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.

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Don't believe the naysayers. There is no raining on THIS parade. The visas are in place and We Want TIMBA! Now that we are waiting for official confirmation that Los Van Van is cancelled at the Lehman Center we are anxiously expecting Havana D' Primera and Tirso. To ease our concerns here's a new video salute by Tirso inviting us to the special concert with Alexander Abreu y Havana D' Primera. 

Para boletos oprima aquí = http://goo.gl/qxfNp = Click here for tickets

Alexander Abreu & Havana D' Primera en Concierto, Invitado Tirso Duarte 
Tirso Duarte , ex-vocalista de Charanga Habanera y Cesar "Pupy" Pedroso

Saturday / Sabado, Nov. 10, 2012 / 8PM
Park Theatre - 560 32th Street - Union City, NJ 07087

If you live in New York and you want to purchase a hard copy ticket, please email Victoria-Hadar at  h_h_v [at] yahoo [dot] com

Victoria-Hadar is unique to the New York and New Jersey latin dance scene. She has specialized in Latin dancing for over 18 years and has learned to dance with top teachers in Europe and Cuba – including with the Cuban national dance company Ban Rra Rra. She currently teaches cuban dance classes in both NY and NJ.

Tirso Duarte el que se escucha en todas partes.
Vaya Tirso y Alexander los esperamos con mucha ansiedad !!

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Formed in 1927 by Ignacio Periero, Sepeto Nacional has been bringing Cuban son to international audiences for more than 85 years. In 2010 they released the CD "Sin rumba no hay son" to rave reviews. This is the genuine article so don't miss them! They are currently touring Mexico and will be playing in California, Minnesota, Arizona, Illinois and Virgina in October. Click here for the current list of dates and venues we have for the band.

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Cuban music in the 2012 Latin Grammys! -- Los Van Van secured a nomination in the "Best Contemporary Tropcial Album" category with their recent album "La Maquinaria". This was surprising for timba fans as that release was received with mixed results. It competed with plenty of strong material but the news is a welcome addition.   

Trumpeter Arturo Sandoval also scored various nominations. His Latin Jazz album "Dear Diz (Every Day I Think Of You)" is listed in the Album of the Year, Best Latin Jazz Album, and Best Engineered Album. 

Other nominees listed included..
- Best Traditional Tropical = Eliades Ochoa " Un Bolero Para Ti "
- Best Traditional Tropical = Miguel García " Guarachando "
- Best Salsa Album = Mambo Legends Orchestra " Watch Out - Ten Cuidado "
- Best Latin Jazz = Jerry González y El Comando de la Clave (self-titled)
* is Alaín Pérez on the record?
- Song Of The Year = Amaury Guitiérrez & Gian Marco " Invisible "
- Best Instrumental Album = Paquito D' Rivera & Berta Rojas " Rasgando Seda "
- Best Latin Jazz = Chuchito Valdés "Live In Chicago "
- Best Classical Contemporary Composition = Yalil Guerra & Elizabeth Rebozo " Seducción "

** Update - also nominated for Best Contemporary Tropical Album is Elaín (of the Cuban Timba All-Stars) with his album " Volando Alto - Made On The Road "

Good luck to all the nominees !!!!!! Buena suerte.

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