8 September, 2013

Report From Chicago is on break until October 2013.  You can still see a listing of performances of interest in our Calendar of Events section. 

August 23, 2013

THIS WEEK:  See our Concerts, Events and Reviews page for what's shaping up to be an exciting week.  Angel d'Cuba's full band is at the Humboldt Park Boathouse on Wednesday night, and heading into the next weekend, the Chicago Jazz Festival has some Latin Jazz acts on the program. There are several bands in the clubs. 

18 August 2013

The Chuchito Valdés Afro Cuban Ensemble did some great sets at the Green Mill over the last weekend;  we caught them on Friday, August 16.   A lot is happening right now, so more pictures later, but it is worth mentioning that the trumpeter in this version of the ensemble,Fred Cantu, also leads a fine straight-ahead 13-piece Jazz band, the Fred Cantu Big Band, which has been playing at Redmond's once a month.   If you are into straight-ahead Jazz, this is worth checking out.   Also of note, Chuchito's new Chicago bassist, Chris Nolte, has been an excellent fit.  This combination (Chuchito Valdés on piano, Fred Cantu on trumpet,Chris Nolte on bass, Rafael Monteagudo on drums and Frankie Ocasio on percussion) may be the best personnel roster that Chuchito has used in Chicago. 

11 August 2013

MARACA SIGHTING

Chicago's own Lise Gilly, leader of Grupo Cha Cha, was down in New Orleans earlier this week for a flute conference, and it turned out that another one of our favorite flautists, Orlando "Maraca" Valle, was also in attendance.  Lise was kind enough to share this photo of the two of them together. It is worth mentioning thatGrupo Cha Cha's most recent album, This Is The Life, may be under consideration for a possible Latin GRAMMY nomination this year.   You can read our review of that album here.  Lise, you owe us some Maraca gossip, and good luck!

Chuchito Valdés returns..

The cat who strikes fear into the hearts of Steinway and Yamaha, Chuchito Valdés,  is back for a two-night stand at the Green Mill on Friday and Saturday, August 16-17.  But seriously folks, in a good room (and this is), I consider his sets must-see Jazz.  What's more, this is his mid-size combo which includes trumpet terror Fred Cantu, the man we would use to impersonate Arturo (body double and upper register) in a national musical emergency.  Chuchito has a new recording out, Grand Piano Live, so I hope he remembers to bring enough merch this time...

REGISTRATION DEADLINE EXTENDED: LEGAL GROUP TRIP TO HAVANA JAZZ FESTIVAL 
DECEMBER 17-23, 2013

The Jazz Institute of Chicago is taking a group to the Havana Jazz Festival, as it did last year. This is a licensed People to People trip that includes various interesting people to people cultural exchanges during the day and the Havana Jazz Festival, one of the world's premier Jazz festivals, at night. One of the listed items was a reception with Pablo Menéndez of Mezcla, who recently performed in Chicago. The original registration  deadline was July 31, but this has been extended, so if this sounds interesting, now's the time to act. 

Last Year's Tour Group

For complete details about the trip, contact kathy@jazzinchicago.org 

If you're going to go, go legally!

6 August 2013

Whew!  We're a little late this week because of Festival Cubano, which was great.  Check out our Sin Clave blog for details. 

28 July 2013

FESTIVAL CUBANO, RIIS PARK, FULLERTON & NARRAGANSETT 
AUGUST 2-4, 2013

This is the 4th edition of the Festival, and although the full schedule hasn't been posted yet, the basics are that Friday will be dedicated to the history of House music, a form to which Chicago's Cuban American community made significant contributions;  Saturday's acts will include Alfredo de la Fe, Xiomara Laugart, Jerry Rivera and others, and Sunday's finale will include the Cachao Mambo All Stars, Sureya, Miles Pena and the closer, Timbalive.  If you can't make anything else, the Sunday closer with Timbalive is a must-go.  For tickets and more info, see the Festival Cubano website at thecubanfestival.com or their Facebook page, which is Festival Cubano.

21 July 2013

SPECIAL BULLETIN: LEGAL GROUP TRIP TO HAVANA JAZZ FESTIVAL 
DECEMBER 17-23, 2013

The Jazz Institute of Chicago is taking a group to the Havana Jazz Festival, as it did last year. This is a licensed People to People trip that includes various interesting people to people cultural exchanges during the day and the Havana Jazz Festival, one of the world's premier Jazz festivals, at night. One of the listed items was a reception with Pablo Menéndez of Mezcla, who recently performed in Chicago. The registration window closes July 31, so if this sounds interesting, now's the time to act. 

Last Year's Tour Group

For complete details about the trip, contact kathy@jazzinchicago.org 

If you're going to go, go legally!

Also, we have two special festival reports this week, click here for the 7th Chicago Latin Jazz Festival and here for Hector Silveira's performance at the DuSable Museum. 

14 July 2013

This week's doings and news are so cool (including Hector Silveira tonight and Hilario Duran Friday) that we are going to send you straight to our Sin Clave No Hay Na' blog for details. 

7 July 2013

See our Calendar of Events section for what's on this week. Musicians and other professionals in the music industry should check out the Chicago Music Summit on September 20, 2013. This is sponsored by the city and is a wide-ranging industry conference with panels, networking opportunities and special concerts. Registration is free.
For more information, see the city's web page for the summit at  http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/chicago_music_summit.html