30 December 2012

Happy New Year / Feliz Año Nuevo!    We did a brief look back at the year in Timba generally  in ourSin Clave blog.   Locally, the year's high point for the music was without question the Isaac Delgado show at Festival Cubano in August.   The Chicago outlook for 2013 is mixed.  The good news is that the visa situation is getting easier.  The bad news is that the economic picture is getting harder, and not just in Chicago.   The good news is that there are some local and regional bands that are putting out some very credible music when their whole bands can get hired for the performance.  The bad news is economic again, and it minimizes the opportunities to hear full groups rather than reduced units of the bands.   

If you are listening to Timba in Chicago on New Year's Eve, odds are pretty good you're at home or at a private party.  If you do regular Salsa as well, check out our Nuestros Primos Musicalessection. 

See you next year!

23 December 2012

One of our local bandleaders, Jose Eliezer Armijos (Eliezer y su Orquesta),  recorded a nice Christmas song, Navidad, Navidad,  which we share here with his kind permission:

Thanks Eliezer, and Merry Christmas to you as well! Eliezer's Youtube channel isEliezerysuorquesta.  

We recently posted an article in our Sin Clave No Hay Na' blog about a new Chicago festival that may be of interest when it comes around next year for its third round.  You can read about the 2nd Annual Afro-Caribbean Improvised Music Festival here.

As for New Year's Eve, there are plenty of private parties and DJ events going on, but not many live music options.   So far the only live band that has come to our attention for NYE is Angel Melendez y Su Orquesta at the Alhambra Palace brought to you by Latin Street Dancing.  For more information, see their website.

We also posted two CD reviews during the last week.  One, A Dream Come True by the Cubana All Stars, was recorded in Havana, and you can read our review here.  The other, A Wonderful Thing by Rob Ryndak, is a little different from what we normally cover here, but it's relevant for us because it features some work by some top local cats including Rubén Alvarez, Victor Gonzalez Jr.  and Tito Carrillo.   Rubén and Victor had a good year musically - they were also in theChuchito Valdes recording Live In Chicago, which was nominated for a Latin GRAMMY.  You can read that review here. 

See you next week. 

16 December 2012

Folks, this writer has been too busy going to things around Chicago (and then resting up from them) to write about them just yet.  This 2nd Annual Afro Caribbean Improvised Music Festival is one of them, and it isn't over yet.  Orquesta El Macabeo did a great show at the Bottom Lounge in connection with Salsa Friday night, we're told that they really cranked up the crowd in St. Louis last night, and they are back in our area tonight (Sunday, December 16)  at the Willowbrook Ballroom, 8900 S. Archer Av., Willow Springs, IL.  (Tickets are $15 at the door, for more information, seeAguzate.org)   Here's another taste of this band, which is one of the most fun groups in Salsa today and something we highly recommend:

We also dropped in on Nabori at the Mambo Cafe Saturday night.  The guys are sounding great...

Stay tuned for a special midweek update this week which will cover the Festival in our Sin Clave No Hay Na'  section as well as reviews of 2 new CD releases - one by local musicians and the other by the Cubana All Stars in Havana, Cuba....

9 December 2012:

We're back after a wonderful trip to New York and New Jersey, parts of which you can read about it our Sin Clave No Hay Na' blog.   Unfortunately, we missed both the Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Navi-Jazz events here but hope that many of you enjoyed those events.   We have also updated this month's Event Calendar.  This week, we are going to play the "one bird with two wings" card and refer you to a festival that isn't Cuban but still very much worth checking out:

EVENT ALERT:

Also, As part of the festivities,  the 2nd Afro-Latin Record Collectors' Fair and Exhibit  will take place at 4:00pm on Saturday, December 15, 2012 at 914  Studio, 914 N. California, Chicago, IL.   For more information, see Aguzate.org
I saw a lot of good stuff there last year (and Omar, I call dibs on the Pijuan if you still have it....)

All of the above should be exciting.   Omar Torres-Kortwright of Aguzate has been working on an interesting documentary film about the late salsero Chamaco Ramirez, and the concert shown above provides a good tie-in for that film.  Here's a taste of Henry Cole's Afrobeat Collective:

As for Orquesta El Macabeo, if you saw them earlier this year, you already know why this is a don't miss.   You can read out July 2012 story about them, which includes an interview, here.  This is one of their videos:

25 November 2012:

EVENT ALERT: GONZALO RUBALCUBA followed by 90 MILES at Symphony Center
30 November 2012 at 8:00pm
This double-bill event opens with a solo performance by Cuban Jazz piano legend Gonzalo Rubalcaba followed by a tria performance by 90 Miles featuring Stefon Harris, Nicholas Payton and David Sánchez.  Gonzalo has won numerous awards over the years including four GRAMMYs, and the musicians that follow are well-known by most serious Jazz listeners.  For more information, see the Symphony Center's event page.  If you are into Jazz, this is absolutely worth checking out. 

18 November 2012:

As part of his continuing mission to make a better understanding of Timba and its relationship to other rhythms available to everyone, Kevin Moore has just published a new book for beginning drummers and timbaleros.   Kevin is one of the most prolific (probably THE most prolific) authors who has ever written about the music.  For more details about the newest book in the series, see  https://www.createspace.com/3500612

EVENT ALERT: GONZALO RUBALCUBA followed by 90 MILES at Symphony Center
30 November 2012 at 8:00pm
This double-bill event opens with a solo performance by Cuban Jazz piano legend Gonzalo Rubalcaba followed by a tria performance by 90 Miles featuring Stefon Harris, Nicholas Payton and David Sánchez.  Gonzalo has won numerous awards over the years including four GRAMMYs, and the musicians that follow are well-known by most serious Jazz listeners.  For more information, see the Symphony Center's event page.  If you are into Jazz, this is absolutely worth checking out. 

Well, the Latin GRAMMYs are over, and it is worth noting that while it didn't win, Live In Chicago byChuchito Valdes was nominated for Best Latin Jazz album.  Congratulations to Chuchito, Ruben Alvarez, Frankie Ocasio and Brian Doherty for getting that far.  Here is our review of the CD, which is a live recording of a 2009 concert at what was the Morse Theatre (now the Mayne Stage).  

Finally,  we have a long-delayed review of Los Van Van's La Maquinaria.  We are happy that the Latin Academy for the Recording Arts and Sciences (LARAS) chose to recognize a TImba recording this year with a nomination but wish that one of the stronger albums - and there were a few possibilities available this year - had been recognized instead.

 11 November 2012:

This week, a new room for music and a new band:  To read about the room, Maiz, click here. 
To read about the band, Havana Kings, click here. 

4 November 2012:

This week, we're going to refer you to our review and photo gallery for the Hector Silveira concert.   Joshua Bennett is now doing some photography for us, and his work is outstanding. Click here for the review and photo gallery. 

28 October 2012:

EVENT ALERT:  HECTOR SILVEIRA PRESENTS:  CUBAN SALSA NIGHT
Friday, 2 November 2012, 10:30pm
Logan Square Auditorium, 2539 N. Kedzie Blvd., Chicago IL 60647

We haven't seen Hector fronting a dance band here live in a while because he has been hunkered down in the studio finishing a killer project that will be out soon (we can say this because we've heard some preview tracks), but this will definitely have been worth the wait.  He let us hear some of what he is doing this weekend, and this event will be a don't-miss, especially for Timberos.   This music is the real deal, folks.  You may have heard him on Frank Camacho's show on AM 1590 Saturday, and if you did, you probably already bought your ticket.   
Hector is originally from Camaguey, Cuba, and is now based in Chicago.  The band that you'll be hearing Saturday packs a wallop. We say that with authority because we dropped in on their rehearsal this afternoon.   Hector is a stellar vocalist and multiinstrumentalist, but he is also being backed by some heavy hitters. You won't be sitting down for this performance except for exhaustion maybe.  The rhythm section cooks, and the brass section is full of monsters.

Congratulations to Chuchito Valdés and Chicago's ownFrankie Ocasio, Brian Doherty and Rubén P. Alvarez for their Latin Grammy Nomination in the Latin Jazz category forLive In Chicago CD.  It's nice to see a Chicago session getting this level of recognition in the Latin Grammys.  Good luck to them in the final voting round.   
We have haven't seen this in Chicago area stores yet (hint, guys), but you can find it online at both CD Baby and Amazon.

Some of you have asked about the Havana d'Primera tour.  It's legit.  We haven't been pushing a specific location on this page because it's in a few cities now - NYC, Union City, NJ; Miami, FL and several cities in California and Washington State.   Check out Timba.com's main section for more details about dates, times etc.   

Finally, some of you who are complete newcomers to the music have asked about whether there is a good introductory book for beginners who aren't musicians but enjoy listening and dancing and want to understand more about the music.  That book is coming soon thanks to the efforts of Kevin Moore, who will soon be releasing Beyond Salsa For Beginners.  Click here for more information. 

20 October 2012:

We interrupt our vacation to bring you a special bulletin:

TIEMPO LIBRE IS COMING TO ELGIN ILLINOIS TONIGHT (OCTOBER 20) at 8:00 pm.  For more details, see their web page for the event. 

7 October 2012:

VACATION!!   Yes, we're taking a couple of much needed weeks off here, but our Calendar of Events has plenty of things posted up.  Meanwhile, check out our Sin Clave blog for pictures and review of Arturo Sandoval's concert as well as guest photographer Joshua Bennett's great shots of Septeto Nacional de Cuba.