RIP Walfredo de los Reyes

One of the great giants of music has passed after an historic career that began in the 50s in Cuba and New York. Walfredo was a hugely important figure in the Bay Area in the later decades of his life and a crucial friend and advisor to all of us at timba.com. He'll be sorely missed. He's shown below with timba master Reinier Guerra. Click here for more of Tom Ehrlich's Walfredo photos.

cuban music, musica cubana

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Monday, 04 August 2025, 04:22 PM

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO & TICKETS

San José Jazz Festival - Summerfest

Tom will be photographing all 3 days. Highlights include: Changüí Majadero (an amazing changüí ensemble), Sebastián Natal (of PMG fame), Pacific Mambo Orchestra, Hermán Olivera, Common, Malo, The Headhunters, Orquesta Liberación, La's Mulatas, Juan Prado Trió, Salsa Dance Lessons with Amanda Márquez, the Saúl Sierra Quintet, Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca, Ray Obiedo, Mavis Staples and many more.

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Saturday, 07 June 2025, 06:10 PM

José Luis "Changuito" Quintana passed yesterday at the age of 76 after a long illness.

Changuito reached "living legend" status decades ago for his work with Van Van, as a solo artist, as an author, and as possibly the greatest music teacher of in the entire history of the post-Revolutionary period. Tomasito Cruz and hundreds of other stars had Changuito as their primary instructor throughout their formative years and much of the educational material available to us is just one generation removed from his teachings, but perhaps the best way to learn about Changuito is through two videos he made in the VHS era, one with Giovanni Hidalgo ("Evolution of the Tumbadoras") where the two masters sit at opposite ends of a sea of congas and discuss the history of music as they jam, and the definitive "History of Songo", in which Rebeca Mauleón brilliantly guides him through mountains of well-organized information about songo. Each of these can be found on YouTube and are mandatory study material for anyone interested in Cuban music.

Rest in peace, maestro.

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Friday, 21 March 2025, 06:15 PM

I discussed the history and legacy of the late, great Paulito FG with Rebecca Bodenheimer in the latest episode of The Clave Chronicles.

While you're there, be sure to catch up. There's a new reparto episode with Mike Levine, two on Bad Bunny and one on Chucho Valdés with one of my favorite gurus, Rebeca Mauleón. Also Pérez Prado and Celia Cruz, among many others. Here's the full list.