Manolín & Pututi II at La Cecilia

This is flat-out one of the hottest things I've ever seen. It's probably February 1997 but I'm not sure. Pututi II looks a bit older than he does here. Apparently Pututi I, who was playing drumset on the Marianao video, was out sick with la gripa, so his brother, who normally played timbales, had to play both drums and timbales on short notice. This is itself is not such a feat - many bands, like Van Van and el Trabuco, require their drummers to do this every night, but to do it on the fly - and to do it like THIS is just mind-boggling. Pututi II, and the güiro player, and the whole band, are just out of their minds. I saw Manolín at this same Quinta Avenida outdoor nightclub the very first night I ever spent in Cuba (Feb. 1999) - a concert that led to the creation of timba.com (and the loss of my sanity). There was something truly magical about that outdoor venue that seemed to set every band on fire. The camera stays on the percussion but if you listen carefully you can hear that Issac Delgado is sitting in on two songs.

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Saturday, 11 April 2015, 08:57 PM

This video captures the rapture of the Havana public during the Manolin-mania period better than any other I've found. It took place at the massive, outdoor Anfeteatro de Marianao in 1996 as el Médico and his crack surgical team were in the process of pouring an ocean of kerosene on Havana's already raging live music scene. It's also priceless for its documentation of the wicked hot rhythm section of Mipa, Nápoles and the Pututi brothers.

This reconstruction uses film from the cameras of two participants in Caribbean Music & Dance Programs' yearly February pilgrimages to Havana. The main camera is by Michael Croy, who, among other things, filmed the legendary Issac Delgado Valentine's Day concert the following February. I forgot who sent me the other angle (please send me an email if you're reading this!), but I've spliced them together, in some cases repeating sections.

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Friday, 10 April 2015, 08:39 PM

There have been some lower resolution individual songs from this concert, but now we have the full 90 minute show in very high resolution. This is NG La Banda at the absolute peak of their second great style period - with Calixto Oviedo, Feliciano Arango, Los Metales del Terror, Pan con Salsa, Peruchín, Tony Calá et al.

Click here and here for documentaries on NG and Calixto.

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Thursday, 09 April 2015, 07:27 PM

This is the second set of the concert posted a few days ago. Highlights include a massive version of Y ahora qué, La última balá and the masterpiece No te lo creas.

Click here for Part One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sbM6epQq-E