Philly, NY and Pittsburgh next. Here's the full schedule. Tom and I will cover the Napa gig on July 17th. Among the many luminaries will be Calixto Oviedo on timbales and Gabriel Hernández on piano.

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Don't Miss tonight, Monday, July 12th, at KUUMBWA JAZZ CENTER in Santa Cruz.

07/12/2010 Mon  Santa Cruz, CA Kuumbwa Jazz Club
07/14/2010 Wed  Oakland, CA Yoshis Jazz Club
07/16/2010 Fri  Winston, OR Riverbend Park
07/17/2010 Sat  Los Angeles, CA MacArthur Park 
07/23/2010 Fri  Lowell, MA Lowell Folk Festival
07/24/2010 Sat  Providence, RI Sound Sessions Festival
07/25/2010 Sun  Lowell, MA Lowell Folk Festival
07/28/2010 Wed  New York, NY River to River Festival, Wagner Park
07/29/2010 Thu  Huntington, NY Huntington Summer Arts Festival
08/01/2010 Sun  Rochester, NY NY Puerto Rican Parade Fest

The masters of Puerto Rican plena, Plena Libre will be touring the United States in July and August of 2010. Captivating and moving audiences over the course of a fifteen-year, thirteen-album career, this fine-tuned 12-piece Puerto Rican-based ensemble of virtuoso musicians has only gotten better with age, as evidenced by their four recent Grammy nominations. And now, for the 2010-2011 touring season, Plena Libre has created an all-new exciting repertoire along with new choreography and compelling new stories told from the stage between songs. 

Unlike salsa bands, who usually only have two singers, Plena Libre features five vocalists singing in lush three and four part harmonies; a musical representation of a traditional community gathering. Further giving their live performances a memorable standout quality, occasionally, the entire band will vocalize the percussion parts of the plena, creating an a cappella polyphonic polyrhythm. These artistic choices drive home the core of the tradition in an aesthetic that appeals to broad audiences and aficionados alike.

Along with providing exhilarating entertainment, Plena Libre-which has performed in fifteen countries, from Morocco to Malaysia-has a deep commitment to educating their audiences about the traditional culture of Puerto Rico. Since the founding of the group, the ensemble has offered three levels of workshops tailored to the needs of particular demographics. For young audiences, the band has conducted hands-on demonstrations, taking an interactive approach to helping kids play Caribbean rhythms and learn various dance steps.

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Get ready for the New Explosion! Elito Reve arrives in the US on Sunday followed by su Charangón on Thursday July 8th. The band will hold its first concert on July 9. And all you charangoneros will be thrilled to hear that the tour will be extended to one month! This information comes directly from Elito Revé himself! We are obviously lacking most of the concert dates so send me an e-mail with any missing dates you know about and I will update their tour page.

The band is in the process of releasing their new CD "¿De que estamos hablando?". I have heard the entire CD and it is likely to be the best of 2010. The band is already performing several of the songs live. For the latest scoop on what you can expect in concert see Gabriel's post at Yemayá's Verse about her carnaval trip with the Charangón.

The charangón has a few new members since I saw them last. Among the singers we now have Emilio who you know from Tumbao Habana and Suzel who was with Sello L.A. Additionally there is now a full-time keyboardist, Gretchen Revé. On the new album Emilio sings lead om "Niña relájate", "La Nueva Explosión", "A Matanzas" (a tasty guaguancó), and the hit "Agua pa' Yemayá". Suzel sings lead on the son montuno remake of "Ya sé bailar, ya sé cantar". Sinsonte interprets the funny song "Open the door" and there is a real changüí with invitados Pipi de Yateras y sus Estrellas Campesinas, Chucho Valdés and Cotó. The rest of the album is expertly handled by veteran vocalist Dagoberto. You have a lot to look forward to at the upcoming US concerts. For Cuban music fans and salseros this is another must not miss tour! 

¿De que estamos hablando? Ya tú verás!!

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The floodgates have opened and the tours just keep coming. The latest news is that the visas have been approved for Adalberto Álvarez y Su Son and they plan to tour  the US already in July! As soon as we have the concert dates we'll let you know. El Caballero del Son is also about to release a new CD, "El Son de Altura", which has 10 tracks as well as a bonus live track. A single, "Vete", has already been released.

But that's not all! Adalberto is celebrating 35 years with a DVD/CD set called "Que suena el son" that was just released on July 1st. The CD contains 15 songs including collaborations with a number of guest artists such as Omara Portuondo, Frank Fernandez and María Victoria, Orquesta Aragón and Grupo Rumbatá. The DVD includes a concert in Karl Marx Theatre, the documentary "Son para un sonero", a photo gallery, sheet music for Adalberto's songs (a treasure trove for musicians) and even a karaoke of Adalberto's hits for your Cuban parties and much more!

Adalberto Álvarez y Su Son will be touring Europe in November, so have a little patience if you live here in Europe. Buy the DVD and the new CD when it is released and that should tide you over until the band arrives.

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