YISSY GARCIA AND BANDANCHA US TOUR
This is another of the new wave of modern Cuban music groups that are mixing Cuban music, Funk, Jazz Hip Hop and other genres successfully.  Yissy's group is also interesting for other reasons - their next album will be crowdfunded, and this may open the door for more of this activity by Cuban artists if all goes well.  They just finished in New York, will be in Knoxville, then off to DC, then Miami.   Here's a taste of recent New York concert from Yissy's You Tube channel:

GLOBAL CUBA FEST COMES TO MIAMI
March 7, 13, 14; April 11, 2015
Miami Dade County Auditorium and The Light Box at Goldman Warehouse
Opening night, March 7, features a marathon of some of Cuba's superb young pianists (Harold López-Nussa, Aldo López-Gavilán and Jorge Luis Pacheco) followed by Volcán with Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Horacio El Negro Hernandez, Giovanny Hidalgo and Armando Goia.   A Latin Fusion group from Switzerland, Lariba, closes the show.   This should be an explosive evening.  Yissy comes in on March 13-14, and Omar Sosa comes in on April 11.  For complete details, visit the Fundarte website here. 

The Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage in Washington DC will have the Harold López-Nussa, Aldo López-Gavilán and Jorge Luis Pacheco part of the program on March 8. 

We recently mentioned Septeto Santiaguero's forthcoming release, No Quiero Llanto - Tributo a Los Compadres.   Word has it that the Septeto will be premiering a video at Billboard Latin on April 28 followed by official release on May 12.  Stay tuned. 

Finally, Chicago musician/bandleader Lise Gilly went to Jazz Plaza 2014 in Havana with several other musicians including Andrea Brachfeld.  Lise was kind enough to write about her trip, and you can read her impressions of Jazz Plaza here. 

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ENGLISH:  Congratulations to Chucho Valdés and the rest of the team involved in Tribute to irakere (Live in Marciac), which was awarded the GRAMMY®  for Latin Jazz this month.   It is a stellar recording, and you can read our review in English here. 
ESPAÑOL:  Felicidades a Chucho Valdés y a todo el equipo involucrado en Tribute to Irakere (Live in Marciac) , que fue galardonado con el GRAMMY® en Jazz Latino este mes.   Es una grabación estelar, y nuestra reseña en español está disponible aquí


CUBADISCO 2017 IS ANNOUNCED / CUBADISCO 2017 SE ANUNCIA 

ENGLISH:   The 2017 Cubadisco Awards will take place May 2017 (approx May 13-21 with some events outside this time period).  This year's theme will be Nueva Trova.  We will have many more details in the weeks to come.  You can read a translation of the convocation here. 
ESPAÑOL:  Los Premios Cubadisco 2017 tendrán lugar el mayo de 2017 (approx 13-21 de mayo con eventos adicionales fuera de esas fechas).  Vamos a compartir mucho más información en las semanas que vienen.   La convocatoria está disponible aquí. 



ENGLISH:  Happy 85th Anniversary to Orquesta Anacaona, Cuba's premier all-female dance band! Their musical style has evolved with the times, but they are still going strong with a new generation of performers.   May they have 85 more!
ESPAÑOL:  Feliz 85º Aniversario a la Orquesta Anacaona , la banda de baile femenina más importante en Cuba. Su estilo musical ha evolucionado con los tiempos, pero siguen siendo fuertes con una nueva generación de artistas. Que tengan 85 más!
Para leer más sobre la orquesta, tenemos una sección dedicada a ella aquí

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ENGLISH:  Global Cuba Fest begins in Miami Saturday, March 7 with a don't-miss lineup featuring a marathon of some of Cuba's superb young pianists (Harold López-Nussa, Aldo López-Gavilán and Jorge Luis Pacheco) followed by Volcán with Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Horacio El Negro Hernández, Giovanni Hidalgo and Armando Gola.   A Latin Fusion group from Switzerland, Lariba, closes the show.  It continues on Saturday 13-14 with Yissy García and Bandancha, an exciting new project in the current music scene in Cuba.  Bill Tilford interviewed Yissy, who is in  DC March 7,  via telephone earlier this week, and you can listen to that (in Spanish) by clicking here.   Yissy's YouTube channel is here and worth visiting. 
Fundarte's page is here. 

ESPAÑOL: Global Cuba Fest comienza en Miami el sábado 7 de marzo con una "no se lo pierda" colección de artistas ofreciendo un maratón de algunos de los pianistas jóvenes magníficos de Cuba (Harold López-Nussa, Aldo López-Gavilán y Jorge Luis Pacheco), seguido de Volcán con Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Horacio El Negro Hernández, Giovanni Hidalgo y Armando Gola. Un grupo de fusión latina desde Suiza, Lariba, cierra el espectáculo. Global Cuba Fest continúa  13-14 de marzo con Yissy García y Bandancha, una nuevo proyecto emocionante en la escena musical actual en Cuba. Bill Tilford entrevistó a Yissy, que está en  DC el 07 de marzo, a través del teléfono a principios de esta semana, y para escuchar la entrevista, haga clic aquí.  El canal de Yissy en YouTube está aquí y vale la pena visitar.  
La página de Fundarte está aquí. 

L: Jorge Gómez, R: Bill Tilford, La Habana, Cuba, May 2014

ENGLISH: If you happened to watch the Conan O'Brien episode about his trip to Cuba, you would have seen him handling a guitar in the presence of a bandleader during the first few minutes. That bandleader was Jorge Gómez of Grupo Moncada, who is also a man who helped Bill Tilford get around during Cubadisco 2014.   You can see a photo gallery and learn a little more about the group here. 
ESPAÑOL:  Si le pasó a ver el episodio de Conan O'Brien sobre su viaje a Cuba, habría visto a Conan manejando una guitarra en la presencia de un líder de una banda durante los primeros minutos. Ese líder de la banda es Jorge Gómez del Grupo Moncada, que también es un hombre que ayudó a Bill Tilford a ir a muchos lugares durante Cubadisco 2014. Puede ver una galería de fotos y aprender un poco más sobre el grupo aquí.

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I.  Global Cuba Fest Continues

Yissy García swings into Miami with her new project Bandancha for part 2 of Global Cuba Fest. She'll be at The Light Box at Goldman Warehouse (404 NW 26th St., Miami on Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14.  Yissy is part of a new wave of Jazz/Fusion groups in Cuba, and this is a don't- miss if you're able to attend. For more information, visit the Fundarte event page. 

II.  Jorge Luis Pacheco and Aldo López-Gavilán at the Kennedy Center


For those of us who missed Part I of Global Cuba Fest, we can watch two of the pianists playing at the Kennedy Center's  Millennium Stage the next day thanks to their video archive.  To watch the 2-hour concert of Jorge Luis Pacheco and Aldo López-Gavilán, click here. 

III. New Omar Sosa Album

Omar Sosa has released an interesting new album, ilé, that was recently featured on NPR's First Listen.  You can read Bill Tilford's review here, and Omar's team has also published a very nice EPK preview, which you can view below....

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