Meet Canela de Cuba

This almost-all-female band from Cuba plays it all - Latin Jazz, Folkloric, Música Bailable. Their story, including some choice videos, is here.

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Saturday, 08 June 2013, 12:13 AM

This truly was an excellent year for recordings by Cubans around the world, and the results of Cubadisco 2013 reflected this fact in both the nominations and the list of winners. You can read our complete article in English here.

Esto realmente fue un año excelente para grabaciónes por cubanos en todo el mundo, y los resultados de Cubadisco 2013 reflejan este hecho, tanto en los nominaciones y la lista de ganadores. Se puede leer nuestro articulo completo en español aquí.

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Wednesday, 05 June 2013, 02:24 AM

Serious students of the music and musicians with a sense of history already know why this is important. For those who aren't familiar with Arsenio, he was merely one of the most transformative figures in the history of Cuban popular music in the 20th Century. You can read more about him and his many musical innovations in Kevin Moore's Roots of Timba article here. Arsenio did not die wealthy, and for decades his legacy was often neglected except by the many musicians who used his ideas and his music. This honor is both appropriate and long overdue.

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Tuesday, 04 June 2013, 01:05 AM

A lot of exciting things for US listeners are coming soon:

Chucho Valdés will be touring the United States in support of the release of his latest CD with the Afro-Cuban Messengers , Border-Free . This is a killer recording, and you can read our review here. The following US Tour dates have been announced:
June 21: The Town Hall, New York, NY
Aug 10: Stanford Jazz / Bing Concert Hall, Stanford, CA
Aug 13: Miller Outdoor Theatre, Houston, TX
Aug 14: Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA

Although the López-Nussa family may not have the same level of name recognition as the Valdés family in the United States, it's not for lack of merit. Two of them, Harold López-Nussa and his brother Ruy Adrian López-Nussa , are touring the US as a duo in June. You can read our review of Harold's wonderful 2011 recording El País de la Maravillas here. The following dates have been posted for that tour:
June 12: Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz, CA
June 13-16: SFJAZZ Center, San Francisco, CA
June 18: Jazz Standard, New York, NY
June 19: An die Music, Baltimore, MD
June 21: Regattabar, Cambridge, MA
(also scheduled at Montreal Jazz Festival, July 1)

In other news, Manuel Valera is finishing up another New Cuban Express recording in New York. The last one, which knocked our socks off, was nominated for a GRAMMY in Latin Jazz last year along with a Cubadisco 2013 nomination in the same category. Manuel tells us that the group will include mostly the same personnel as the first recording plus additional percussion and may be "perhaps even more Cuban". We can't wait to hear this!

Over the weekend, we caught the Chuchito Valdés Trio in Chicago. These guys have some serious chemistry going on, and if they should happen to drop in on your town, check them out. A review and photo gallery are here.