Changuito Comes to LA!

Legendary percussionist Jose Luis Quintana (aka "Changuito") will be in the Los Angeles, California area from October 6-12 for a combination of classes and performances. including a guest appearance with the Haakon Graf All-Stars at The Baked Potato on Thursday, October 11. For more information including the full schedule, visit the following:
1. In Facebook: Log in to visit the page for Legendary Master Cuban Percussionist "Changuito" in Los Angeles!
2. On the Web: Lucumiyque.com

As of this posting, some of the classes have already been filled, and some extra sessions have been added.
For those of you who are quite young, Changuito is, quite simply, one of the most important figures in modern Cuban percussion - here's Michelle's short profile.

Reminder: Arturo Sandoval's US Tour begins Friday, October 5 at 8PM at the Viper Alley in Lincolnshire, Illinois. This comes on the heels of his 5 recent Latin GRAMMY nominations, four of which are for Dear Diz (Every Day I Think Of You) and one for Tango Como Yo Te Siento. The following video includes some comments about Dear Diz by Arturo as well as some audio samples from the recording.
Click Here For More Details about the Viper Alley Performance October 5
Click Here For The Complete Tour Schedule

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sábado, 29 septiembre 2012, 12:33 pm

To go to the NPR website to hear Arturo on All Things Considered in May 2012, click here.

Arturo Sandoval, who first came to our notice as a key figure in Cuba's legendary Irakere and as the leader of his own combo in Cuba, has since had an even more remarkable career in the United States (and worldwide) with 6 Grammy Awards (17 nominations), 6 Billboard awards, 1 Emmy and numerous recordings, television appearances and film work to his credit (along with a long and successful teaching career). He is about to start a multi-city US tour schedule with some of his best work yet (in this writer's opinion). His most recent recordings, Dear Diz (Every Day I Think Of You) and Tango Como Yo Te Siento currently have 5 Latin Grammy nominations between them (4 for Dear Diz and 1 for Tango). We haven't picked up Tango yet, but we've been listening to Dear Diz for hours.

The first tour date we have is at the Viper Alley in Lincolnshire, Illinois, on Friday, October 5 at 8pm. The club is a little north of the city of Chicago, about 45 minutes from Chicago's loop and a little more than an hour from downtown Milwaukee. This venue just opened in 2011, and we saw Arturo do a great show there last year. We look forward to this week's appearance as well.

Dear Diz was a special recording for Arturo because Dizzy Gillespie was a key figure in his life and career. We spoke with Arturo by telephone on Tuesday while he was in Miami working on a new film soundtrack and about to leave for a few days in Lebanon. Unfortunately, the quality of the telephone connection was too poor for us to share audio here, but we will mention that he is very excited about Viper Alley performance and the rest of the upcoming tour, and he will be bringing his regular touring band including Zane Musa, the phenomenal saxophonist who also shined through in Dear Diz. He also mentioned during our conversation that the Viper Alley performance will include some selections from Dear Diz but probably not from Tango because that second project used some key personnel that won't be on this tour.

In lieu of our sharing the poor audio from our own conversation, we are going to direct you to an interview Arturo did with Guy Raz for NPR's All Things Considered in May 2012. He talks about his introduction to Dizzy Gillespie and what followed from that first meeting.

Click here for the schedule for the rest of the Fall 2012 US Tour.

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domingo, 23 septiembre 2012, 06:42 am

This won't be released for a few more weeks yet, but Rafael Monteagudo, leader of The Music Connection, was kind enough to give us a sneak preview of the debut CD Innovation, which will soon join the ranks of the best new Latin Jazz releases to come out of New York (or anywhere else) this year. To read our review in English, click here.

Esto no se será lanzado hasta que unas semanas más han pasado, pero Rafael Monteagudo, lider de The Music Connection, tuvo la amabilidad de darnos un preestreno de su debut CD Innovation, que pronto se unirá a las filas de los mejores estrenos de Latin Jazz desde Nueva York (o cualquier otro lugar) este año. Para leer nuestra reseña en español haga clic aquí.

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domingo, 16 septiembre 2012, 07:50 am

Arturo Sandoval and Poncho Sanchez have both released tributes to Dizzy Gillespie during the past year. Both are excellent recordings. Arturo's recording is a spectacular Jazz album, and Poncho's recording is an excellent dance album. To read our reviews of both in English, click here.

Note that Arturo will be performing at the Viper Alley in Lincolnshire, Illinois on Friday, October 5!

Arturo Sandoval y Poncho Sanchez han lanzado homenajes a Dizzy Gillespie durante el último año. Ambos son grabaciones excelentes. El proyecto de Arturo es un álbum de Jazz espectacular, y la grabación de Poncho es un disco bailable excelente. Para leer las reseñas de ambos en español, haga clic aquí.

¡Tenga en cuenta que Arturo se estará presentando en Viper Alley en Lincolnshire, Illinois el viernes, 5 de Octubre!