El Tren Cubano is Coming to Chicago

Por fin, a team of presenters has banded together to bring Los Van Van to Chicago! They are coming to Thalia Hall on Sunday, August 9 at 8PM. If you need me to tell you why this is a must-go, you must have stumbled onto the wrong website by accident. And yes, even with the loss of Juan Formell, they are still in a class all their own. For tickets and details, see the Thalia Hall website. Needless to say, there are other US cities on the itinerary, which we think we have here.

But hey, there's more! For you traditionalists, the Adios Tour for the Buena Vista Social Club is coming to Ravinia on Wednesday, August 12 at 8:30pm. Tickets and details at the Ravinia website. Supposedly this is their last trip out, but then I was at Flaco Jimenez Jr's "retirement concert" in Denton, Texas about a decade ago, and the last time I checked he was still playing. These things happen when you are dedicated to your art. But why take a chance, eh?

Tell you what, just take the whole week off. Festival Cubano is happening Friday-Sunday, August 14-16, and that lineup includes Pedrito Calvo, Miguelito Cuni Jr. and many others. Even the non-Cuban artists like Jose Alberto "El Canario" and Luis Enrique have for the most part been working with Cuban artists recently. Full details at the Festival Cubano website.

But Bill, what about RIGHT NOW, you ask? Got you covered. This Friday and Saturday, the Chicago Latin Jazz Festival in Humboldt Park is happening. Complete details are at the Jazz Institute of Chicago's website. I'll let Mr. Papo Vazquez explain why you should attend:

Next case.

Before you go, check out the photo gallery and interview with Jorge Gomez of Tiempo Libre, which was just here. They tore up the block, and I think they made it to Madrid before they could be arrested for it....

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miércoles, 08 julio 2015, 02:25 pm

ENGLISH: While in Cuba in May, BIll Tilford had the opportunity to attend several concerts by important Cuban groups. Photo galleries with commentaries are now available of two Cubadisco award winners: Septeto Santiaguero (here) and Alejandro Falcón (here). On Tuesday, July 14, Alejandro Falcón will be the featured guest on The Afro Cuban Jazz Edition, a radio program in English hosted by Frankie Pineiro in which BIll Tilford participates, on WSLR. To learn more, you can visit the program's Facebook page here.

Check out our Reviews section for some new CD reviews. Also, two items of interest in Chicago and South Florida: In Chicago, Tiempo Libre will be at the Square Roots Festival on Sunday July 12. In the Sarasota, Florida area, tres phenomenon Renesito Avich will be giving a series of lessons and concerts during the next few weeks. For more information about these, visit http://renesitoavich.com/

ESPAÑOL: Mientras en Cuba en mayo, BIll Tilford tuvo la oportunidad de asistir a varios conciertos de importantes agrupaciones cubanas. Galerías de fotos con comentarios ahora están disponibles de dos ganadores de premios Cubadisco: Septeto Santiaguero (aquí) y Alejandro Falcón (aquí) . El martes, 14 de julio, Alejandro Falcón será el invitado especial en The Afro Cuban Jazz Edition, un programa radial en inglés conducido por Frankie Piñeiro en el que BIll Tilford participa, en WSLR. Para obtener más información, puede visitar la página de Facebook del programa aquí.

Eche un vistazo a nuestra sección de Reseñas para algunas nuevas reseñas de CD. Además, dos itemes de interés en Chicago y el sur de Florida: En Chicago: Tiempo Libre tocará en el Square Roots Festival el domingo, 12 de julio. En el área de Sarasota, Florida, fenómeno del tres Renesito Avich va a dar una serie de lecciones y conciertos durante las próximas semanas. Para obtener más información acerca de ellos, visite http://renesitoavich.com/

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domingo, 28 junio 2015, 10:29 am

ENGLISH: On Tuesday, June 30th, The Afro Cuban Jazz Edition will run an interview in English of Ernán López-Nussa (seen here at the Cubadisco 2015 awards ceremony holding the latest of a growing collection of prizes) that Bill Tilford did with him last month in Havana. The program will also feature music from his latest album, Invencíon Lekszycki (you can read our review here), which won the Cubadisco for Jazz Cubano this year. The Afro Cuban Jazz Edition runs from 1400-1600 UTC (10am-Noon Eastern in the US) on WSLR, and you can stream it here or listen on-demand for two weeks following the show.
More CD Reviews: See the Reviews section for some new reviews of CDs.
ESPAÑOL: El martes, 30 de junio, The Afro Cuban Jazz Edition pondrá una entrevista en Inglés de Ernán López-Nussa (visto aquí en la premiación Cubadisco 2015 con su último premio en una creciente colección) que Bill Tilford hizo con él última mes en La Habana. El programa también contará con la música de su último disco, Invención Lekszycki (puede leer nuestra reseña aquí), que ganó el Cubadisco para Jazz Cubano este año.The Afro Cuban Jazz Edición se transmite desde 1400-1600 UTC (10am-mediodía hora del Este en los EE.UU.) en WSLR, y se puede sintonizar el programa aquí; también puede escucharlo en demanda durante las dos semanas después.
Mas reseñas de CD: Vea la sección Reseñas para más nuevas reseñas de CD.

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martes, 23 junio 2015, 02:50 pm

Now that Miami practically has a commuter culture of bands from Cuba coming up to play festivals and concerts without serious incidents, cultural events in cities like Chicago have been long overdue to catch up. Therefore, it is a great pleasure to share the news from today's press conference held by the organizers of Chicago's Festival Cubano at the 90 Miles Cafe: the performance lineup for the final day of the festival will include Pedrito Calvo and Miguelito Cuni Jr. Pedrito sang for years with Los Van Van before starting his own band, La Nueva Justicia , As for Miguelito Cuni Jr ., he has been performing with Conjunto Chappottin.
The lineup also includes José Alberto "El Canario" . It would have been even better to see him with Septeto Santiaguero , with whom he recently released No Quiero Llanto , but it is still nice to see him on the bill.
Congratulations to Festival Cubano for finally crossing the bridge. I'm already looking forward to next year when the conversations will progress to which are the most worthy acts from Cuba rather than whether it''s time to start bringing some. In the meantime, I look forward to Pedrito and Miguelito.
This is the sixth edition of Festival Cubano, and advance discounted tickets are now available at
www.thecubanfestival.com.
You can see some pictures from the press conference in the Report From Chicago entry for July 23.