This is the legendary late 90s Van Van group with Pedrito Calvo, Mayito Rivera and Robertón Hernández.

If you want to see the band from the front with multiple camera angles, search for the Miami Arena 1999 video, currently on YouTube by Pimienta Records and others and probably still in print as a DVD/CD package.

This video, shot by pianist Robert Schwentker in June of 2000 at the Conga Room in Los Angeles, is of special value for a variety of reasons:

1) It has a lot of closeups of the piano (for those who want to learn piano and history buffs, here are introductory videos for two Beyond Salsa Piano books on Pupy Pedroso (Vol. 10 - Vol. 11).

2) This also results in lots of closeups of Juan Formell's baby bass technique.

3) ... and to a lesser degree, closeups of Samuel Formell, who has a very unusual setup (for him), playing from a standing position as he did in his first job, with Issac Delgado. By this point, Samuel was almost always playing seated at a full drum/timbales set. Probably a snafu with the sound rental company, but as you can see, it doesn't seem to cramp his style in the least.

4) This is within 6 months of the departure of Pedrito Calvo and within 1 year of the departure of Pupy Pedroso.

Enjoy!

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This one traces the roots of David Calzado and Charanga Habana from the 1950s to the Suspension Concert to the Charanga Forever split to the arrival of piano tumbao master extraordinaire - Tirso Duarte.

In other news, Haila Mompié plays San Francisco's Roccapulco tonight and tomorrow night.

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                                                                photos by Tom Ehrlich

Tom said Haila was fabulous at Roccapulco - click continue reading for more photos from last night and click here for tickets to tonight's show. Opening the show will be rumba with Mikhail.

La Peña Cultural Center is having a celebration of the recent Cuban breakthrough here.

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Here are the next two installments of Tom Ehrlich's SJ Jazz Summer Fest photos. Part III covers The Rebirth Jazz Band, Raq Filipina, and Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra.

              Leader and tuba player Philip Frazier of the Rebirth Jazz Band - photo by Tom Ehrlich

Part IV has Edgardo Cambón & Candela with Calixto Oviedo and The John Santos Sextet with all sorts of luminaries sitting in.

                            Edgardo Cambón & John Santos - photo by Tom Ehrlich

Here are Part I and Part II. More galleries coming from Sunday, including Wil Campa, Vissión Latina, Pellejo Seco, Natalie Cressman, Yosvany Terry and many more.

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