ENGLISH: Jorge Luis Pacheco, another of Cuba's piano phenomena as well as an impressive and eclectic composer (and vocalist), performed in quartet at the Kennedy Center on November 1st. The Kennedy Center keeps a video archive on its website, and therefore, you can watch the entire performance by clicking here.  This is pretty intense, but don't take my word for it - check it out. 
ALSO:  Roberto Fonseca gave a great concert in Chicago.   See more here. 
ESPAÑOL:  Jorge Luis Pacheco, otro de los fenómenos de piano de Cuba así como impresionante y ecléctica compositor (y vocalista) dió un concierto en el Kennedy Center el 01 de noviembre.   El Kennedy Center mantiene archivos de video en su sitio web, y por lo tanto, se puede ver todo al hacer clic aqui.  Es bastante intensa, pero no confie en mis palabras - échale un vistazo. 
MÁS:  Roberto Fonseca dió un gran concierto en Chicago.  Se puede ver más aquí. 

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Melvis Santa already has an impressive resume in both music and acting - a cofounder at age 14 of Sexto Sentido, more recent recordings with Interactivo and Santa Habana. an acting role in 7 días en La Habana (7 Days in Havana) and work with several other artists.  At the moment, she is working in New York, and on November 1, she is debuting a new project at The Jazz Gallery there.  For those of you who haven't heard her, a video clip from Santa Habana:

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Bar Brasil's annual Carnival Cruise Stockholm is fast approaching. Every year the Baltic Sea goes Caribbean for 23 hours with dancers, bands, percussionists, and DJs. This year over 100 artists will take part, including Laritza Bacallao - one of the most popular young artists in Cuba. 

Laritza comes from a family of singers. Her grandfather Rafael "Felo" Bacallao and her father Ernesto Bacallao were both singers of the legendary Orquesta Aragón. It seems natural that Laritza would also study music - choral direction and piano - and become a singer. She has a versatile voice and can sing a bolero as well as cha-cha-chá a son or a reggaeton. But the style for which Laritza has become known is the pan-Caribbean dance music that swept her to the top of the charts in Cuba where she has remained for the past couple of years. The arrangements mix everything from samba to salsa to merengue to rumba and conga...you get the idea. She has collaborated with many Cuban artists, such as Pablo FG, Candido Fabré, JG, and Los 4 to name a few. Her infectious party music caught the attention of Puerto Rican salsa star Victor Manuelle, who will soon release a salsa version of her hit "Que suenen los tambores" by composer Osmany Espinosa.

Although she has toured Europe before, this will be Laritza's first Scandinavian performance. She will be backed by an eight-piece band. If you will be in the area, book your cabin now and get ready to rock the boat with the Scandinavian carnival elite. A YouTube search will give you a number of videos with Laritza, but in honor of the Carnival Cruise, I leave you with her hit "Carnaval".

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(above: Harold López-Nussa) Click here for Tom's final gallery from this year's Monterey Jazz Festival. Afro-Cuban All Stars is next, then Klímax.

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