The Pedrito Martinez Group gave an excellent performance/party at the City Winery in Chicago AND unveiled a self-named wine there on Saturday, March 15.  You can read a review and see a gallery here (but you'll have to order the wine yourself in order to try it).  

Two concerts and a movie premiere of special interest during the next week: 

Chicago:  Dos y Más is coming to the Old Town School of Folk Music on Wednesday, March 19. This is a promising collaboration between drummer/percussionist Arturo Stable and pianist Elio Villafranca. Both are graduates of the Instituto Superior del Arte in Havana, and their original musical encounter was with Jane Bunnett's Spirits of Havana project.  This will be a Jazz performance that also incorporates a variety of musical influences from around the globe. 

Miami:  The public premiere of an hour-long PBS documentary, Miami Boheme: An American Musical Journey,  will take place at The Stage in Miami on Wednesday, March 19 at 7pm.  This will be followed with a live concert by Palo!, one of several groups documented in the film (some of the others include the Spam Allstars, Locos Por Juana and Sueñalo.)

New York:  Havana Nagila with the Klezmatics, Arturo O'Farrill and others at The Town Hall, Sunday, March 23
¡Oy Gocemos!  Havana Nagila is part of a larger Newish Jewish Music Festival that is being presented March 19th and March 23rd in association with the World Music Institute.   This is hardly the first time that a collaboration exploring the confluence of Latin and Jewish music and dance has been performed;  just two of several past recordings include the CDs It's A Scream The Way Levine Does The Rhumba (the liner notes of which include some material by Arturo O'Farrill) and Bagels and Bongos (which sold more than 2 million copies in 1959), and New York's Jewish community was a key participant in the Mambo Craze of the 50s.  (Photo John Abbott)
What makes this project of extra interest is that the Klezmatics and Arturo O'Farrill have the distinction of being in the top rungs of their respective genres AND a lot of experience doing other successful fusion projects.  Additional artists will include Lewis Kahn, who has played with several Salsa bands including the Fania All Stars, Argentine Jazz vocalist Sofia Rei, percussionist Reinaldo de Jesus and others. (Photo Chuck Fishman)

Tickets are available at www.townhall.org and www.ticketmaster.com

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Interactivo's performance in Miami was more than worth the time and expense to travel from Chicago to see it.   You can see a review and a very extensive photo gallery here . 

While waiting for the concert, this writer went shopping for recordings.  It is worth mentioning that the Museo del Disco (1301 SW 70th Ave in Miami) is not only stocking many of the EGREM, Colibri and Bis recordings that are reviewed on this website, but it may have the most impressive selection of those in the United States now and deserves special mention for its pro-active efforts to bring that music to buyers here. 

Key Concerts This Week:  Kelvis Ochoa is in Miami on March 15th, and the Pedrito Martínez Group is at the City Winery in Chicago, also on March 15th. 

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  Graphic courtesy EGREM

ENGLISH:  March 31, 2014 marks the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of EGREM, the home of the record label that first brought us Timba and many other forms of modern Cuban music. EGREM began the festivities on February 28th with a press conference to announce its plans for the occasion.   A photo gallery from the conference is available here. 
With the assistance of several individuals at EGREM, Bill Tilford has established a special section for EGREM and its activities, which is availaible here. 
All who love modern Cuban music have much to celebrate. 

ESPAÑOL: 31 de marzo 2014 marca el 50 º aniversario del establecimiento de la EGREM, la casa discográfica que nos traía la TImba y muchas otras formas de la música cubana moderna. EGREM comenzó los festejos del 28 de febrero con una conferencia de prensa para anunciar sus planes para la ocasión.  Una galería de fotos de la conferencia está disponible aquí.
Con la ayuda de varias personas de la EGREM, Bill Tilford ha establecido una sección especial sobre la EGREM y sus actividades, que está disponible aquí. 
Todos que aman la música cubana moderna tienen mucho que celebrar. 

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Miami: Interactivo in concert, Miami Dade County Auditorium, 29th and Flagler Street, Miami FL, March 8, 9PM

This should be one of the concerts of the year in the United States. Interactivo is one of the most progressive and interesting bands in Cuba today; it combines everytthing from Jazz to Hip Hop to modern Cuban dance music, and the most recent information released adds several members of Habana Abierta to the roster along with Gema Corredera, Mayito Rivera and David Torrens. Telmary is also on the roster. We'll post some video of Interactivo closer to the date, but with the additional stars in the show, there are bound to be some musical surprises as well. 

Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com
For additional information, see the Fundarte website at
www.Fundarte.us

Click continue reading for much more.

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