Photo courtesy of Charles Flores homepage

It is with a heavy heart that we must report that Latin music has suffered another great loss with the passing of bassist Charles Flores. While he may be best known to timberos as the bassist for Issac in the early days, recording on the CDs "Con Ganas",  "El Chévere de la Salsa y el Caballero de Son" and "El año que viene" among others, he is best known to the world for his work as a jazz bassist, performing with artists such as Bobby Carcasses, Paquito D'Rivera, and Arturo Sandoval among many, many others. Charles joined the Michel Camilo Trio in 2002 with whom he won a Grammy in 2004.

Charles has lost his battle with cancer, leaving behind a world of saddened and stunned friends and musicians. The news is all over Facebook where his peers have commented that he was as great a human being as a musician. Timba.com offer our condolences to his loved ones, and what better way to honor him than with a little sample of his work. Rest In Peace Charles.

leave a comment

continue reading Timbera Mayor

Manolito y su Trabuco anno 2012

On August 16, 2012 I flew to Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden to see Manolito y su Trabuco at the city's annual festival Kulturkalaset. This is the band that first got me to listen to timba, so the Trabuco has a special place in my heart. I had not seen the band since December 2007, so nearly five years had passed. The last concert I had seen was El Noro's second concert with El Trabuco after the departure of El Indio. Since then El Noro left for Pupy y Los Que Son Son, Pepitín entered, and then Pepitín left to be replaced by Iván Rodríguez. Also Miguelito "Pan con salsa" had left and been replaced by Andy Acosta. So it was with some excitement that I set up my new camera on my unipod ready to see what the latest version of the Trabuco had to offer. Click here to read the full concert report including five video clips!

Click here for a small gallery of photos from the concert.

leave a comment

continue reading Timbera Mayor

Wayne Henderson

The penultimate installment of Tom's SJ Jazz series has a long list of bands including The Jazz Crusaders, Mazacote, Avance and Kat Parra. More coming soon.

BOOK NEWS: Jon Griffin, author of Tres Cubano, has published a volume of his Cuban Masters Series on the great pianist Emilio Morales, of Opus 13, Paulito FG and NG La Banda.

leave a comment

continue reading La Última

Chuchito Valdes, Jerry Gonzalez y El Comando de la Clave, Afro Cuban Jazz Project
Also:  Pacific Mambo Orchestra
(English/Español)

Laura Sosa , Director of DClivemusic.com and singer in the Washington DC area, interviewed pianist and bandleader Chuchito Valdes during his recent trip to Washington.   Thank you Laura for sharing this interview with us (in Spanish):

Laura Sosa , Director de DClivemusic.com y cantante en el área de Washington DC, se entrevistó con Chuchito Valdés , pianista y director de orquesta, durante su reciente viaje a Washingon.   Gracias Laura por compartir esta entrevista con nosotros (en español).   

El Comando de la Clave is a project featuring four musicians now working in Madrid:  Jerry González, Alaín Pérez, Kiki Ferrer and Javier Massó.   We saw them live recently at the Mayne Stage in Chicago.   Click here to see our pictures and review .   

El Comando de la Clave es un proyecto con cuatro músicos que trabajan hoy en día en Madrid: Jerry González, Alain Pérez, Kiki Ferrer y Javier Massó,  Los vimos recientemente en el Mayne Stage en Chicago.  Haga clic aquí para ver nuestras fotos y reseña .

Years ago, when this writer was in Los Angeles, California for a while, he had the pleasure of seeing "Long John" Oliva's AC Timba Jazz Project at a club called the Baked Potato.  That band had amazing musicians and great potential, but Long John died prematurely before it could be fully realized.  Recently, a new incarnation of that project, the Afro Cuban Jazz Project , has appeared on the scene  in LA.. This new group also has a very impressive roster: Fermin Sifontes, Luis Eric Gonzalez, Sawa Perez, Jimmy Branly, Joel Nuñez, Joey De Leon, Alberto Tomayo and guest artist Josiel Perez .  We will be watching the progress of this new group with great interest.  Click here to see their Reverbnation page, which includes audio and video clips.

Hace años, cuando el escritor se encontraba en Los Angeles, California, por un rato, tuvo el pacer de ver el " Long John Oliva's AC Timba Jazz Project" en un club llamado The Baked Potato.   Ese grupo tenía músicos increíbles y un gran potencial, pero "Long John" murió prematuramente antes de que pudiera relizarse plenamente.    Recientemente, una nueva encarnación de ese proyecto, el Afro Cuban Jazz Project , Ha aparecido en la escena de LA. Este nuevo grupo también cunta con una lista muy impresionante:  Fermin Sifontes, Luis Eric González,  Jorge "Sawa" Pérez, Jimmy Branly, Joel Nuñez, Joey De León, Alberto Tamayo y artista invitado Josiel Pérez.   Estaremos viendo el progreso de este grupo con gran interés. Haga clic aquí para ver su página de Reverbnation, que incluye clips de audio y video.

The Mambo has returned for real.  A  new and exciting big band, the Pacific Mambo Orchestra , is establishing a presence in California, and it is just a matter of time before it receives much wider recognition as well.   Click here to read our review of their soon-to-be released debut CD in English. 

El Mambo ha vuelto de verdad.  Una gran orquesta nueva y emocionante, el Pacific Mambo Orchestra, está estableciendo una presencia en California, y es sólo una cuestión de tiempo antes de que reciba la atención más amplia también.   Haga clic aquí para leer nuestra reseña de su anticipado CD, que será lanzado en Octubre, en ingles. 

Finally, we are listening - and listening - to a soon to be released recording by Rafael Monteagudo and The Music Connection called Innovation .  Whatever they are drinking in New York, we want a bottle of it, because this new Jazz recording is yet another truly excellent release from there.  We'll review it here very soon. 

Por último, estamos escuchando - y escuchando - a una grabación que pronto será lanzado por Rafael Monteagudo y The Music Connection llamado Innovation . Lo que sea que ellos están bebiendo en Nueva York, queremos una botella de la misma, porque esta grabación nueva Jazz es otro lanzamiento realmente excelente desde allí.  Vamos a reseñarlo aquí muy pronto.   

leave a comment

continue reading Sin Clave No Hay Na