Havana d'Primera's long-awaited new material is finally starting to come out. They've released two tracks - a "single", as it were - for digital download. They're called No me importa and Carita de pasaporte, and they're both fantastic. And folks - can we all agree that each fan should buy his or her own copy? It's only $2.80 for both tracks. We're all conditioned to send everything out to everyone we know and it's not realistic that we're going to change our habits at this late date, but let's think ahead a little. If HdP makes money on these tracks, more will follow. If there was ever a group to make a positive example of, this is the one, with a musician-friendly leader and lineup of some of the true class acts of the Havana scene. Remember that the catalyst for the timba explosion of the 1990s was the sudden financial opportunity brought about by the reaction to the fall of the Soviet Union. There's some kind of economic catalyst at play in almost every great musical era. If we all agree to buy our own copies of the best new timba, we can create our own. For a mere $2.80 you can do your part. I bought mine, Gabriel of Yemayá's Verse bought hers. If you buy yours, add your name in the comments to this post.

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Volume 10 of Beyond Salsa Piano is almost done! It'll be the first on Pupy Pedroso and pick up his career with Van Van in 1979, when he began to write his first songs. 

We'll go chronologically through Van Van history, covering all the songs Pupy wrote, plus a selection of other classics with interesting piano tumbaos.

When we hit a song, like Hoy se cumplen seis semanas, that was re-recorded later, we cover both versions.

One difference this time is that bass tumbaos are included, so instead of having the audio file pan the right hand to the right and the left hand to the left, the entire piano is panned hard right while the bass is hard left, so you can practice along with the bass by turning your balance control all the way to the right.

There's also a full cuerpo arrangement, and a transcribed solo. 

Melón Clinics: Don't forget that Melón will be in Los Angeles starting Feb. 28th to give at least one clinic and will also be available for private lessons. Click here for more on the Melón books.

           photo by Tom Ehrlich

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Tom Ehrlich has posted another great gallery from Los Van Van's recent engagement at Yoshi's SF. Van Van in performance and backstage with Bay Area luminaries Carlos Aldama, Walfredo de los Reyes, John Calloway and Rebeca Mauleón.

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CLICK HERE FOR AUDIO

Check this track out! This is apparently from a 45 from the very early 1970s. The earliest recording I'd ever heard of this was on the 1989 LP Crónicas, and of course LVV still uses it to close every set, but this may in fact be the missing link in the many conflicting stories about Van Van's name originally coming from a political slogan. If you have any information or insights about this track, please add them to the comments section and/or email me at kevin [at] timba [dot] com.

Pupy Pedroso Books

Meanwhile, I've been working around the clock on the Pupy Pedroso volumes of Beyond Salsa Piano. I'm going through the songs chronologically and finding myself amazed at how many classic tracks LVV pumped out in the 80s. They did an album a year for the entire decade. The CD compilations tend to have the same hits over and over: Sandunguera, La Titimanía, Qué palo, etc. These are great, but there are dozens of classics that are just as good that few people are familiar with.

Welcome to Bill Tilford and the Chicago Report

We have a new addition to our Reports Section, covering Chicago and its surrounding areas. It will be hosted by Bill Tilford, a fascinating and extremely knowledgeable Cuban music expert who has been researching for many years. While the section is about the Chicago scene, Bill's blogging will no doubt cover many subjects, past and present, which will be equally interesting to those of us who can't make it to the Windy City on a regular basis.

Melón and Calixto Clinics Coming

Melón will be in Los Angeles Feb. 28th, March 1st and March 2nd giving clinics, concerts and private lessons at Cal State LA and various other schools.  Calixto will be in LA in late April and also in SF, Seattle and Berklee. Stay tuned for more info.

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