Here's Tom's latest report and gallery.

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continue reading La Última

Cimafunk has taken Cuba by storm, including a nomination in Cubadisco 2018 for their album Terapia. I have seen them live twice in Havana (their leader was also a guest on my radio program From the Isle of Music recently), and their live show is more electric than you would guess from the promo video above.   However, Me Voy is their biggest hit in Cuba, so there it is.  Here's a taste of them live to underscore my point:

So far, the tour has met with an enthusiastic reception.  This week, it comes to Chicago on Tuesday and Wednesday and New Orleans on Saturday as follows:
April 2:  Martyrs, Chicago, IL 
April 3:  Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago, IL 
April 6:  Tipitina's, New Orleans,  LA 
We will be covering the April 3 performance at OTS here on TIMBA.com.   Also, Bill Tilford interviewed Erik, the leader, in Havana last September for his radio program From the Isle of Music.  To celebrate the tour, that interview (with music) will be repeated on shortwave as follows:
1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern Hemisphere (including parts of East Asia and Oceania) with 100Kw, Sunday, April 7,  1500-1600 UTC on SpaceLine, 9400 KHz, from Sofia, Bulgaria 
2. For the Americas and parts of Europe, Tuesday, April 9 0000-0100 UTC (New UTC) on WBCQ, 7490 KHz from Monticello, ME, USA (Monday, April 8,  8-9PM EST in the US).
Station website: www.wbcq.com 
3 & 4. For Europe and sometimes beyond, Tuesday, April 9,  1900-2000 UTC and Saturday, April 13,  1200-1300 UTC on Channel 292, 6070 KHz from Rohrbach, Germany.
Station website: www.channel292.de

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continue reading Sin Clave No Hay Na

ENGLISH: The very long-awaited new release by Maykel Blanco y Su Salsa Mayor "Que Tiene Que Te Mueve" is scheduled to drop worldwide at digital retailers on Friday, April 5th. Save the date! Via their Facebook page we also know that the album contains 12 tracks including collaborations with Mayito Rivera and Yoruba Andabo. They have also announced at Facebook that Mayito will be with them for their entire European Tour in October-November 2019! Check out the video below from the recording sessions in Havana.

ESPAÑOL: El tan esperado lanzamiento del nuevo disco de Maykel Blanco y Su Salsa Mayor, "Que Tiene que Te Mueve", se llevará acabo a nivel mundial en las tiendas digitales el viernes 5 de abril. ¡Guarda la fecha! A través de su página de Facebook, también sabemos que el álbum contiene 12 canciones que incluyen colaboraciones con Mayito Rivera y Yoruba Andabo. ¡También han anunciado en Facebook que Mayito estará con ellos en toda la gira europea de octubre a noviembre de 2019! Disfruta del video a continuación de las sesiones de grabación en La Habana.

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continue reading Timbera Mayor

Cimafunk has taken Cuba by storm, including a nomination in Cubadisco 2018 for their album Terapia. I have seen them live twice in Havana (their leader was also a guest on my radio program From the Isle of Music recently), and their live show is more electric than you would guess from the promo video above.   However, Me Voy is their biggest hit in Cuba, so there it is.   Here's a taste of them live to underscore my point:

Unless you suffer from a Funk allergy (it would be fun to see them share the stage with George Clinton sometime), you will want to see this band, which is now touring the US and already played SXSW.
Here are some upcoming dates (the list is probably not complete):
March 28:  Tropicalia Lounge, Washington, DC
March 29:  The Galleries at Moore, Philadelphia, PA
March 30:  Global Cuba Fest, Miami Beach, FL (with Daymé Arocena, also worth seeing)
April 2:  Martyrs, Chicago, IL 
April 3:  Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago, IL 
April 6:  Tipitina's, New Orleans,  LA 
April 13: Atlanta Jazz Festival, Atlanta, GA 
April 15: AS/COA, New York, NY 


Chicago fans of Chuchito Valdés will be pleased to learn that he is returning to the Jazz Showcase with his trio Thursday, March 21-Sunday, March 24.    He tells me that he has a new album coming, more about this soon.   In trio, his style has both mellowed and deepened with age.  Highly recommended.

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continue reading Sin Clave No Hay Na