ENGLISH: Thanks to a growing community of musicians who were born and educated in Cuba, Louisville has more than one excellent band and a growing community of fans who support Cuban Salsa, Songo, Timba and other genres. One of these bands, the Kentucky Salsa All Stars, which is led by Cuban-born Edel Roque, will be the backing band for Haila when she appears there on December 26.  The KSAS was opened for Havana d'Primera when it came to Kentucky, and it can definitely play Haila's charts.  It will be interesting to see whether this band becomes Kentucky's answer to La Temati-K on the east coast.  In the meantime, Timba.com will be watching this concert, and you should too if you can. 
ESPAÑOL:  Gracias a una creciente comunidad de músicos que nacieron  y fueron formados en Cuba, Louisville tiene más de uno excelente banda y una creciente comunidad de fans que apoyan a la salsa cubana, Songo, Timba y otros géneros. Una de estas bandas, los Kentucky Salsa All Stars, que está dirigido por el cubano-americano Edel Roque, será la banda de acompañamiento de Haila cuando ella aparece allí el 26 de diciembre.  Los KSAS abrió el show de Habana D'Primera en Kentucky , y ellos sin duda pueden tocar la música de Haila. Será interesante ver si esta banda se convierte en la respuesta de Kentucky para La Temati-K en la costa este. Mientras tanto, Timba.com estará viendo este concierto, y  debes verlo también si  puedes.

Then what? / ¿Entonces Qué?

Coconut Beach in Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/coconuts.beach.7?fref=nf

deja un comentario

continue reading Sin Clave No Hay Na

This is the longest of the Beyond Salsa youtube series, with all sorts of backstories, lyrics, live video clips and photos - covering a truly unbelievable part of the Van Van story.

deja un comentario

continue reading La Última

ESPAÑOL:   Jazz Plaza en La Habana, Cuba ha evolucionado en uno de los más maravillosos festivales de Jazz en el planeta. Ahora celebrando su trigésimo año, su nombre puede ser engañoso hoy en día ya que no tiene lugar solamente en una plaza (bueno, ALGUNAS de los conciertos, pero sólo algunas), sino también en teatros grandes, clubes, hoteles y otros lugares. Toda la ciudad está escuchando la música y músicos de muchos países vienen a tocar y escuchar (Este escritor asistió al Festival 2013 y lamenta profundamente que él quedará atrapado en su oficina durante el evento de 2014.) El horario del evento siempre se aparece al el último minuto debido a la complejidad del evento, pero se puede oir casí cualquier estilo de Jazz alrededor la cuidad durante la semaña.  Hay un minisimposio sobre Jazz también. 
Según el sitio web suenacubano.com, y de especial interés para nuestros lectores norteamericanos: Arturo O'Farrill, un nominado actual al GRAMMY® en la categoría de Jazz Latino (The Offense of the Drum) presentará en el festival con todo su orquesta, y más tarde, él va a grabar un nuevo proyecto en los estudios Abdala, titulado La conversación continuada. 
¡Todo lo mejor y mucho éxito a Jazz Plaza 2014!

ENGLISH:  Jazz Plaza in Havana, Cuba has evolved into one of the most wonderful jazz festivals on the planet. Now celebrating its thirtieth year, its name can be misleading today as it does not take place  only in a square anymore (well, SOME of the concerts do, but only some), but also in large theaters, clubs, hotels and other places. The whole city is listening to the music and musicians from many countries come to play and listen (this writer attended the 2013 Festival and deeply regrets that he will remain trapped in his office during the 2014 event.) The final schedule for  the program always appears at the last minute due to the complexity of the event, but you can hear almost any style of Jazz around the city during the week. There is a mini-symposium on Jazz as well.
According to the Suenacubano.com web site, and of particular interest to our North American readers: Arturo O'Farrill, a current  GRAMMY® nominee in the Latin Jazz category (The Offense of the Drum) will perform at the festival with his whole orchestra, and later, he will record a new project in Abdala Studios titled La conversacion continuada. 
All the best and much success to Jazz Plaza 2014!

deja un comentario

continue reading Sin Clave No Hay Na

In many ways, one could say that the Cuban Music Community of New York City is currently going through an interesting, uncertain, but nonetheless exciting period in its development. Although modern Cuban Music has been present in NYC for a number of years, the genre is still very much coming of age in the city. Up until recently it has stood in the shadows of Nuyorican Salsa, finding a niche among only a small but discerning crowd. However, as groups such as the Pedrito Martínez Group and bands like them have brought new and much deserved attention to the genre, the rest of New York has almost been forced to pay attention, which in turn has resulted in some sudden yet nonetheless interesting developments. 

On one hand there are new venues such as Subrosa, in which larger enterprises such as Blue Note are bringing Cuban music to the previously untapped attention of the Meatpacking crowd, serving up Música Cubana in an elaborate decor with drink and ticket prices to match. One the other hand there are the established Cuban hubs such as Guantanamera, whose regular groups have also found themselves in a new state of flux as Cuban acts juggle their itineraries with the new performances that are now opening up, allowing for a “changing of the guard” so to speak.    

(Click here to continue reading ...)

deja un comentario

continue reading NYC Bulletin