock duo will bring the complete Havana experience including their horn section and a trio of strings. The concert will be an unprecedented audiovisual event combining the music of Buena Fe with clips that have marked Cuban cinema over the years, including "Memorias del Subdesarrollo" (ICAIC 1968), "Casa Vieja" (ICAIC 2010), "Habanastation" (ICAIC 2011), "Animados de Juan Padrón" (1981-2010), "Jose Martí, El ojo del canario" (ICAIC 2010) and "Cuba Va!" (ICAIC 1971) among others. Buena Fe sold out all 2500 seats last year so don't wait to get your tickets on sale now at Ticketmaster! 

If you're not familiar with Buena Fe I can summarize by saying that while they are generally classified as pop-rock, their arrangements also include fusions with son, conga, changüí, rumba and even with classical pieces such as Lecuona's "La comparsa" and Leo Brouwer's "Un día de noviembre".  But me the most outstanding aspect of the band is the lyrics. To learn more you can start by checking out their section here at Timba.com. They also have their own homepage and a very active and interactive Facebook page. 

Or maybe I should just let the music speak for itself. Here is the video for "La culpa" from the 2013 CD "Dial".

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