Article and all photos by Bill Tilford -- All Rights Reserved
(This series of articles is intended primarily for Salseros who are new to Timba,
but Timberos will hopefully also find some items of interest as well.)

Yambú / Guaguancó Workshop

Those of you who know that you are dancing "On 1" or "On 2"  but not too much more than that may not realize that originally, everyone that was dancing was moving to things with other names- Son, Guaracha, Guaguancó, Mambo and many others.  Some of the rhythms and dances (such as the Pilón and Pachanga) have all but vanished over the years because neither Salsa nor Timba preserved them intact.......click here to read the full article >>>

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Tom Ehrlich has posted the first of several galleries of Juan de Marcos' triumphant sold-out return to the Bay Area. The band is in great form and JdM has really hit on a great idea by writing for three trumpets and bass clarinet. The clarinet sounds way better than a bari sax and the lines are written in a way that crystalizes the trumpet harmonies. If you get a chance to see a later show on the tour, check this out. The singers and the entire rhythm section are also sublime, as are the acoustics at the new SF Jazz facility. This gallery is from the souncheck. Later this week we'll have more photos from the clinic and two of the concerts. Click here for the rest of the tour which is working its way to the East Coast, including a full week at the legendary Blue Note. [Kevin Moore]

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We have added a section for Monika Mesa y su Máquina Perfecta , whose 2012 Cubadisco-nominated CD "Al Fin" will be available soon outside of Cuba. In the meantime you can browse through the new section with a brief biography, information about the new CD, photos and most importantly videos so you can get to know her music. Timberos already know Monika from her time with bands such as Anacaona, Azúcar Negra and NG La Banda. She has now started her own group under the musical direction of Joel Dominguez (Issac Delgado, Manolín and Paulo FG) and they have already toured Europe twice. They will be back in Europe this fall so keep an eye out for updates to their Tours page. Below you can enjoy a little behind-the-scenes documentary of the Making of the song "SMS".

You can listen to "SMS" at Timba.com radio.

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(Photo by Massimo Montovani)

Let us begin with a few words of praise for the terrestrial CD store, or as we used to call it, the record store   A recent trip to Miami gave us an excuse to run through two of our favorites, the Museo del Disco on SW 70th Street (close to Calle Ocho) and Casino Records  (no website) on Calle Ocho. We also like Lily's on Calle Ocho for some things, but our best finds are usually at the first two.Yes, we know that most of you probably buy on-line these days, but you are missing out on some things when you don't do the physical experience.  For one thing, it's a lot harder to go crate-digging on line. When I'm in a real store, I usually walk out with finds that I was never looking for in the first place. Those finds are often better than the things I was looking for. You may also hear something over the loudspeakers that you never dreamed you might like. This has happened to me more than once.   

(Photo by Alejandro Azcuy)

Also, the physical CD, if done as well as it should be, will come with liner notes telling you more about the band, the musicians and the project.   If you truly care about the details surrounding the band and the recording, track downloads won't get you there from here, and if you hope to rely on the band's website, well, good luck with that. Some are better than others, and most websites aren't forever.

(Cover photo by Jose Ortega)

So, if you have one of these kinds of stores where you live, take the time to go check it out.   It's worth the trouble.  In the meantime, here are three reviews of interesting CDs we acquired recently; the last two came from the stores in Miami: 

For a review of Omar Sosa 's Eggūn,  click here.
For a review of Maykel Blanco 's A Toda Maquina , click here.
For a review of Leslie Cartaya 's No Pares , click here.  

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