International Timba Month has hit Venezuela in the form of Maykel Blanco y Su Salsa Mayor. They will perform their Venezuelan debut concert this Saturday in Barquisimeto. Fans are thrilled to finally get an opportunity to see Los Mayores en vivo. Maykel has been working hard over the past few years to really put together not only a great musical repertiore, but also a well-rehearsed, fun performance that makes Salsa Mayor arguably the best timba show in Havana today.

Los Mayores will be in Venezuela for five concerts. Click here to see the list of concert dates. If you are not fortunate enough to be in Venezuela, you can console yourself with the brilliant new DVD/CD "Cerrando Filas" available at iTunes and other digital retailers. Here is a personal message for the Venezuelan fans from the Maykel Blanco y su Salsa Mayor official Facebook page.

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Omar Sosa and Cuarteto Afrocubano are at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago every night until Sunday, April 25.  Unlike the album, which includes guest musicians that add some elements of Flamenco and other influences, this is the core quartet and is more down-to-the-bone Cuban in its execution.  BIll Tilford was there for the first set opening night - you can read more and see photos here. 

In 2012, Santa Habana by Melvis Santa was nominated for a Cubadisco award in the Fusion category.   Melvis has her own projects now but has also been a member of Interactivo (which appears here) and Sexto Sentido.   You can read a review of this recording in English here y en español aquí.

Best of all for Chicagoans, she will be in town May 9 to perform. See Report From Chicago  from April 19 for details. 

In the next month or two, you will be reading and hearing a lot about Ruy López-Nussa, who in no particular order is Ernán López-Nussa's brother, a phenomenal drummer, and the leader of the group La Academia, a group that has some killer recordings that are about to find their way to public notice.   If you were a fan of Grupo Afrocuba, watch this like a hawk.  This is not a reencarnation, but it is every bit as good, in some ways even better.   While we wait, here's a review of a Fusion project (Cuban music and Reggae) that they did with Everton Paul, Remembrance.  You can read it in English here o en español aquí. 

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"¡Ahora sí!" Andy Montañéz at Roccapulco in 2001, one of the multitude of photos Peter Maiden took of Salsa and Timba giants during his intensive 17 years of coverage of the scene. He is stepping down from regular work in music, but says he will definitely still be around. "If you can handle the time involved, the crowds, if you have fast lenses, this work is incredible, and the familiarity with the musicians is wonderful." Peter is currently working on a fiction project as he recovers from a bicycle accident, and he is mastering iPod Touch photography.

Meanwhile, I've finished the latest Beyond Salsa video - this one on Salsa, Songo & The Roots of Latin Jazz - featuring a priceless video of Dizzy Gillespie talking about meeting Chano Pozo, the creation of Manteca, and the importance of Chano's legendary bass tumbao in the development of North American music.

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ENGLISH:  Cubadisco 2015, a combination of Cuba's equivalent of the GRAMMY Awards, a music symposium, a trade fair, concerts and exhibitions, will take place in Havana Cuba from May 15-24, 2015.  The nominees for Cubadisco 2015 were announced at a special gala at the Cabaret Tropicana on April 30.   Bill Tilford will be covering Cubadisco in a special section of the From The Studios Report.    You can see the nominees here, and special video links have been added to the list when these were available ("pirated" links were not included).  
There is a special Video Clip category in Cubadisco, and the nominees are:
ESPAÑOL:  Cubadisco 2015, una combinación del equivalente cubano de los Premios GRAMMY, un simposio de música, una feria comerciál, conciertos y exposiciones,  tendrá lugar en La Habana, Cuba a partir de 15 a 24 mayo, 2015. Los nominados a Cubadisco 2015  se anunciaron en una gala especial en el Cabaret Tropicana el 30 de abril.  Bill Tilford estará cubriendo Cubadisco en una sección especial de From The Studios. Puede ver los nominados aquí, y enlaces de vídeo especiales se han añadido a la lista cuando disponibles (no incluimos enlaces "pirateados"). 
Hay una categoria especial, Video Clip, en Cubadisco, y los nominados son: 

1.  Oshún (Adrián Berezaín)



2.. Hablando con Juana (Alaín Pérez)

3.  Canción fácil (Haydée Milanés)



4. Cuando tú dices que me amas (QVA Libre)



5. La Moda (Los Van Van) 

ENGLISH: Congratulations to TIMBA.com's Michael Lazarus; he co-mixed and mastered Septeto Santiaguero's album No Quiero Llanto, which is a nominee in the Traditional Son category. 
ESPAÑOL:  Felicitaciones a Michael Lazarus de TIMBA.com; él co-mezcló y masterizó el álbum No Quiero Llanto de Septeto Santiaguero, que es nominado en la categoría Son Tradicional. 

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