28 March 2011 This Week: 

See the March 25 Event Alert below for La Epoca on Tuesday.  Starting this Wednesday, Cuban Timba in Chicago will now be a weekly Wednesday night event at Green Dolphin Street instead of every other week (congratulations!).  Sunday,  Papo Santiago's Orchestra Infraverde is playing at the Cubby Bear. 

25 March 2011:   Event Alert:  La Epoca, Tuesday, Tuesday, March 29 2011, Alhambra Palace, Chicago IL

On Tuesday, March 29, the Alhambra Palace is hosting a screening of La Epoca , a movie about the Palladium era (the golden age of "pre-salsa" music and dancing when the mambo, son, guaracha etc were all still distinct to both dancers and musicians).  This includes a Q & A with the producer, some social dancing, and most importantly, there will be some filming of dancers for footage for an upcoming movie.  If you are serious about your dancing, this may be an opportunity to get on camera.  Everyone else who loves the music will find the history interesting; there are interviews with key figures from the era as well as footage from the old days at the Palladium    More information is on the  4 Fantastic Events website.  Click HERE for complete details.

21 March 2011 This Week:

We have posted a new set of reviews of three  local bands, Afinca'o ,   Carpacho Super Combo and Orquesta Con Son as well as thumbnails of three local restaurants with la musica .

Coming up this week: 

Tuesday,  March 22:  Martyrs ' is doing a benefit for the Chicago Food Repository and is having three bands, one of which is the Chicago Afro Latin Jazz Septet, a smaller unit of the Chicago Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble.  This group has many of the best Latin jazz musicians in the area and should be worth hearing.  Also, Orquesta Con Son is playing at Nacional 27.  Alhambra Palace also has a benefit going in connection with Salsa Tuesdays, "Giving Back Is The New Black",  to help fight cancer.  This is a DJ event with Angelo Prieto and Luis "Rollin" Rivera.

Wednesday, March 23:  Cuban Timba in Chicago's night at Green Dolphin Street (Tropical LIVE! Wednesdays is also right in the next room at the same place.  This is an opportunity to check out DJs spinning salsa in one room and timba in another.)

Friday, March 25:  Carpacho y su Super Combo are at the Roundhouse in Aurora. 

Saturday, March 26:  Afrocuban Dance lessons continue at Africaribe Cultural Center; Carpacho y su Super Combo are at Loyola University, Eliezer y su Orquesta are at Rumba and Nabori is at Tumbao.

Special Alert For Serious Dancers:

On Tuesday, March 29, the Alhambra Palace is the place for a screening of La Epoca, a movie about the Palladium era, a Q & A with the director, some social dancing, and most importantly, there will be some filming of dancers for footage for an upcoming movie.  This is a wonderful opportunity for dancers to get on camera.  More information is on the  4 Fantastic Events website.  Click HERE for complete details.

14 March 2011 This Week:

We have posted a new set of reviews of Salsa Tuesday at the Alhambra Palace ,  Nabori    and a concert by Poncho Sanchez at the Mayne Stage.   We also took in two sets by Afinca'o - one at the Roundhouse and one at the Cubby Bear - and will post a review of those later in the week.

Coming up this week:  On Wednesday,  Carpacho y su Super Combo will be at Green Dolphin Street, and on Friday, Orquesta Con Son will be at the Roundhouse in Aurora.   On Saturday, Afrocuban dance lessons continue at AfriCaribe Cultural Center.  On Sunday, Nabori will be at the Cubby Bear. 

Coming up Tuesday,  March 22:  Martyrs ' is doing a benefit for the Chicago Food Repository and is having three bands, one of which is the Chicago Afro Latin Jazz Septet, a smaller unit of the Chicago Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble.  This group has many of the best Latin jazz musicians in the area and should be worth hearing.

11 March 2011 Concert Alert:

Poncho Sanchez and his Latin Jazz Band  at the Mayne Stage , 1328 W. Morse, Chicago, IL Sunday, March 13, 7:00PM and 9:00PM

Poncho is one of the more prolific Latin jazz recording artists.  His group doing two sets, and although we haven't seen the set list for the night, some of what he does is usually danceable as well.

For more information about the concert (tickets etc), see the Mayne Stage event page.

7 March 2011 This Week:

(Photo by Bill Tilford, all rights reserved)

Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca got its Afrocuban on at the Mayne Stage last night.  If you went, you may still be resting up from it.  See our Concert Review for a full writeup.

We did two other things recently - we caught Papo Santiago in a very nice Latin Jazz quintet at the SIboney Saturday night, and later we caught an old-school salsa set by Willie Garcia y su Orquesta Sabor at the Veranda.  We'll say more about both the Siboney and the Veranda in the future.

Coming up this week:   There are a lot of things happening, but here are a  few highlights: Tuesday, Orquesta Nabori is playing for the third anniversary of the Tuesday night event at the Alhambra Palace .  Wednesday, Cuban Timba in Chicago is having its Timba dance night at Green Dolphin Street.   Saturday, the AfroCuban dance class series continues at the AfriCaribe Cultural Center.  Sunday, May 13, Poncho Sanchez and his Latin Jazz Band are playing at the Mayne Stage .

A word about the Mayne Stage while we're here.  Ever since the HotHouse ceased to be some years back,  the situation with venues for Cuban and African live acts has been more up for grabs.  With last night's show by Ricardo Lemvo and the upcoming concerts by Poncho Sanchez and Omar Sosa, it looks like the Mayne Stage may be stepping in to fill some of the gaps.  Good for them.  It's a nice room with a nice restaurant in front.  We hope that the audiences will prove to be supportive enough to convince them to keep doing what they are doing.  

--Bill

4 March 2011  Concert Alert:

(Photo by Jeannie Jalbert)

Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca  at the Mayne Stage , 1328 W. Morse, Chicago, Illinois Sunday, March 6, 7:30PM

Makina Loca does an interesting, high-energy  mix of African and Afrocuban music.  Ricardo Lemvo spoke with us about where this mix came from and a few other things yesterday.  Read  what we learned from him in our report,  Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca

For more information about the concert (tickets etc), see the Mayne Stage event page.

Reminder:  See also our February 24th entry about the AfroCuban dance lessons that start tomorrow.

1 March 2011 -  This Week

Last Friday night, we visited the Roundhouse in Aurora, which does alternating live/DJ sets for  dancing every Friday night.  For our report, see Sultry Salsa Fridays LIVE!    

During our Friday night outing, we  caught a set by the fine local band, Papo Santiago & Orchestra Infraverde.  See Papo Santiago & Orchestra Infraverde for the details.

Coming up this week:   Mambo 7 is at Green Dolphin Street on Wednesday and the Roundhouse on Friday, AfroCuban Dance lessons are available on Saturday (see our 24 February entry),  and a concert at the Mayne Stage in Chicago by Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca is happening on Sunday. 

Until next time,
--Bill