After waiting for this for over 15 years, I didn't want to jinx it by getting excited before the visas came through, but they did and it's all systems go for the US DEBUT, believe it or not, of Giraldo Piloto y Klímax, the last of the great Cuban bands never to have come to the US.

There are 7 dates so far: Los Angeles on the 17th (333 Live), Santa Cruz on the 18th, Yoshi's SF on the 21st and 22nd, Seattle on the 23rd and Portland on the 24th.

The Santa Cruz (Felton) show at Don Quixote's is only $20/advance for the whole night. This is a very nice, low key, spacious club with a large dance floor - Havana d'Primera played there on their first US tour. On the afternoon of the show, Ryan and Sidney of Rueda con Ritmo will be giving classes from 1:00 to 4:00 at the Santa Cruz Tannery (corner of Hwy 1 and Hwy 9), including a special class that deals specifically with the style of Klímax and special dance steps that can used with it.

Klímax has three new singles out on amazon - featuring Piloto's new pianist and collaborator, Javier Moreno Piloto, the latest musical member of the legendary Piloto Barreto clan to join the timba scene. [Kevin Moore]

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Raúl Perales, Danay Suárez, Sandy Pérez

The rest of Tom's gallery on Cuban hip-hop sensation Danay Suárez can be viewed here.

Meanwhile, Mayimbe, after playing brilliantly to a massive crowd on June 1 in their US debut is coming back to the Bay Area's Club Cócomo on June 29. You can get $15 tickets with no service charge on Rueda con Ritmo's site. RcR's Ryan Mead and Sidney Weaverling are offering three classes on the afternoon of the Mayimbe show, including a study of Mayimbe's style called "Ritmos de Mayimbe". They always have brilliant insights on timba, rhythm and dance, several of which contributed greatly to the brand new Tirso Duarte edition of Beyond Salsa Piano, which should be out within 24 hours.  [Kevin Moore]

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Habaneros String Quartet

Here are Tom's photos from Saturday at Monterey Jazz 2014. Sunday's gallery coming soon.

Klímax will be in LA Friday and Santa Cruz Saturday. See below for more.

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Bar Brasil's annual Carnival Cruise Stockholm is fast approaching. Every year the Baltic Sea goes Caribbean for 23 hours with dancers, bands, percussionists, and DJs. This year over 100 artists will take part, including Laritza Bacallao - one of the most popular young artists in Cuba. 

Laritza comes from a family of singers. Her grandfather Rafael "Felo" Bacallao and her father Ernesto Bacallao were both singers of the legendary Orquesta Aragón. It seems natural that Laritza would also study music - choral direction and piano - and become a singer. She has a versatile voice and can sing a bolero as well as cha-cha-chá a son or a reggaeton. But the style for which Laritza has become known is the pan-Caribbean dance music that swept her to the top of the charts in Cuba where she has remained for the past couple of years. The arrangements mix everything from samba to salsa to merengue to rumba and conga...you get the idea. She has collaborated with many Cuban artists, such as Pablo FG, Candido Fabré, JG, and Los 4 to name a few. Her infectious party music caught the attention of Puerto Rican salsa star Victor Manuelle, who will soon release a salsa version of her hit "Que suenen los tambores" by composer Osmany Espinosa.

Although she has toured Europe before, this will be Laritza's first Scandinavian performance. She will be backed by an eight-piece band. If you will be in the area, book your cabin now and get ready to rock the boat with the Scandinavian carnival elite. A YouTube search will give you a number of videos with Laritza, but in honor of the Carnival Cruise, I leave you with her hit "Carnaval".

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