Volume 14 is the first volume of "Beyond Salsa Piano" to focus on Tirso Duarte, pianist, arranger, composer and singer for the great late-1990s incarnation of Charanga Habanera, recording artist and bandleader under his own name, and ex-singer for NG La Banda and Pupy y Los Que Son Son. This book covers the songs Charanguero mayor, Confianza and El bla bla bla, with note-for-note transcriptions of Tirso’s piano tumbaos and a NOTE-FOR-NOTE TRANSCRIPTION for his entire performance on El bla bla bla. The entire bass part is also transcribed as are the bass tumbaos for each piano tumbao. There is also extensive explanation of the conga marchas and the gear and efecto system used by the late 1990s Charanga Habanera.

Click here to download a sample pdf of the eBook 
Oprima aquí para descargar una muestra pdf del eLibro

Author Kevin Moore explains: "The obsession with Cuban music that led to the writing of the Beyond Salsa series began – in many respects – in February of 1999, on the night that I first heard Tirso Duarte play the piano. It was at the legendary Disco Azúcar club in Cancún, on the evening before my first trip to Cuba. Tirso’s piano‐playing was so astounding – and so moving – that I found myself incurably addicted by the end of the night. I’ve thought of very little else in the intervening 14 years – returning to Cuba, collecting music, studying Spanish, and studying Cuban and Afro‐Cuban music and history. On each of my subsequent trips to Cuba I met with Tirso and recorded many hours of MIDI files that, to this day, continue to yield amazing insights and on which the material in this book is based." 

He continues: "In this book we’ll study three songs: Charanguero mayor (Chapter 2), Confianza (Chapter 3), and El bla bla bla (Chapter 4). Charanguero mayor and Confianza have three completely different piano tumbaos each and El bla bla bla has four. Each tumbao is first presented on three staves, in its most basic form, along with the accompanying bass tumbao and chord symbols. The three‐staff notation corresponds to the “c” and “d” audio files, which have the piano alone in the left channel and the bass in the right. Next, the rhythm section context is discussed in a “Gear Studies” section, corresponding to the “e” and “f” audio files, which have the piano alone in the left channel and the full rhythm section in the right. Finally, each individual tumbao has a “Controlled Improvisation” section containing a series of variations as played by Tirso. The variations have corresponding “a” and “b” audio files with the left hand of the piano in the left speaker and the right hand in the right."

leave a comment

continue reading Pa' Ponerte en Talla

The fourth annual Festival Cubano in Chicago expands to three days, and the closing act is Manolin, El Medico de la Salsa.  Read all about it here...

...and remember, Mezcla is at the Old Town School of Folk Music Saturday, June 29.  If you have been reading us lately, you already know why you need to go.  If you haven't, where have you been?

leave a comment

continue reading Sin Clave No Hay Na

The members of Interactivo during the filming of Interactivo La Película

If you are already familiar with Interactivo, just skip down to the trailer for the documentary below. If you are not yet familiar with Interactivo, allow me to take this opportunity to introduce you. Interactivo is best described as an open project or collective of young musicians under the direction of pianist Roberto Carcassés. They have released two CDs: “Goza Pepillo” (2005) winner of Cubadisco 2006 in the categories Opera Prima, Fusion and Gran Premio and “Cubanos por el mundo” (2010), the subject of a documentary by Cuban filmmaker Tané Martínez. 

Many of the names of musicians that have worked with Interactivo will be familiar to you, such as Roberto Carcassés, Yusa, Telmary, Rodney Barreto, Yaroldi Abreu, Carlos Rios, Raul Verdecia, Julito Padrón, Francis del Río, Oliver Valdés and, Melvis Santa among others. Whereas turnover of musicians is generally a negative thing for timba bands, which are better able to consolidate their sound when the same musicians have been working together for years, it has actually been a strength of Interactivo. The experimental, fusion nature of their music benefits from the constant flow of new ideas as older members leave to do their own projects and new members enter with their own unique influences and visions. Roberto describes their music as “timba funk”.  It really seems to be a fusion of whatever the bandmembers find interesting, building on the musical heritage of everything from  Afro-Cuban traditional music to timba to jazz, funk, soul and hip-hop.

Thanks to Facebook, I stumbled across a link to “Interactivo La Película”, which is available at Vimeo. The documentary is about the release concert for “Cubanos por el mundo” and follows the band from rehearsals through the final show, including interviews with key members as well as cameos by guest artists such as X Alfonso and Rodney Barreto. I contacted Tané Martínez and asked her how the documentary came about.

The project of making “INTERACTIVO La Película” arose when Roberto Carcasses saw my documentary TENGO (2008) on the NYC-based Cuban singer Xiomara Laugart. From there, Roberto proposed that I document the release of their 2nd album "Cubanos por el Mundo" and I immediately started working with them. The social presence that I found in the lyrics of the songs really caught my attention. I wanted to make a movie about Interactivo and the release of the album, but also as a filmmaker I wanted to tell a story of migration, freedom and Cuban music.
Tané Martinez

You can check out the trailer below. The full 70-minute documentary is found at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/ilp/20517029

Note: the trailer is subtitled, but the full documentary is not.

Interactivo La Pelicula Teaser 1.40m from colorbox on Vimeo.

SYNOPSIS
Interactivo, is a Cuban band directed by Roberto Carcasses. The release of their 2nd CD, “Cubanos por el Mundo”, leads us to a deep analysis of migration, freedom and Cuban music. 

CAST
Roberto Carcassés, Melvis Santa, Julio Padrón, Francis del Río, Oliver Valdés + Interactivo. 

TECHNICAL DATA
HD 720, NTSC, Color, 70min
CUBA/USA 2011 

A Colorbox Productions Inc. Production
Director: Tanè Martìnez
Producer: Ivonne Cotorruelo
Script: Zulema Clares, Tanè Martìnez
Música: Roberto Carcassès & Interactivo
Director of Photography: Sveinung Bokn
Audio: Abel Calderòn
Editing: Tanè Martìnez
Post-production of Audio & Mixing: Rocio Garcia Pazos
Post-production of Images: Inti Martìnez
Still Photography: Denise Guerra
Graphic Design: Idania del Rìo

BIOGRAPHY
Tané Martínez (1981, Cuba) 
Director, Producer and Editor.
Studied “Performing Arts” at the Cuban National School of the Arts (ENA) and later studied "Film Direction” at the Training Center  of Cinematography of Mexico (CCC). 
Directed the fictional short  “Malos días mi amor” (2005) and the documentaries "Paquete Familiar" (2004), “Tengo lo que tenia que tener” (2008), “Interactivo La Película” (2011) and “Caminando Aragón” (2012). She is a partner and founder of Colorbox Productions Inc.

leave a comment

continue reading Timbera Mayor

Tom Ehrlich's gallery and mini-review from Mezcla's June 26 Oakland show is here, and Bill Tilford has more about the group (including video) , the tour and Saturday's show  in Chicago here.

Meanwhile, back in the Bay Area, Mayimbe plays Cócomo on Sat. 6-29, preceded by Rueda con Ritmo's classes on Mayimbe's unique approach and RcR's unique approach to dancing to it.

And in book news - the Tirso Duarte volume of Beyond Salsa Piano is now available in hard-copy - coming soon to eBook and audio download formats.

leave a comment

continue reading La Última