Cachao's live record wins Best Tropical Album at the 54th Grammys

Grammy 2012 winner for Best Latin Tropical Album "The Last Mambo" is Isreal "Cachao" Lopez's live and very enjoyable collection of danzones and descargas -- a sublime celebration of classic Cuban music.

Highlights include "Descarga Candido" (feat. Candido Camero), "Jimmy En El Trombón" (feat. Jimmy Bosch), Dos Gardenias (feat. Lucrecia) and "El Cuarto De Tula" (feat. Issac Delgado).

Here's a selected list of the personnel on this great record...

Edwin Bonilla Conga (also a Grammy nominee for his own record in the same Tropical category)
Candido Camero Guest Appearance
Willy Chirino Guest Appearance
Anthony Columbie Vocals (Background)
Orestes Vilató Timbales
Alfredo de la Fé Guest Appearance
Isaac Delgado Guest Appearance
Kiwzo Fumero Trumpet
Generoso Jiménez Composer
Alvaro León Bongos
Lisette Morales Guest Appearance (singer of the Miami's Celia Cruz All-Stars)
Lucrecia Guest Appearance
Rafael "Tata" Palau Saxophone
Gerardo Peña Flute
Ignacio Piñeiro Composer

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lunes, 06 febrero 2012, 06:47 am

The latest Alexander Abreu & Havana D' Primera video features dance guru Maykel Fonts and the London-based Key2Cuba dancers. This video is dedicated to, and in memory of the writer, Simon Gavron and directed by Kerry Ribchester. The video tells the story of two Cuban boys who grow up in the same barrio fighting and enacting an 'Eye for and eye, tooth for a tooth ' mentality with each other until Alexander Abreu shares with them his philosophy of rising above injustice with elegance.

Nueva Trova Icon Sara González has died - Singer-songwriter Sara Gonzalez, one of the original voices of the New Cuban Song Movement, has died in Havana, official media reported. She was 60. Gonzalez produced music for film, television and radio as well as her solo albums, and she also participated in several album collections. She studied guitar and viola and began her professional career in the early 1970s as a member of the musical group Los Dimos and in an occasional duo with singer-songwriter Pedro Luis Ferrer. During the course of her career, Gonzalez shared the stage with artists such as Joan Manuel Serrat, Mercedes Sosa and Pete Seeger, among others. source

New Cuban music documentary "Cuba: Island of Music" - , Filmmaker Gary Keys' tribute to Afro-Cuban jazz, the film is a behind-the-scenes look at music's role in the daily life of Cubans. Filmmaker Gary Keys (Memories of Duke and Dizzy's Dream Band) brings the audience into the heart and soul of Havana, through a vibrant mosaic of street musicians, big bands, dancers, religious rituals, and classic cars. Keys shows us Afro-Cuban music in New York City, with the music and commentary of jazz legends Billy Taylor, Candido Camero, and Chico OFarrill. See the full 1:17 minute film here.

New timbatón video: Vampira Malvada Charanga Habanera feat Yulién Oviedo - courtesy of our Italian reporter extraordinaire Cuba Soy Yo.

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miércoles, 01 febrero 2012, 07:45 pm

**BREAKING NEWS - MICHEL MAZA UPDATE**
Michel Maza condemned to 25 years in prison in Lima, Perú
for armed robbery with a concealed weapon.

Recently Harper's Magazine writer Daniel Alarcón wrote a feature about Perú's Lurigancho prison. "All Politics Are Local". Excerpt here = http://harpers.org/archive/2012/01/hbc-90008428

Michel Maza arrested in Lima - The famous ex-Charanga Habanera singer Michel Maza was arrested in Lima, Perú for an alleged hold-up of a taxi driver. Money, a cellphone and a radio were taken with a concealed weapon, a serious charge in Perú that can carry a sentence of up to 25 years. Other charges allege drug use. There is talk that he will be deported to Cuba. source

Live in Havana - The Havana weekly listing is up. Would be great to hear about the new Sello LA, Monica y su Máquina, and Tania Pantojas line-ups.

Papo Angarica y Son Yoruba - New track Juégala is currently #1 on RADIO TIMBA. The version of "El Jonrón" we have features Tania Pantoja (ex-Bamboleo) but the a new live Azucar Negra version can be heard here = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ_E1a6hTcI

New single from Miami: Xavier Mili's "Ya Sé Lo Que Tu Quieres" - Grandson of Los Záfiros creator Nestor Mili, Xavier Mili has made Miami his home working with local bands, most notably El Pikete, and on regional television Channel 41. Check out his new single here.

New Habana D' Primera Video Premier (Al fin de la vida) heats up London - One of London's original salsa dance events - El Rumbón Cubano - is featuring HDP's new video of "Al fin de la vida" on February 9nth. Dance teacher Kerry Ribchester directed the video. In related news, the video screening aslo includes Bamboleo’s "La Que Manda (Mujeres)" and Los Van Van’s "Me Mantengo", which was nominated for Music Video of the Year in Cuba's Lukas Awards.

Upcoming Cuba y Puerto Rico projects...
1- Tres legend Francisco "Pancho" Amat to record album with Andy Montañez - Cuban musician Francisco Amat, recognized as one of the most talented treseros in the world, plans to record in 2012 a CD with the Puerto Rican singer Andy Montañez. "It is a project we did together some time ago to reflect the musical relationship between the two countries. I expect to complete it before the end of the year", Amat told Prensa Latina. Amat also announced as part of his plans for 2012 the realization of a CD with the Cabildo del Son, a group he founded in the 1990s. source
2- Danny Rivera new documentary "La música es mi aliento" - Puerto Rican singer Danny Rivera and young Cuban instrumentalists make up the cast of documentary "La musica es mi aliento" (Music is my breath), dedicated to the Cuban singer Adriano Rodríguez and directed by local composer Edesio Alejandro. With this film, Rivera, who is also a guitarist and producer, will pay tribute to Adriano Rodriguez. Composer Edesio Alejandro is directing. source
3- 20-time Latin Grammy winners Calle 13 filming a documentary in Cuba - Puerto Rican reggaetón duo Calle 13 is currently filming a documentary in Cuba, official media said Monday, citing band member René Pérez, a.k.a. "Residente." Pérez said that he traveled to Cuba on a motorboat and that it was "a great experience, a little dangerous but nice at the same time." The duo's new documentary is being directed by Puerto Rican filmmaker Lidy Paoli López. Residente and Visitante attended a concert offered by Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez last Thursday at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana.

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sábado, 21 enero 2012, 08:42 am

Havana weekly listings are up - Need a live music and performance schedule for Havana next week? Check it out in our new section = https://www.timba.com/encyclopedias/havana-live-music-listings

Music form the Cuba All Stars Festival in Perú - check some live tracks from the festival: Mandy Cantero with Los Van Van on Que Sorpresa and Alex Abreu y Habana D Primera with Cuando El Río Suena. Both on Radio Timba right now.

Samuel Formell collaborates with Mexican guitar heroes Rodrigo y Gabriela - Ready to be released in the US this upcoming Tuesday, January 24th, Area 52 contains nine (9) of the duo's favorite songs from their own catalogue re-arranged and re-configured for a 13-piece Cuban orchestra comprised of some of Havana's finest young players, collectively known as C.U.B.A. This two-disc set includes a 30-minute 'making-of' documentary on DVD. source

Area 52 was mixed by Rafa Sardina, one of the leading studio musicians in the Latin music world, and arranged by London-based pianist, composer and arranger Alex Wilson. Recording took place in the Miramar district of Havana, Cuba, at Abdala Studios, founded by the Cuban folk hero Silvio Rodriguez, as well as at Rodrigo & Gabriel's studio in Ixtapa, Mexico. Other players on the record include: bassist Carles Benavent (Paco De Lucia, Chick Corea, Miles Davis), drummer John Tempesta (The Cult, Testament, White Zombie), sitarist Anoushka Shankar and drummer Samuel Formell (Los Van Van).

Radio Timba has an excerpt (with spoilers) of Samuel's killer solo (listen to track #1) of the album's first cut, entitled "Santo Domingo". Check out Rodrigo y Gabriela's iste at = http://rodgab.com/

CubaAntwerpen (title song for the festival), new video from Grupo Contrabando - Hey shameless plug, but it's always It's a great feeling to see and hear a song you mastered. I worked with leader and trombonist Andrés Fernández on this and the video blew me away. Check it out:

Felipe Lamoglia & Urban Beats in Miami - Cuban Timba All Star (Tomasito Cruz version) and ex-NG La Banda saxofonist Felipe Magnolia will be playing his special brand of Afro-Cuban jazz in Miami Beach tomorrow. Fellow CTAS drummer Reinier Guerra is also on the bill.

Legendary, classical-style, afro-cuban "salsa suite" to be performed with 40 musicians - Pianist Larry Harlow's magnum opus "La Raza Latina" will be performed Friday night at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami as part of the Jazz and Roots series, with the composer conducting the local Mario Ortiz All-stars Band and a stellar lineup of musicians that includes the 90-year-old Cuban percussionist Candido Camero and Grammy-award winner and violinist Federico Britos. This will be only the second production of the show, first performed Aug. 14, 2011 at New York's Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival, with Blades, now a Hollywood actor and former cultural minister of Panama, in the lead role. In Miami, Blades' part will be sung by vocalists Emo Luciano and Luisito Rosario. source