ENGLISH:   So many masters of the piano have visited Chicago this year - Elio Villafranca, Manuel Valera, Aruán Ortiz, Chucho Valdés, Chuchito Valdés, Harold López-Nussa - and more will come.  This week brings

Roberto Fonseca
Mayne Stage,  1328 W. Morse, Chicago, IL
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
7:00pm and 9:30pm 
One of Cuba's most important young Jazz and Fusion pianists and composers and a half-brother of Chuchito Valdés.  Roberto gave a phenomenal concert at the Lotus Festival in Bloomington, Indiana last year.  You can read a review of that performance  here and his recording Yo  here.

ESPAÑOL:   Tantos maestros del piano han visitado Chicago este año - Elio Villafranca, Manuel Valera, Aruán Ortíz, Chucho Valdés, Chuchito Valdés, Harold López-Nussa - y más vendrán.  Esta semana trae

Roberto Fonseca
Mayne Stage,  1328 W. Morse, Chicago, IL
Miercoles, 22 de octubre, 2014
7:00pm y 9:30pm   
Uno de los más importantes jóvenes pianistas y compositores en Jazz y Fusión en Cuba y un medio hermano de Chuchito Valdés.  Roberto dió un concerto fenomenal en el Lotus Festival en Bloomington, Indiana el año pasado. Puede leer una reseña del concierto (en ingles) aquí y de su grabacion Yo aquí. 

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all photos by Tom Ehrlich

The Klímax entourage is now safely in the Bay Area for Piloto's drum clinic in the Mission at 6:30 tonight. Here's a downloadable PDF of the handout for the clinic, including all sorts of information on Piloto and Kosa's other educational programs.

Transportation problems delayed the Felton show, but when Klímax hit the stage, they played a two hour-plus set that blew the roof off the joint. The horn section was as tight and clean as any I've heard out of Cuba and conguero Julio López is truly a force of nature. Ryan and Sidney's Klímax dance class was brilliant as always (they also do classes before each Yoshi's show). For that matter, the stage dancing was also extraordinarily tight, even in the limited space available, but if you want to see Noel Díaz's patented "splits" move, you'll have to go to Yoshi's.

Here's a google map of the clinic location (544 Capp Street, SF CA 94110 | 415-647-6015).

 Community Music Center in San Francisco's Mission District (home page here)

Tomorrow begins two nights at Yoshi's SF (one admission for the whole night). Then off to Seattle and Portland.

Tuesday, 10-21 - San Francisco - Yoshi's SF
Wednesday, 10-22 - San Francisco - Yoshi's SF
Thursday, 10-23 - Seattle - Seattle Club Sur
Friday, 10-24 - Portland - The Conga Club

Julio López - photos by Tom Ehlrich

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Tom Ehrlich's gallery and mini-review from Mezcla's June 26 Oakland show is here, and Bill Tilford has more about the group (including video) , the tour and Saturday's show  in Chicago here.

Meanwhile, back in the Bay Area, Mayimbe plays Cócomo on Sat. 6-29, preceded by Rueda con Ritmo's classes on Mayimbe's unique approach and RcR's unique approach to dancing to it.

And in book news - the Tirso Duarte volume of Beyond Salsa Piano is now available in hard-copy - coming soon to eBook and audio download formats.

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It turns out Klímax conguero Julio López is also a tremendous rumbero - photos by Tom Ehrlich

Klímax's debut Northern California tour is ending all too soon. In many ways they're playing an even tighter and more aggressive form of timba than they did in the 1990s. The percussion section - together for 15 years now - is absurdly tight, even by Havana standards, and the metales are by far the cleanest, most powerful and most in-tune trumpet-sax section since Los Metales de Terror. Vocal harmonies sublime and great dance routines - although Julio López overshadowed everything with his multi-part rumba-changó tour de force performance, with local hero Christian Pepín covering the congas.

Don't miss tonight - the Giants game will be over by the time they hit at 8:00 and Yoshi's has a nice screen in the lobby.

Click continue reading for more photos.

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