Today at Karl Marx Theater in Havana, Buena Fe begin the 3-day celebration of the release of their 9th studio album "Sobreviviente". Just four hours after they went on sale, tickets were sold out for all three concerts. The new album incudes collaboration with Silvio Rodriguez on the track "La tempestad", which has already been released as a video clip. Also guesting on the album are Luna Manzanares, Frank Delgado and Vincent Alejandro Trigo of D'CoraSon, who also contruíbuted to the arrangements.

If you can't make the concerts in Cuba to pick up a hardcopy, the digital album is on sale starting today at the usual digital retailers and streaming sites such as iTunes and Spotify . The physical album will go on sale internationally March 31st at international on-line sellers. You can pre-order the physical CD at Target and Amazon now.  I am listening to the digital album now but already pre-ordered the hardcopy. I am excited just to see the full CD sleeve, because the artwork is by the famous Cuban artist Roberto Fabelo .

Buena Fe will also hold a mega-concert on March 17th at the University of Havana stadium before embarking on a national tour from the end of March throughout April. In May they will hold three concerts in Canada: May 5 - Toronto at Opera House Toronto, May 6 - Montreal at South Beach, and May 7 - Vancouver at Russian Hall . Check out the current list of concert dates for Buena Fe in our tours section . You can also keep up on the latest by following Buena Fe at Facebook.

Track list:
Sin Arrepentimiento
Sobreviviente
Dijo el Diablo
La Tempestad - feat. Silvio Rodríguez
Si Nos Dan un Filo
Bolero Sangriento
Besos
Alabanza
De Ti Depende
Lágrimas Tras Cebollas
Una Mujer - feat. Luna Manzanares
Bodas
Hipibano - feat. Frank Delgado & Vicente Alejandro Trigo Junco

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ENGLISH: In Havana, Grupo Moncada (their leader, Jorgé Gómez, was in the first few minutes of the Conan O'Brien special about Cuba), frequently gives concerts at the Jardines del 1830, which has become known as a destination for Casino dancers in that city.   
An interesting piece of the story is that Conan's encounter with Moncada also drew the attention of Rolling Stone, not normally known for showing a deep interest in our part of the musical spectrum. You can check out the Rolling Stone item here.   I doubt that this wlll turn all of  its readers into Casineros overnight, but there is no doubt that it  does help the cause...
Finally, to add a Cuban perspective, you can read a communique from the Press Office of the National Center For Popular Music in Cuba here. 

ESPAÑOL:  En La Habana, Grupo Moncada (su líder, Jorge Gómez, aparece en los primeros minutos del episodio especial  de Conan O'Brien sobre Cuba), da conciertos  con frecuencia en los Jardines del 1830, un lugar que se ha conocido como un destino para los bailarines de Casino en esa ciudad. 
Una parte interesante del cuento es que el encuentro de Conan con Moncada también señaló a la atención de la revista Rolling Stone, normalmente no conocida por mostrar un interés profundo en nuestra parte del espectro musical. Puede ver el item de Rolling Stone (en inglés) aquí. Dudo que este articulo transforme a todos sus lectores en casineros de repente, pero no hay duda que es ayuda a la causa ...
Por último, para añadir una perspectiva cubana, puede leer un comunicado de la Oficina de Prensa del Centro Nacional de Música Popular en Cuba aquí.

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continue reading Sin Clave No Hay Na

Tom caught these two masters playing as a duo at St. Louis' Jazz at the Bistro and a few days later at the Jazz Standard in NYC. The second gallery is the Pedrito Martínez Group, also at the Jazz Standard, with new full-time bassist Sebastián Natal (a multiple threat talent who also plays piano with La Temáti-K).

Stay tuned for video pending approval of the artists. Also coming from Tom are photos from the historic 9th Annual San Francisco Salsa Rueda Festival with Timbalive backing a Van Van tribute lineup of Pedrito Calvo, Robertón, Samuel and Yeni.

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Chuchito Valdés is doing 9 shows in Trio at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago between Thursday, March 20 and Sunday, March 23.  Musically, Chuchito just keeps getting better as he ages. For complete schedule and tickets, click here. 

Fresh from some concerts in Miami that are getting raves, Yissy Garcia now moves on to New Orleans. On Saturday afternoon, March 21, she will be performing at the Congo Square New World Rhythms festival, and WWOZ will play a recording of her music on Sunday, March 22.  The WWOZ website, which contains the Congo Square lineup as well, is here.  Then, at 8pm the same day (March 22), she will perform at the Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro.  Catch her group, Bandancha, live if you can - it's a live representative of the new wave of Cuban music that I keep shouting about.  If you can't see it live, catch the WWOZ broadcast.   

Finally, in a recent blog entry about Latin on Lex in New York, I mentioned that one of the artistic directors was Brian Lynch.  He is performing with Phil Woods and We Six at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music Jazz Festival in Milwaukee on Friday, March 20.  As best as I can determine, this will be straight-ahead Jazz but very much worth checking out.  This is part of a larger festival that runs from March 19-21.For complete details, click here. 

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