Tiempo Libre: Back (with a k) to Havana

OK, so Tiempo Libre didn't go back to Havana physically, but musically, their new recording, Panamericano, which will be released June 30, for the most part recaptures the feel of that wonderfully rowdy Timba band we all first met a decade ago. As a lead-up to the CD release, they have rolled out two videos. Here's the first one:

To see the second one, go to my sneak preview of Panamericano, which you can read here.
Tiempo Libre has some key tour dates coming up in July:
July 9-10: Subrosa, NYC
July 12: Square Roots Festival, Chicago
July 19-30: tour of Spain incl. Festival de Segovia
August 13, 2015: Pershing Square, LA
October 10-November 15: Winnestad Theatre, Portland, OR*
* This is a five week run of a new musical, Cuba Libre.
November 19-25: Tour of UK including London Jazz Festival

Miguel Zenón at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, Thursday, July 25-Sunday, July 28
No, it's not Cuban music, but it is some truly fascinating Latin Jazz happening in the US right now, so I'm going to cheat and sneak it in here. Mr. Zenón brings his quartet to this four-night stand (two shows nightly plus a matinee on Sunday), which includes himself on sax, Henry Cole on drums, Luis Perdomo on Piano and Hans Glawischnig on bass. These guys are deep. You can read my review of his last recording, Identities are Changeable, here.

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Now that Miami practically has a commuter culture of bands from Cuba coming up to play festivals and concerts without serious incidents, cultural events in cities like Chicago have been long overdue to catch up. Therefore, it is a great pleasure to share the news from today's press conference held by the organizers of Chicago's Festival Cubano at the 90 Miles Cafe: the performance lineup for the final day of the festival will include Pedrito Calvo and Miguelito Cuni Jr. Pedrito sang for years with Los Van Van before starting his own band, La Nueva Justicia , As for Miguelito Cuni Jr ., he has been performing with Conjunto Chappottin.
The lineup also includes José Alberto "El Canario" . It would have been even better to see him with Septeto Santiaguero , with whom he recently released No Quiero Llanto , but it is still nice to see him on the bill.
Congratulations to Festival Cubano for finally crossing the bridge. I'm already looking forward to next year when the conversations will progress to which are the most worthy acts from Cuba rather than whether it''s time to start bringing some. In the meantime, I look forward to Pedrito and Miguelito.
This is the sixth edition of Festival Cubano, and advance discounted tickets are now available at
www.thecubanfestival.com.
You can see some pictures from the press conference in the Report From Chicago entry for July 23.

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ENGLISH: On Tuesday, June 30th, The Afro Cuban Jazz Edition will run an interview in English of Ernán López-Nussa (seen here at the Cubadisco 2015 awards ceremony holding the latest of a growing collection of prizes) that Bill Tilford did with him last month in Havana. The program will also feature music from his latest album, Invencíon Lekszycki (you can read our review here), which won the Cubadisco for Jazz Cubano this year. The Afro Cuban Jazz Edition runs from 1400-1600 UTC (10am-Noon Eastern in the US) on WSLR, and you can stream it here or listen on-demand for two weeks following the show.
More CD Reviews: See the Reviews section for some new reviews of CDs.
ESPAÑOL: El martes, 30 de junio, The Afro Cuban Jazz Edition pondrá una entrevista en Inglés de Ernán López-Nussa (visto aquí en la premiación Cubadisco 2015 con su último premio en una creciente colección) que Bill Tilford hizo con él última mes en La Habana. El programa también contará con la música de su último disco, Invención Lekszycki (puede leer nuestra reseña aquí), que ganó el Cubadisco para Jazz Cubano este año.The Afro Cuban Jazz Edición se transmite desde 1400-1600 UTC (10am-mediodía hora del Este en los EE.UU.) en WSLR, y se puede sintonizar el programa aquí; también puede escucharlo en demanda durante las dos semanas después.
Mas reseñas de CD: Vea la sección Reseñas para más nuevas reseñas de CD.

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ENGLISH: While in Cuba in May, BIll Tilford had the opportunity to attend several concerts by important Cuban groups. Photo galleries with commentaries are now available of two Cubadisco award winners: Septeto Santiaguero (here) and Alejandro Falcón (here). On Tuesday, July 14, Alejandro Falcón will be the featured guest on The Afro Cuban Jazz Edition, a radio program in English hosted by Frankie Pineiro in which BIll Tilford participates, on WSLR. To learn more, you can visit the program's Facebook page here.

Check out our Reviews section for some new CD reviews. Also, two items of interest in Chicago and South Florida: In Chicago, Tiempo Libre will be at the Square Roots Festival on Sunday July 12. In the Sarasota, Florida area, tres phenomenon Renesito Avich will be giving a series of lessons and concerts during the next few weeks. For more information about these, visit http://renesitoavich.com/

ESPAÑOL: Mientras en Cuba en mayo, BIll Tilford tuvo la oportunidad de asistir a varios conciertos de importantes agrupaciones cubanas. Galerías de fotos con comentarios ahora están disponibles de dos ganadores de premios Cubadisco: Septeto Santiaguero (aquí) y Alejandro Falcón (aquí) . El martes, 14 de julio, Alejandro Falcón será el invitado especial en The Afro Cuban Jazz Edition, un programa radial en inglés conducido por Frankie Piñeiro en el que BIll Tilford participa, en WSLR. Para obtener más información, puede visitar la página de Facebook del programa aquí.

Eche un vistazo a nuestra sección de Reseñas para algunas nuevas reseñas de CD. Además, dos itemes de interés en Chicago y el sur de Florida: En Chicago: Tiempo Libre tocará en el Square Roots Festival el domingo, 12 de julio. En el área de Sarasota, Florida, fenómeno del tres Renesito Avich va a dar una serie de lecciones y conciertos durante las próximas semanas. Para obtener más información acerca de ellos, visite http://renesitoavich.com/