Maykel Blanco has recently started a Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor Band page at Facebook where fans can keep up with all the latest information on what Maykel y los Mayores are up to. Go in and dale like so you can get all the important updates! Maykel has also uploaded a sneak preview of the video for the hit "Bembe", sung by Yordis, to YouTube.

Currently Maykel, Yordis and Yasser are in Lima, Peru where they will spend the rest of the month performing concerts around the city. There was some problem with the tickets for the rest of the band so they will be performing the first few concerts wth Timcuba as the backing band. According to Maykel's latest post the rest of the band will be there for concerts starting this week.

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Arturo Sandoval and Poncho Sanchez have both released tributes to Dizzy Gillespie during the past year.  Both are excellent recordings.  Arturo's recording is a spectacular Jazz album, and Poncho's recording is an excellent dance album.  To read our reviews of both in English, click here.

Note that Arturo will be performing at the Viper Alley in Lincolnshire, Illinois on Friday, October 5!

Arturo Sandoval y Poncho Sanchez han lanzado homenajes a Dizzy Gillespie durante el último año.  Ambos son grabaciones excelentes.  El proyecto de Arturo es un álbum de Jazz espectacular, y la grabación de Poncho es un disco bailable excelente.  Para leer las reseñas de ambos en español,  haga clic aquí.

¡Tenga en cuenta que Arturo se estará presentando en Viper Alley en Lincolnshire, Illinois el viernes, 5 de Octubre!

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John Santos and the legendary Orestes Vilató with the John Santos Sextet

Tom's latest gallery features Leyder Chapman's Dos 4, with Colin Douglas on drums and the John Santos Sextet with Orestes Vilató, Kenny Washington and John Calloway.

The incredible timba conjunto, The Pedrito Martínez Group, will be at Yoshi's Oakland on Thursday, Sept. 20th and at the Monterey Jazz Festival Sept. 21st.

Book News: If you're into Afro-Cuban folkloric music, Luca Brandoli's 11 books and 7 CDs are truly amazing. Each book/CD volume teaches you about 50 songs, first with a bell so you know exactly where "1" is and then with an exquisitely recorded batá ensemble. The singing is sublime and the educational method is a godsend. The perfect combination.

As for me, I'm still slaving away at my book for non-musicians. It keeps getting longer so I can't even predict when I'll be done.

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Buena Fe at the Latinoamericando Festival in Milan, Italy 2012

On 18 August 2012 I finally attended a concert by a band I have been following for 10 years. Buena Fe had their Italian debut at the Latinoamericando festival, Europe's most important festival for the popular music of Latin America. Buena Fe is arguably Cuba's premier pop-rock group and their following extends throughout Latin and North America and Europe. They have a devoted fan base, including myself, which continues to grow around the world despite Cuba's lack of industrial and economic machinery to promote their artists outside their borders.

I have written a concert report with a little behind-the-scenes info including photos and video. I know that like me, many timba fans are also fans of Buena Fe. And without knowing it, some of you have heard songs written by Buena Fe's director, composer and lead singer, Israel Rojas, who has written for Boni & Kelly and who composed the hit "Mi mujer y mi ex" for Pedrito Calvo.

For those of you who are hearing the name Buena Fe for the first time, I have also made an entire Buena Fe section with history, discography, a list of bandmembers, photos, videos and my concert report Part 1 and Part 2. Take a little time to get to know these guys. You'll be glad you did. There are also links to their very well-maintained internet sites so you can follow them closely yourself.

Buena Fe's music is a mix of trova-style intelligent, beautiful lyrics set to contemporary pop-rock arrangements and liberally infused with traditional Cuban and Caribbean genres in the best spirit of Cuban musical experimentation. They have remained at the top of the music and video charts for 11 years since releasing their first CD "Déjame entrar" in 2001. Their albums consistenly win at Cubadisco and their videos are always in the top lists. In 2008 they performed at Plaza de la Revoución for a crowd of 300 000 fans. This concert was captured on DVD/CD by filmmaker Ian Padrón and also won a Cubadisco award. It seems that whatever these two guajiros from Guantanamo touch turns to gold. So without further ado I turn you over to the concert report and the rest of the Buena Fe section.

You can keep up with everything the band is doing by checking these sites regularly.
buenafemusica.com 
BUENA FE (PAGINA OFICIAL) @ Facebook 
Israel Rojas @ Twitter 
BuenaFeMusica @ YouTube

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