Mambo!

Wednesday, Oct. 3, 7:00 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco

Rebeca Mauleón has a genius for - among other things - translating Cuban music concepts into simple, entertaining English, so the Bay Area is fired up about her new lecture series on Cuban Music. The first lecture, on mambo, features guest artists Orestes Vilató, Jesús Díaz and others. Later courses will feature Jimmy Branly, El Negro Hernández and a whole cast of other big names. Hopefully the whole 5-lecture series will be filmed and released as a DVD. There will be a new lecture with different guests every Wednesday in October. See you there! [Kevin Moore]

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Monday, 01 October 2012, 01:44 PM

Peter Maiden files this photo-report on the recent Center for Latin Studies conference with Bill Martínez, Raúl Fernández and others.

BOOK NEWS: Peter has also written an excellent book, Media Workers for Social Change, available in softcover, Kindle, iPad and Nook.

MORE BOOK NEWS: Robert Fernández is working on an instructional book on playing three batás with one player, and, along with Luca Brandoli, on the first transcription of the arará version of the Oru seco.

MORE BOOKS NEWS: My tome for dancers and non-musicians keeps growing. Should be done in less than a month. (And yes, that's what I said last month and the month before that.)

Now, on to the latest galleries, both on the Pedrito Martínez Group. Peter Maiden photographed them at Yoshi's, and Tom Ehrlich at the Monterey Jazz . Tom's earlier Yoshi's gallery is here. [Kevin Moore]

Pedrito Martínez Group at Monterey Jazz Fest - photo by Tom Ehrlich (click for gallery)

Pedrito Martínez Group at Yoshi's Oakland - photo by Peter Maiden (click for gallery)

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Sunday, 30 September 2012, 09:22 AM

A Special Article from Walfedo de Los Reyes, Sr.

In Memoriam: Paquito Hechavarría

This is a page of Paquito's life that I would like to share with all his friends and family. We date back to the early 50s, when Paco would show up at the Parisien in the Nacional Hotel in Habana and sit in with my band after concluding his work with La Orquesta Riverside.

This young talent at the time would blow me away. His immense talent and feel was amazing. He had the schooling of Pedro "Peruchín" Justiz, of course, sometimes referring to himself as the "White Peruchín". Paco was just that.

We kept on playing together in the Cuban jazz club and other recordings and events. When I did my recording for Gema Records in 1956, it was Paquito on piano who came in and started feeding us ideas together with Cachao, Jesus Caunedo, Los Papines, Luis Escalante. Incredible to watch - his coffee always on the piano, his cigarette with an Eversharp holder, the typical jazz pianist in a jazz bar!!

When we moved to the U.S. in the early 60s, Paco made his home in Miami, where he had great success recording with everyone there. He was the man - many CDs with his own group, and of course, the famous piano solo on Gloria Estefan's "Conga", that no one has come close to matching.

He left many good friends like Nelson Padrón, Tany Gil and more. He touched everyone's heart. His love for his children Frankie Felix, and Jennifer was unmatched, and they were always in his conversations, and how proud he was of them.

In the 80s, we did a project for Tany Gil that was called "WAL-PA-TA-CA" - this was Walfredo, Paquito, Tany, and Cachao...amazing group, which I will never forget.

Paco had a great love for the sport of judo, which he learned from Cuban drummer Daniel Pérez, an alumnus of Luis Guardia, 8th Dan who teaches in Miami. His goal was always to throw me down with an harai-goshi movement. P.S. He never did. Paco had a green belt.

This incredible talent has passed on, but to all who knew him he will always be in our hearts. Rest in peace, Paco, we will never forget you.

WALFREDO DE LOS REYES

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Saturday, 29 September 2012, 09:03 PM

This is such an amazing band! Here's Tom's galllery from Yoshi's - more photos coming from Monterey Jazz Festival soon.