Remembering Los Metales del Terror

NG La Banda launched the timba genre with a ferocious, virtuosic horn section affectionately known as Los Metales del Terror. The saxophonists were Germán Velazco (still going strong) and Carlos Averhoff, Sr. (who passed in 2016). The trumpeters were José "El Greco" Crego and Elpidio Chappottín, both of whom have passed in recent weeks. After Irakere and NG La Banda, El Greco led his own jazz band, Top Secret, and Chappottín (the grandson of the legendary Arsenio Rodríguez trumpeter and bandleader Félix Chappottín and a cousin of the younger Félix Chappottín now leading Conjunto Chappottín) became an in-demand session player and touring musician, most recently coming to the States with Issac Delgado. El Greco's son Marcos Crego is a leading pianist who played with Klímax and Juan de Marcos' Afro-Cuban All Stars and now lives in Arizona.

Elpidio Chappottín with Issac at SF Jazz (click here for photos from Kuumbwa Jazz)

José "El Greco" Crego

Marcos Crego (son of El Greco) with Afro-Cuban All Stars in SF

(photos by Tom Ehrlich)

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Tuesday, 19 October 2021, 09:41 PM

Harold López-Nussa will play in Berkeley at Freight & Salvage on Thursday October 28th with his brother Ruy López-Nussa on drums, Luques Curtis on bass, and Grégoire Maret on harmonica.

Here are some of Tom Ehrlich's photos from the last tour:

Harold López-Nussa

Harold & Ruy López-Nussa

Luques Curtis

Here's the full tour:

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Sunday, 10 October 2021, 10:05 PM

The final day of the Monterey Jazz Festival featured:

Lilliana de los Reyes, granddaughter of Walfredo de los Reyes

George Benson

The Immanuel Wilkins Quartet

The Next Generation Jazz Orchestra directed by Gerald Clayton

The Christian Sands Group, featuring Skylar Tang (trumpet)

The Kandace Springs Group

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Thursday, 07 October 2021, 09:34 PM

Saturday featured:

Ledisi & Xavier Lynn

The Giveton Gilen Quartet

Debo Ray & Kassa Overall of Terri Lyne Carrington + Social Science

Miho Hazama and m_unit

Legendary Activist/Scholar Angela Davis with Terri Lyne Carrington as Ledisi performs

Following in the tradition of Public Enemy, Carrington used samples of speeches by Angela Davis, Leonard Peltier and others in the song No Justice (For Political Prisoners) from her latest album Waiting Game.