English:  What should have been Havana d'Primera's triumphant debut in Chicago instead became a surreal competition between a band that wanted to play excellent music and a sound system that attempted to make it sound like something not suitable for human ears.  Who won? Click here to find out. 
Español: Lo que debería haber sido el debut triunfal de  Havana d'Primera en Chicago en vez se convirtió en una competición surrealista entre una banda que quería tocar excelente música y un sistema de sonido que trató de hacer que suene como algo no adecuado para el oído humano. ¿Quién ganó? Haz clic aquí para averiguarlo.


English: The 5th Annual Festival Cubano in Chicago (August 15-17) will include a tribute to Juan Formell during its first night.   On the final night, the lineup includes one of Bill Tilford's favorite bands, Palo!  What else is happening?  Click here to find out. 
Español: El quinto anual Festival Cubano en Chicago (15-17 de agosto) incluirá un homenaje a Juan Formell durante su primera noche. Para la noche final, la lista de los grupos incluye uno de los grupos favoritos de Bill Tilford, Palo!  ¿Qué más pasará?  Haz clic aquí para averiguarlo. 

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continue reading Sin Clave No Hay Na

Last night was the Bootsy & Bosch show. While you won't find his records in the Latin section, the most natural way to describe a lot of what Bootsy Collins does is with timba terminology: tumbaos, efectos and gear changes. This was no descarga however - the show was as tight and choreographed as Charanga Habanera and had as much of the same type of rhythmic fireworks as ... well ... the old Charanga Habanera. They hit several epic funk groove peaks over the course of a long show on the main stage that was so good that it forced me to miss Pacific Mambo. Jimmy Bosch was a study in contrasts. Where Bootsy had two bassists and a whole troupe of dancers, Jimmy used precisely one person (himself) to cover the entire coro and horn sections as his sextet cycled through a master class on salsa dura. The one-man coro section was a bit odd, but it resulted in some very interesting moments where Jimmy kept changing the coro, forcing his quick-witted young sonero to pull out his best improvising chops.

All in all, a perfect start to a perfect festival that will climax tomorrow with no less that THREE separate performances by The Pedrito Martínez Group. Today, Saturday, We have Calixto Oviedo, Chappottín twice, Fort Apache twice, Wayne Wallace, and all of the Bay Area's best bands: QBA, Avance, Pasión Habanera (aka Pellejo Seco) etc. [Kevin Moore]

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SJ Jazz Festival's truly historic lineup begins tonight with trombone legend Jimmy Bosch and James Brown legend Bootsy Collins.

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Unity is a musical project and collaborative ideal conceived in the summer of 2006 by Cuban-American drummer Amaury Acosta and Cuban pianist Axel Tosca Laugart. Their musical influences run the gamut and include the likes of J Dilla, Tower of Power, Chucho Valdez, McCoy Tyner, Robert Glasper, Bon Iver, Arnold Schoenberg, Allan Holdsworth, Jimi Hendrix, Derek Trucks, Tyler the Creator, Irakere, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Brian Blade, Jay-Z, Buena Vista Social Club, Busta Rhymes, Freddie Hubbard and many more. Unity’s strong heritage and eclectic modernism come together to form a refreshing and unstoppable sound.

Their debut album Peace, Love &Music was released in April of 2013 “as Unity’s manifesto, mission statement and first step to reaching all those who dream of being enlightened, refreshed and inspired by music again. In their mission of fusing Afro-Cuban culture with modern jazz, soul, hip-hop and gospel they’ve sacrificed neither virtuosity nor groove”.

For their residency at the legendary Zinc bar, located in historic Greenwhich Village, New York City, the group will be performing songs from their album along with new, unreleased compositions The groups lineup will include guitarist Michael Valeanu, pianist Axel Tosca Laugart, bassist Alex Da Silva, saxophonist Max Cudworth, and musical director Amaury Acosta on drums.

Zinc Bar - 82 w 3rd st (Bet. Thompson and Sullivan Sts)

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