SJ JAZZ: DAY 2

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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viernes, 08 agosto 2014, 09:16 am

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

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martes, 05 agosto 2014, 05:54 pm

Today's incarnation of Conjunto Chappottín is probably as close as we'll ever get to experiencing what the legendary Arsenio Rodríguez Conjunto sounded like live. When Arsenio left for New York in the early 1950s, his trumpeter, Félix Chappottín, took over as leader and the band has been inherited by Félix's grandson, Angél Jesús Chappottín, and Miguel Cuní, Jr., the son of the group's original star singer. As they explain in this excellent mini-documentary they've really taken to heart the idea of recreating the sound and flavor of a real conjunto.

They'll be at Kuumbwa Jazz Center Thursday - one admission covers the whole night and the dance floor will be open. They'll also play twice on Saturday at the San José Jazz Festival. Tomorrow I'll have much more on the rest of the fest - the best lineup I've ever seen for a Latin festival, included three separate appearances by The Pedrito Martínez Group, Calixto Oviedo, Viento de Agua, Jimmy Bosch, Jerry González and Fort Apache, a tribute to Armando Peraza by Pancho Sánchez and John Santos, Bootsy Collins, David Sanborn, Donald Harrison, Snarky Puppy and virtually every top Bay Area group. SJ Jazz starts Friday evening and runs all weekend.

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viernes, 01 agosto 2014, 08:25 am

It's been a historically disappointing summer, full of last minute cancellations and crushed expectations, but we can now confirm that (although the opening Miami and LA shows were canceled due to system-wide visa bugs that, for once, have nothing to do with Cuba) Havana d'Primera is now in the Yuma and ready to roll for Yoshi's SF TONIGHT and Saturday, Minneapolis on Aug. 7th, Chicago on Aug. 8th and at B.B. King's in NYC on August 12th. More details as they come in, but tonight is definitely on - see you there!

Meanwhile, The 2014 San José Jazz Festival (Aug. 8, 9, 10) will be one for the ages and there are no visas involved (phew...) , except for Conjunto Chappottín, who are (I'm 99% sure) already in the country and will also be playing a dance show at Kuumbwa Jazz Center on Aug. 7th. Chappottín has gotten rave reviews on the East Coast. And the REST of the SJ Jazz lineup is just unbelievable - Pedrito Martínez Group, Calixto Oviedo, Fort Apache, Jimmy Bosch, Viento de Agua (hot plena), Donald Harrison, QBA, Pacific Mambo, Pasión Habanera, Orquesta Borinquen, Avance, Wayne Wallace - on and on - and many, including Pedrito Martínez, play more than once. [Kevin Moore, all photos by Tom Ehrlich]