Melón CD Release Concert Tonight

23:0 horas at Clamores in Madrid - Lunes - 28 de junio

Melón celebrates the long-awaited release of Travesía, a fresh new take on Latin jazz featuring sax luminary Román Filiú and ex-Pupy bassist "El Negrón" Elizarde. Negrón is out of the country, but not to worry, Melón's old partner from the Issac band, genius bassist Alain Pérez, will be playing at Clamores .

Melón is also coming to the US in fall with Buika and will hopefully fit in some solo gigs and clinics. Meanwhile, Volume 9 of Beyond Salsa Piano , the fourth and final volume on Melón, will be done soon. It will include the songs from Exclusivo para Cuba as well as various unreleased masterpieces like La temática and La competencia, as well as some of his work with Manolín and some of the tumbaos from his Latin jazz originals. Stay tuned.

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Tuesday, 22 June 2010, 09:17 PM

Iván "Melón" Lewis Quintet celebra el lanzamiento de su nuevo CD, Travesía, con un concierto en Clamores en Madrid, el 28 de junio, con el invitado especial Alain Pérez.

If you're going, please contact me at kevin@timba.com. I need pictures and a concert report for Volume 9 of Beyond Salsa Piano, which is nearing completion.

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Saturday, 19 June 2010, 08:37 AM

Last night's double sellout at Yoshi's Oakland was the longest, hottest night of the tour, featuring a blistering special request version of El pregonero, great guest solos from John Calloway and Jesús Díaz, and an unbelievable dance appearance by folkloric master José Barroso. It doesn't get better than this.

Tonight they play one night only at The Salsa Room in Arlington Virginia. Don't miss it - Obama and Michelle Bachman are both scheduled to sit in on congas.

Tomorrow, Sunday, Pupy returns for another show in New York at SOBs.

Tuesday they'll be at Boston's Wilbur Theater.

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Friday, 18 June 2010, 08:41 AM

photos by Tom Ehrlich

It gets hotter every night. I've seen every Bay Area show and will definitely be at Yoshi's Oakland for the grand climax tonight. Los Que Son Son has always had one of the most torrid grooves of any timba band but their new style is a quantum leap forward, featuring the pedales and bombas of bassist Daymar Calvario ("the cavalry is coming!"), Miguelito Escuriola, Duniesky Barreto and founding member Bombón Reyes, who of course also played in the legendary 2000 Issac band.

When the bass starts to pedal, slide or thump, the energy level simply goes through the roof and it happens repeatedly on every song. In my geeky opinion, this is the factor that was missing in both Pupy and Van Van - they made up for it with a relentless basic groove and masterpiece songs, but adding the "gear" factor is the pièce de resistance.

Percussion solos are a regular part of the show and Pupy's solo on La bomba soy yo has brought the house down nightly. There was even a baby bass solo one night in SF. Many Bay stars have sat in, highlighted by Fito Reinoso, Rebeca Mauleón, John Santos and Carol Steele. Members of the Terry family are supposedly still in town and we're hoping for a last-minute guest appearance from the world's greatest chékere player.

See you tonight! Next tour stops are Washington DC and Boston. The band returns to Havana on July 2.