Item I:  Horns to Havana

Jazztimes.com, the free online extension of Jazztimes magazine, is now carrying an interesting section dedicated to Cuba.  The most recent article by Lee Mergner about the Horns to Havana program, in which jazz artists from up here are going down to the island to donate instruments and do workshops, is an especially interesting read.  The link is http://jazztimes.com/sections/cuba/articles  But we mention this for another reason as well.  Those of you working with jazz groups should consider joining the online community if you haven't already done so.  It's another place with a focused jazz audience that you can talk about the group, any recordings etc.   As anyone involved with jazz these days knows, there's no such thing as too much promotion...

Item II:  Omar Sosa's Recordings Recognized

Earlier this year in the Report From Chicago section, we did a piece on Omar Sosa and a capsule review of three of his recent recordings, Afreecanos, Ceremony and Calma.  Since that time, Ceremony won an Echo, a prestigious European jazz award, and Calma has been nominated for a Latin Grammy in the Instrumental department. Congratulations Omar.  He's doing a short tour of the US in late October-early November, and we'll have those details soon.  Here's a short video about Ceremony...

....click here to read the full article with Maraca's interview >>

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continue reading Sin Clave No Hay Na

I have updated the tours section with more dates for Tirso Duarte and El Indio who are currently touring Europe. Among other dates, they will be playing at the SalsaMistad Festival in Paris on May 22nd. On May 21st Donald Flores will provide the dance music for the party.

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continue reading Timbera Mayor

Buenas noticas siempre saber que la timba se va integrando en el ámbito popular de los medios emitivos.

Les reporto que los temas "Princesa (Timba)" y "Esperanza" de Calle Real, dos canciones de su primer disco Con Fuerza, aparecerán respectivamente en una pelicula documental sobre la famosa escritora cubana Maité Vera, y en un programa en el canal Showtime de los EE.UU. llamado "Dexter". 

Podrán oír el tema Esperanza en el segundo episodio de la sexta temporada de Dexter (Episode 602) el Domingo, 9 de Octubre. En cuanto al documental de Maité Vera, la pelicula se llama Cuando éramos felices y no lo sabíamos, de la directora alemana Kristina Konrad. Para m;as información escríbele a Welt Film en Berlin.

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continue reading Pa' Ponerte en Talla

Fans are eagerly awaiting the new Azúcar Negra CD "Se acabó el pescao" hoping it will be out in time for their holiday shopping. Limonta tells us that he will be able to give us a release date very shortly. He is leaving for Mexico at the end of this month and plans to take the CD with him. So if all goes as planned we may be able to buy it by the end of October! Stay tuned for more!

In the meantime, Limonta has released a demo CD titled "Salsa y mucho más". It is available at iTunes in Europe, Canada, USA, Japan and Mexico as well as Amazon and Emusic(usa). So while you wait for the new CD, you can get yourself a fix of Azúcar Negra.

Track List:
La mala de la película
Qué risa me da
Identidad
Así somos
Lo tuyo no tiene nombre
La pasamos bien
Amor por Internet
Mi barrio

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continue reading Timbera Mayor