New Singles From Rumbankete

ENGLISH: Los Angeles-based Rumbankete recently released two excellent new singles, Cuando Suene and Ambicioso Seductor. This is a group that prides itself on its ability to play both Timba and Salsa Cubana, but these two songs are clearly in the Timba side of the repertoire, and I like them both (Ambicioso Seductor is my favorite), enough so that the radio program Domingos Felices will play them Sunday, November 16, and interview lead singer Iris Sandra Cepeda. For more information (including where to buy the singles in iTunes), click here.
Also: Chicago will enjoy a trifecta of excellent concerts this weekend: Cuban Jazz piano virtuoso Alfredo Rodríguez (a favorite of Quincy Jones, incidentally), Tiempo Libre and Arturo Sandoval. For all the details, see our Report From Chicago page for November 9.
ESPAÑOL: Rumbankete, que se basa en Los Angeles, lanzó recientemente dos nuevos sencillos excelentes, Cuando Suene y Ambicioso Seductor. Este grupo se enorgullece de su capacidad de tocar ambos la Timba y la Salsa Cubana, pero las dos canciones son claramente del lado de la TImba en su repertorio, y me gustan las dos (Ambicioso Seductor es mi favorita), lo suficiente para que el programa de radio Domingos Felices pondrá ellas el domingo, 16 de Noviembre, y la cantante Iris Sandra Cepeda será la entrevistada. Para más información (incluyendo dónde se puede comprarlas en iTunes), haga clic aquí.
También: Chicago va a disfrutar de una trifecta de excelentes conciertos este fin de semana: el pianista cubano Alfredo Rodríguez (un virtuoso del Jazz y uno de los favoritos de Quincy Jones, por cierto), Tiempo Libre y Arturo Sandoval. para todos los detalles, consulte Report From Chicago (9 de noviembre).

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The next three weeks are a great time for both Jazz and dance music in Chicago.

First up, tonight (Sunday, July 14) Hector Silveira brings some seriously good Salsa Cubana (the modern kind) to the 39th Annual Arts and Crafts Festival at the Dusable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Place, Chicago. There is also other entertainment throughout the day, and this group hits at 7pm. Hector fronts one of Chicago's best dance bands, but he also carefully rations his performances, so catch him while you can.

Next, on Friday and Saturday, July 19-20, the 7th Chicago Latin Jazz Festival at the Humboldt Park Boathouse, 1359 N. Sacramento Av in Chicago brings Jane Bunnett, Hilario Duran and Candido Camero to perform together in trio on Friday and Bobby Sanabria's Quarteto Ache on Saturday. Hilario is a phenomenal Cuban pianist who is now based in Toronto; Candido, who is now 92 years old, is one of the giants of the music, and Jane, also based in Canada, began doing cooperative recordings with musicians in Cuba over two decades ago. New Yorker Bobby Sanabria just came off his 7th GRAMMY nomination. For the complete schedule, click here.

TImbalive to join Festival Cubano lineup: Festival Cubano (August 2-4, Riis Park, Chicago) now has Timbalive on the bill for the final day in place of Manolin. Buy your tickets now for a discount at Festival Cubano's website.

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Alfredo Rodriguez and Tiempo Libre both gave exceptional performances in Chicago last weekend.

For more about the Aflredo Rodriguez concert, click HERE.

For more about the Tiempo Libre performance, click HERE.

We lost an important figure in modern Cuban music recently with the passing of guitarist Carlos Emilio Morales, a founding member of the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna and of Irakere. The Instituto Cubano de la Música posted an excellent article about his life (in Spanish) on November 13 on their Facebook page, which you can visit here. Rest in peace, Carlos, and thanks for all the great music that you left us.

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In 2007, Cinquillo (Colibri's main label for modern music) released a truly remarkable debut recording by young Cuban composer and pianist Dayramir González titled Dayramir & Habana enTRANCe. It justifiably won three Cubadisco awards that year for Best Debut Album, Best Jazz Album and Best Engineered Recording. In an alternate timeline, he would have cranked out a series of recordings that would have put him front and center of those of us who follow Jazz and Fusion, but he chose instead to continue his studies including most recently at Berklee, where he was the first Cuban national to receive a full scholarship.

Dayramir will be in California until August, and those of you in or near Los Angeles can check him out on Sunday, July 21 at the Catalina Bar and Grill:

Click here for his full bio, which is already impressive. Here's a promotional video to give you a taste of what they are about: