Septeto Santiaguero kick off a summer tour of Europe on July 3 in Valencia, Spain. The tour will last 6 weeks and will take the group to 7 countries throughout Europe. Septeto Santiaguero is an excellent example that son is alive and well in Cuba. The release of their new CD,  "Oye mi son santiaguero", will coincide with the summer tour. The CD features some special guests such as Ricardito and Reinaldo Creagh, former members of the legendary Vieja Trova Santiaguera. In preparation for the upcoming CD release, they have published the first video single at YouTube, "Esa niña, qué cintura!". Check it out below and catch them on their tour this summer .  And cuida'o ! There is a sort of an updated Marilyn Monroe skirt flying up scene in the video...only with a very short skirt.

Septeto Santiaguero with "Esa niña, qué cintura!"

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click here to listen to samples

Pitit's (aka Limpia Timpanos) new album CONFRONTACIÓN draws from his artistic experience to deliver a hard hitting Latino hip hop album. Intended to reach a more commercial audience, the record embeds deep lyrics with the driving beats and arrangements from producers Jhon Po and Jean DC.

Yaimir Jiménez aka "PITIT" aka "LIMPIA TIMPANOS" was born and raised in Havana, Cuba. Now living in Sweden, Limpiatimpanos is known for his work in the 2004 release Seres Humanos with the group Alianza, a unique mixture of Latin Hip Hop, Caribbean rhythms and traditional Cuban music. Before forming ALIANZA and creating the album 'Seres Humanos', PITIT was the director of the hip hop group Grandes Ligas and he also participated in two of the most highly regarded Hip Hop projects in Cuba: Cuban Hip Hop All-Stars and Cuban Rap Ligas (Delabel Editions, France).

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Mike's WiFi works at Yoshi's - currently halfway through La bomba soy yo. Blazing hot. Rebeca Mauleón sat in during the first set and tore it up. Percussionists and bassist soloing. Life is good!

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... and all this week at Yoshi's SF and Yoshi's Oakland.

photos by Tom Ehrlich

MORE PHOTOS JUST ADDED

Saturday's Cócomo show was sublime. I could watch this rhythm section night after night -- in fact, that's exactly what I intend to do and six nights won't be nearly enough to satisfy me. Their approach, originally architected by Changuito himself, is unlike any other timba band. Along with güirero Julito Noroña (the son of Van Van founder Julio Noroña) the timbalero, Miguelito Escuriola holds down the fort by covering both bell parts, as Samuell or Riverón would do, while also working in the jamblock, freeing the magnificent drummer/arranger Bombón Reyes to orchestrate the arrangement with his inimitable left-handed combination of kick, snare, hihat and toms. Bay Area fans will remember conguero Duniesky Barreto from Bamboleo's many tours in the late 90s. Pupy uses a lot more gears than he used to, giving Duniesky a lot of space to shine. This band's groove grabs ahold of you and won't let go, and Pupy's songs are all timeless classics, from 1970s Van Van masterpieces to fresh-out-of-the-oven estrenos from the upcoming album.

The concert kept building and building to an extraordinary climax on a new arrangement of Pupy's Van Van classic, Ni bombones ni caramelos. Bay Area sonero Fito Reinoso sat in and delivered one of the most inspired vocal performances I've ever heard. Fito can always be counted on to rise to the occasion with his Cándido Fabré-inspired improvisations, but this time he really outdid himself. Seconds after he took the mike, the energy level, already high, went off the scale. Pupy himself was grinning from ear to ear and shaking his head. The standard Cándido approach is to find a catchy melodic phrase and repeat it with minor variations, improvising words to fit the occasion, but Fito transcended this completely, fluidly responding to the band's every accent and changing rhythm and melody as well as words in myriad brilliant and completely spontaneous ways. When the rhythm section locked into an extended bomba behind him the groove was almost unbearable. Next, they seamlessly broke way down to a short 3-part coro with minimal accompaniment and Fito slid right into it, keeping the same rhythmic intensity at a fraction of the volume.

It's been a long, painful decade of musical drought, but the floodgates have opened and it's catch-up time for the city by the bay. Wherever you're reading this from, catch a boat, plane or train and get yourself out here.

NY Times Review   --  Central Park Video Clip

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