HAVANA D'PRIMERA AND SEPTETO SANTIAGUERO RECEIVE CUBADISCO AWARDS

Pasaporte by Havana d'Primera is the winner of Cubadisco 2013, Cuba's equivalent of the GRAMMY awards, in the category Popular Dance Music. You can read our review of the CD here.

Vamos pa' la' Fiesta by Septeto Santiaguero is the Winner of Cubadisco 2013, Cuba's equivalent of the GRAMMY awards, in the category Traditional Popular Music. You can read our review of the CD here.

Congratulations to both of these excellent groups! In the days to come, we will cover the rest of the Cubadisco 2013 winners and share some more CD reviews.

Pasaporte por Havana d'Primera es ganador del premio Cubadisco 2013, equivalente cubano a los premios GRAMMY, en la categoría Música Popular Bailable. Se puede leer nuestra reseña del CD aquí.

Vamos pa' la fiesta por el Septeto Santiaguero es ganador del premio Cubadisco 2013, equivalente cubano a los premios GRAMMY, en la categoría Música Popular Tradicional. Se puede leer nuestra reseña del CD aquí.

¡Felicitaciones a los dos grupos excelentes! En el futuro cercano, vamos a cubrir el resto de los ganadores en Cubadisco 2013 y compartir también más reseñas de CDs.

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Friday, 03 May 2013, 03:41 PM

2012 was an excellent vintage for recordings from Cubans both in Cuba and around the world, and the nominees in Cubadisco 2013 reflect this fact. Timba.com is pleased to shine a spotlight on the categories of greatest interest to our visitors in addition to the entire official list of nominees. To read the article in English, click here.

2012 fue una excelente cosecha para las grabaciones de los cubanos tanto en Cuba como en todo el mundo, y los nominados en Cubadisco 2013 reflejan este hecho. Timba.com se complace en ofrecer un enfoque en las categorías de mayor interés para nuestros visitantes, además de toda la lista oficial de los nominados.Para leer el articulo en español, haz clic aquí.

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Thursday, 18 April 2013, 05:11 PM

(photo by Kent Richmond courtesy Chicago Jazz Philharmonic)

Orbert Davis of the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic and Frank Chaves of River North Dance Chicago had already performed diligent work managing expectations about what to expect and what not to expect from Havana Blue during interviews in the press and a roundtable discussion at the Instituto Cervantes leading up to the performance, so this writer went into the Auditorium Theatre understanding that this was to be an original interpretive work rather than a series of covers of Cuban music and dance, and he was prepared to receive the work on its own terms. Nevertheless, it is difficult for anyone who works with Cuban music to watch and listen to "Cuban-inspired" works without also considering the relationships that have unfolded for more than a century between Cuban performers and their American counterparts as well as Cuban and North American music, so this review will speak to both this performance and the bigger picture as well.

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Sunday, 07 April 2013, 01:40 AM

(Courtesy of The Recording Academy/ photo by Kevin Winter, WireImage.com 2013)

One of the things that makes the music we write about here so wonderful is the fact that music education has played an important role in shaping the musicians as far back as the days of Cachao, who in addition to his revolutionary musical roles with the early Mambo and the later Descargas was a classically trained bassist who played with the Philharmonic. Bebo Valdés, whose passing we wrote about recently in this blog, was also trained in the Conservatory. Formal musical education which included classical training also helped nurture countless members of the new generation of musicians who have brought us Songo, Timba, Jazz etc.

In the United States, it isn't exactly a secret that music education in the schools has fallen on hard financial times, so we applaud any measures that help recognize and support its importance. The GRAMMY Foundation and The Recording Academy recently unveiled a new Music Educator Award, and the winner will be selected by a process that includes public participation in the US in nominating the candidates.

Many of our readers have children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren etc. that may or may not become members of the next generation of Jazz and Latin music performers depending upon the level of support and education that they receive from us and those who are teaching them how to sing and play. If you are in the United States and know of a music educator there who has made a difference in their lives, this is your chance to help them get more recognition for their efforts, and there is more than a plaque and a ceremony at stake for them – the winner, to be named in 2014, will also receive a $10,000.00 honorarium, and nine finalists will receive $1,000.00 each. (The funding for the awards is being supplied by the Ford Motor Company Fund.)

For more about the awards process, the rules, who is eligible, and how to nominate your choice (nominations are open until April 15), visit http://www.grammymusicteacher.com