The first 8 volumes, already available in eBook and digital, and now also online in hard-copy.

Click Here for Hard-copy of V5
Click Here for Hard-copy of V8
Click Here for a master list with all links to all volumes

That's it for a while - I'm going to work on the Beyond Salsa Percussion series and go see some timba concerts!! Volume 9 on Melón will come later this year and be followed by volumes on many other great timba pianists.

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If you know the story behind this, please tell us in the Comments section. Si sabes la historia de este video, explícanosla en la sección de comentarios, ok?

Thanks to "Mr. Elana" for the link.

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Continuing our survey of one of the great Cuban pianists, Beyond Salsa Piano Volume 8 moves on to Deja que Roberto te toque, Brindando con el alma, and La chica del sol.

The first two go deeper than ever into the  ways that Melón is able to create continuous variations on the same tumbao, while the section on La chica leads to an interesting discussion of salsa versus timba versus Latin jazz.

At this point, the first eight volumes are all available digitally and only Volumes 5 and 8 are straggling behind in hard-copy form. Volume 9 is in the works but before completing that I'm going to start working on Beyond Salsa Percussion.

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Volume 7 of Beyond Salsa Piano analyzes Melón's tumbaos and general style on Por qué paró and Luz viajera, and also includes rhythm play-along tracks.

Meanwhile, Volume 6, whose eBook and audio files have been online for several days, is now also available in hard-copy.

Volume 5 is still only digital. The hard-copy version will go online Wednesday.

Volume 8 is coming very soon.

Meanwhile, I'm shifting my focus to Beyond Salsa Percussion. Stay tuned!

And don't forget - although Pupy has been postponed, his ex-cantante/ex-compositor Pepito Gómez is a definite go for Friday, March 19th at Club Antón in Berkeley (around the corner from Yoshi's).

QUESTION: Have you tried to log in to timba.com to comment and given up in frustration? If so, please email us and let us know.

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Damn ... visas didn't come through in time.

I'm thinking of changing the theme song of La última:

OLD SONG

NEW SONG

There's a "Plan B" in the works, but no dates yet.

Actually ... that's a pretty slick keyboard tumbao, eh?

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Mark Levine is one of the most melodic and creative Latin/Brazilian jazz artists in the world. Tonight he's on the Brazilian side, playing a tribute to Moaciar Santos at Kuumbwa Jazz Center. See you there!

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Volume 6 of Beyond Salsa Piano is the first of four volumes on Iván "Melón" Lewis, the cult-legend timba hero who played piano with Issac Delgado in late-90s.

Volume 6 includes extensive analyses of all the tumbaos of No me mires a los ojos and La vida sin esperanza, along with Melón's history and discography, and a general analysis of his style and the style of the amazing 1997 incarnation of Issac Delgado's band, with Alain Pérez on bass and Pepe Rivero on teclado.

Click here for the eBook and audio files.

Click here for the hard-copy book.

Click here for downloadable preview files. (There are more here.)

Special Note to buyers of Volume 5 - Introduction to Timba: If you didn't receive an email, please check your spam filter. Reader Keith Johnson found a couple nasty errors and provided a very valuable enhancement. All have been integrated into Revision 1.1 and you can update both audio and eBook for free.

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That's all I know - stay tuned for more details. YOSHI'S WEBSITE

Also, Volume 5 is live.

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This is the behemoth - the longest of the series - a summary of 11 years of timba obsession.

2010-03-01 Update!
Volume 5 audio and eBook is now available on Lainpulsemusic.com.

Chapter 1: What is Timba? - well, you guys already know that answer.

Chapter 2: History and Listening Tour - this picks up where the online book, The Roots of Timba, left off: with Revé's Suave suave, Van Van's Aquí el que baila gana, and of course NG La Banda's En la calle. It tells the stories of all the major bands, highlighting the best material.

Chapter 3: Ten Timba Piano Innovations - here, we isolate the ten important ways that timba piano differs from its predecessors.

Chapter 4: Estudios - these are 32 tumbaos, all on the same chord progression, created to demonstrate the innovations in various combinations.

Chapter 5: Timba Gears - at last, the explanation of why you can learn Paulito's gear system and still be confused about Charanga Habanera - it's the "general theory of timba gears", explaining how everything fits together into one nice, logical, and endlessly creative and flexible combinación perfecta!

Then, after the FAQ and Glossary, we get to the craziest part, the Timba Harmony Appendix, which takes hundreds of timba coros and analyzes their chord progressions in Roman numerals.

After this ... the deluge ... note-for-note Melón transcriptions in large quantities in Volumes 6, 7, 8 and 9. I haven't actually written Volume 9, I have to admit, but 6, 7 and 8 are done and will be out soon, and if anyone can play all the tumbaos in those 3 before I finish Volume 9, you'll be ready for the big time.

Finally - get ready for Beyond Salsa Percussion - that's all I'll say about that for now, but expect something in first half of 2010 (knock on wood).

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If you're in the Bay Area, this is a rare opportunity. A free clinic with the great John Santos and Raúl Rekow. We can thank drum manufacturers, LP, Remo and Sabian for making this free to the public.

Saturday, February 27th, 2010 from 4:30 to 6:00 PM
The Jazz School - 2087 Addison Street - Berkeley, CA 94704
FREE
www.jazzschool.com - (510) 845-5373

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