Esto es Havana D' Primera....de primera. The performances speak for themselves. Enjoy!

Se Te Olvidó Quien Soy

Claudia - Latin Jazz

Rosa La Peligrosa

Sabroso - Descarga Cachao

These videos are now loaded on the Havana D' Primera Video page in progress.
Videography by Tom Ehrlich = https://www.timba.com/users/tomehrlich
Mastering by Michael Lazarus = http://latinmusicmastering.com

Alexander Abreu - leader, vocals, trumpet
Tony Rodríguez - piano
Avis Tobías - bass
Harold Díaz Escobar - teclado
Keisel Jiménez - drums/percussion
Guillermo del Toro Varela - drums/percussion
Mauricio Gutiérrez Upman - drums/percussion
Amaury Pérez Rodríguez - trombone
Jannier Rodríguez - coro
Enrique Luis Pérez - coro
Rogelio Nápoles - guitar
Uyuni Martínez Romero - trumpet
Orlando Jesús Vázquez - trumpet
Angel Batule - sound engineer

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Breaking News: Mayimbe Auditioning New Singers - As we receive photos, reports and feedback from the Mayimbe tour of the US, the breaking news is that front-line singers Marcelo (Marcelo Villar Cano) and Angelito (Ángel Ramírez Ballesteros) are not part of the band anymore, and that auditions are in process for their replacements. Maybe it's a case of soloist dreams after their incredible reception, as all their concerts were well attended and the band was tight and rehearsed, but at the end of the day this is the music business, and the ultimate currency of this business is "the song". Click here to view the official press release (in larger size) from Bárbaro Fines and the band.  Or here for the text version (look below the press image).

Word from Florentine Gardens in Los Angeles - De La Habana a Peru a LOS ANGELES! Los Mayimberos ya nacieron en L.A. The Concert started just after after midnight on Friday night. Before the show, I had the chance to meet with the director Barbaro Fines. I was excited to meet with him and discuss this amazing band, his first smokin album "De la Habana a Peru" and his future projects. He seemed pretty emotional at times during our conversation, actually breaking out in tears at times, especially when describing his amazing story and odyssey of finding his passion for Cuban Music once again upon arrival in a foreign country named "Peru". He said "This first album I wrote on the floor of my worn down immigrant motel room after arriving in Lima. I wrote it thinking of my family, friends and my homeland of Cuba which I had left behind. This first album is for them and for my future family, I hope it is to one day become a part of my legacy". He says his second album named "Mensajeros de Olofi" is due out in the coming months (editor's note - may take some more time as the old singers will be replaced in these new tracks). It was amazing to witness this band, the energy and the audience as well. Mainly all young South American / Peruvian in attendance. The turnout was great, about 300-400 persons. The band sounded very tight LIVE as if I was listening to them in a studio. They opened with their Mayimbe intro song, followed up by the very popular "El Diablo" track!  Kudos to San Francisco / Bay Area though as when asked which city was his favorite on this U.S tour thus far, to my surprise, Barbaro's response was "San Francisco". "It has been our most significant and important stop along the tour, It's a very important plaza for Mayimbe" . 
On assignment for Timba.com
David "MANGO" González

Girls get it on with Mayimbe at Florentine Gardens in Los Angeles

Bárbaro Fines y su Mayimbe at Florentine Gardens in Los Angeles

Director and pianist Bárbaro Fines lays it down in Elizabeth, New Jersey

Bárbaro Fines y su Mayimbe in Elizabeth, New Jersey

Bárbaro Fines y su Mayimbe at S.O.B.s in New York

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Volume 14 is the first volume of "Beyond Salsa Piano" to focus on Tirso Duarte, pianist, arranger, composer and singer for the great late-1990s incarnation of Charanga Habanera, recording artist and bandleader under his own name, and ex-singer for NG La Banda and Pupy y Los Que Son Son. This book covers the songs Charanguero mayor, Confianza and El bla bla bla, with note-for-note transcriptions of Tirso’s piano tumbaos and a NOTE-FOR-NOTE TRANSCRIPTION for his entire performance on El bla bla bla. The entire bass part is also transcribed as are the bass tumbaos for each piano tumbao. There is also extensive explanation of the conga marchas and the gear and efecto system used by the late 1990s Charanga Habanera.

Click here to download a sample pdf of the eBook 
Oprima aquí para descargar una muestra pdf del eLibro

Author Kevin Moore explains: "The obsession with Cuban music that led to the writing of the Beyond Salsa series began – in many respects – in February of 1999, on the night that I first heard Tirso Duarte play the piano. It was at the legendary Disco Azúcar club in Cancún, on the evening before my first trip to Cuba. Tirso’s piano‐playing was so astounding – and so moving – that I found myself incurably addicted by the end of the night. I’ve thought of very little else in the intervening 14 years – returning to Cuba, collecting music, studying Spanish, and studying Cuban and Afro‐Cuban music and history. On each of my subsequent trips to Cuba I met with Tirso and recorded many hours of MIDI files that, to this day, continue to yield amazing insights and on which the material in this book is based." 

He continues: "In this book we’ll study three songs: Charanguero mayor (Chapter 2), Confianza (Chapter 3), and El bla bla bla (Chapter 4). Charanguero mayor and Confianza have three completely different piano tumbaos each and El bla bla bla has four. Each tumbao is first presented on three staves, in its most basic form, along with the accompanying bass tumbao and chord symbols. The three‐staff notation corresponds to the “c” and “d” audio files, which have the piano alone in the left channel and the bass in the right. Next, the rhythm section context is discussed in a “Gear Studies” section, corresponding to the “e” and “f” audio files, which have the piano alone in the left channel and the full rhythm section in the right. Finally, each individual tumbao has a “Controlled Improvisation” section containing a series of variations as played by Tirso. The variations have corresponding “a” and “b” audio files with the left hand of the piano in the left speaker and the right hand in the right."

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Aquí Andrés "El Paisa" Fernández -- director del Grupo CONTRABANDO de Bélgica -- y el bajista y productor del grupo Dennis Nicles Cobas  hablan sobre el desarollo de los dos nuevos sencillos, "Fe con bendiciones", cantado por Fernando Blanco Moya (uno de los fundadores del grupo), y "No te precupes", cantado por Victor Pedroso. Además podemos ver parte de los dos videos en progreso.

In this interview Andrés "El Paisa" Fernández - director of the Belgian timba band CONTRABANDO - and their bassist and producer Dennis Nicles Cobas discuss the development of their two new singles, "Fe con bendiciones" (Faith with blessings), featuring the lead vocal of Fernando Blanco Moya (one of the founders of the group), and "No te precupes" (Don't worry), with lead vocal by Victor Pedroso. We also get a sneal peek at the new videos (for the singles) in progress. 

Fe con bendiciones - Sencillo 2013 - Canta: Fernando Blanco Moya
No te preocupes - Sencillo 2013 - Canta: Victor Pedroso

Letra y Música: Andrés Fernández Ordoñez "El Paisa"
Arreglo: Contrabando
Grabación y Mezcla: Dennis Nicles Cobas
Masterización: Michael Lazarus de http://latinmusicmastering.com

Twitter - http://twitter.com/Contrabandomus1
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/elpaisatrombon
Website - http://www.grupo-contrabando.com

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