Calixto Oviedo and Lily Hernández will be on the SJ Jazz Salsa stage at 4:30 today, Sunday! The Pedrito Martínez Group outdid itself yesterday. Pedrito has added a snare, two cymbals and a hihat, all of which he plays with his hands along with the 4 congas, foot bell and cajón - it's amazing how the hihat works with the "timba conjunto" format. Oscar Hernández with Jimmy Branly also had everyone buzzing and Jimmy sat in with Pedrito to close his set.

timba.com: Bay Area timberos were excited to see that you're playing with ex-Charanga Habanera bassist Ernesto Kindelán, now one of the brightest lights of the Bay Area scene.

Calixto: Ernesto is a very complete and professional musician. I call him every time I come to SF because I love the way he plays the bass - mucho feeling y mucho sabor. He reminds me of Feliciano Arango - he's always in the pocket but plays very freely. I'm planning to use Ernesto with my Latin jazz project as well.

timba.com: Who else is in the current band?

Calixto: Erick Peralto is a young pianist with a great timba style whose way of playing tumbaos really caught my ear. Tiene tremenda clave. Roberto Morris plays trumpet with strength and that magic Cuban flavor and swing that inspires the other musicians. It's a four-man horn section with a young Santiaguero named Maikel and Anibal Seminario on saxes and an American trombonist named Craig Bryant.

About Carlos Caro ... I'm speechless! I think he and Panga Romas are the two most complete percussionists on the planet - they know the roots, the concept of sound and the groove. When I play with Carlos I can relax and never worry about anything. The bongosero, Rayner Fernández, is also a great corista.

And of course, my beautiful wife Lily Hernández on vocals as always.

timba.com: What kind of material are you going to play?

Calixto: We're going to do 1990s style Cuban timba with original songs like Se te va la vida, and Refranes by Richard Ortega. Also some standards like Issac's Dime si te gusta mi compás, Adalberto's De la hipocresía, and Ya no hace falta by Bamboleo.

timba.com: Where have you been playing in LA?

Calixto: Floridita Restaurant in Hollywood, Viva Hollywood, Vibrato Jazz Grill, Catalina Jazz Club and various clubs in Ontario, Newport Beach and Pomona. Sometimes we play under the name Lily La Negra & Orquesta. We're also recording a second CD with our Latin Jazz band.

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ENGLISH: Thanks to the Publications Department of Cubadisco, you may download the official book of Cubadisco 2015 nominees here.  It is free but only available in Spanish. 
ESPAÑOL:  Gracias al Departamento de Publicaciones Cubadisco,  puede descargar el libro oficial de nominados premio Cubadisco 2015  aquí. Es gratis, pero sólo está disponible en español.

ENGLISH: Melvis Santa was given a warm welcome at Sabor a Café in Chicago - you can view a photo gallery here.   
ESPAÑOL:   Melvis Santa se le dio una bienvenida afectuosa en Chicago en Sabor a Café -puede ver una galería de fotos y el comentario aquí.

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continue reading Sin Clave No Hay Na

ENGLISH: In April, Pedrito Calvo Jr. released a new single titled "Casinero Sí o Sí". The video followed in June and both have been very well received by fans of Cuban music and dance. In only 2 months the video at Facebook passed 200000 views and has now passed 300000. We spoke with dancer and now composer Esteban Isnardi about how the song and his collaboration with Pedrito Calvo Jr. came about. Click here for the interview (including a link to the English translation of the lyrics).

ESPAÑOL: En abril, Pedrito Calvo Jr. lanzó un nuevo sencillo titulado "Casinero Sí o Sí". El video siguió en junio y ambos han sido muy bien recibidos por los fanáticos de la música y los bailes cubanos. En sólo 2 meses el video en Facebook pasó 200000 vistas y ya pasó de 300000. Hablamos con el bailador y ahora compositor Esteban Isnardi sobre cómo surgió la canción y su colaboración con Pedrito Calvo Jr. Haga clic aquí para la entrevista.

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Leoni Torres begins his European tour on August 27th in Malaga, Spain. He will also visit Italy and Switzerland on this tour. I expect we will be seeing more and more of Leoni since his signing with Marc Anthony's Magnus Media. He became a well-known face and voice in Cuban music during his time with La Charanga Habanera, and his subsequent solo career has kept him at the top  of the Cuban charts.

Leoni's solo career has produced salsa hits such as "Soledad"; his own version of "Idilio"; and the beautiful son "Toda una vida" as well as Latin Pop hits like "Amor bonito"; "Para que un día vuelvas" feat. Pablo Milanes; and of course the "Es tu mirada" feat. Alexander Abreu & Kelvis Ochoa. Most recently he has released a new video of "Si tú me dejas" feat El Chacal. Leoni is also the composer of the hit "Traidora" made famous by Gente D'Zona and Marc Anthony. His sello is beautiful texts that never fall into the trap of trying to curry favor with vulgarity. The arrangements vary between genres but have a strong Cuban flavor often firmly rooted in son.

Leoni is an excellent perfomer with a remarkable voice. Don't miss him if you can make one of these concerts. If you're not familiar with his recent work, check out the videos below.

Concert dates:
August 27, 2017 - Malaga, Spain - Sala La Farandula
August 31, 2017 - Zurich, Switzerland - Escherwyss
September 3, 2017 - Rome, Italy - Latin Palace
September 9, 2017 - Valencia, Spain - Sala Fusion
September 10, 2017 - Pamplona, Spain - Sala Jet Set
September 16, 2017 - Madrid, Spain - Sala Gotham
September 17, 2017 - Barcelona, Spain - Sala Up & Down

Es tu mirada

Toda una vida

Si tú me dejas

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