This 4-CD-set is hands down one of the best collections of various artists to emerge from Cuba in the last two decades. It is loaded with Cubadisco winners and even includes genres like classical that seldom show up in packages of this tupe.

This special collection of 10 CDs (192 songs) was issued in 2009 in honor of EGREM's 45th Anniversary and includes selections from the years 1961-2009.

This 5-CD set covers the careers of Eliades Ochoa, Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo and Rubén González in a broader context than their work associated with the Buena Vista Social Club using EGREM's recordings of them.

The original Orquesta América was the cradle of the chachachá, and the Cuban version (it's complicated, there are offspring in Mexico and the US) of this fine charanga orchestra celebrated its 70th Anniversary in 2012. 70 Americas won Cubadisco 2015 awards for Miscellaneous Traditional and Liner Notes for this new recording by a younger generation of members.

A massive (40 musicians) all-star project recorded in Havana with alternate takes of various modern Cuban dance hits.

WInner of the Cubadisco 2015 in Fusion and a nominee in the Making Of category, A Full is not at all awful - pleasant, laid back, with some light R & B stylings courtesy Sexto Sentido's angelic voices. I would much rather hear this on the guagua than what many of the drivers are blasting.

ENGLISH: El Septeto Santiaguero is back with another collaboration with José Alberto "El Canario" and an impressive roster of both Cuban and foreign guest artists. Traditional and innovative simultaneously.
ESPAÑOL: El Septeto Santiaguero regresa con nueva colaboración con José Alberto "El Canario" y una lista impresionante de artistas invitados cubanos y extranjeros. Tradicional y innovador simultaneamente.

ENGLISH: Abracadabra an audio kaleidoscope that defies easy description due to the multiple different styles performed within the recording. Expect the unexpected, but that's a good thing here. Several big names - Alaín Pérez, Kelvis Ochoa, Angel Bonne, Mayito Rivera, Malena Burke, Calixto Oviedo, Jimmy Branly and many others participate. . Nominated in the Fusion category of Cubadisco 2017.

ESPAÑOL: Abracadabra un caleidoscopio de audio que desafía la descripción fácil debido a los múltiples estilos diferentes realizados dentro de la grabación. Espere lo inesperado, pero eso es algo bueno aquí. Varios grandes nombres - Alaín Pérez, Kelvis Ochoa, Angel Bonne, Mayito Rivera, Malena Burke, Calixto Oviedo, Jimmy Branly y muchos otros participan. . Nominado en la categoría Fusion de Cubadisco 2017.

Paulo FG returns with a mix of genres including Timba, Salsa and a Bachata and Regueton track, all performed well. Nominated for a Cubadisco in the Música Popular Bailable category.

Nominated in the Pop category in Cubadisco 2014, this recording captures many of the styles now appearing regularly on Cuban radio, from Disco to Latin Pop to surf guitar.

Mayito’s familiar voice is the perfect vehicle to introduce a new generation
of casino dancers to the joys of son. Highly recommended!

Better late than never dept: This came out long before we had a reviews section, but this Cubadisco 2010 winner for Jazz and Recording (and part of Colibrí's The Jazz Young Spirit Collection) is Mr. Manzano's first recording as sole leader and quite simply one of the best recordings of Jazz in Cuba ever made, so it would be a sin not to write about it here.

This new Latin Jazz project by Toronto-based Cuban percussionist Jorge Luis Torres "Papiosco" will especially appeal to percussionists and fans of other groups like Bongo-Logic and Shades of Jade that make extensive use of violin and flute in their Jazz arrangements.

With the release of “Andar Andando”, Azucar Negra has produced a timba classic for the new millennium. The dynamic duo of writer-arranger, Leonel Limonta and vocalist Haila Mompie (both founders of another powerhouse group, Bamboleo), have come up with a delicious blend of rhythms that will grab hold of both dancer and listener alike...

This excellent 6-CD, 100-song set focuses on traditional music from as far back as María Teresa Vera to modern artists such as Mayito Rivero covering classic songs. It includes a few groups that you may have read about but never actually heard.

ENGLISH: Así de Sampling by Vocal Sampling is the winner of the Choral and Vocal Music category in Cubadisco 2017. Unique as always and with a wonderful sense of humor as well.

ESPAÑOL: Así de Sampling de Vocal Sampling es ganador de la categoría Música coral y vocal en Cubadisco 2017. Úinco como siempre y con un sentido de humor maravilloso también.

Nominated in both Cubadisco (Cuban Jazz) and the Latin GRAMMY awards (Latin Jazz, Best New Artist), Ayer y Hoy puts Ivan "Melon" Lewis, who already solid credentials in the genre of Timba and other parts of the Jazz and Cuban music spectrum, firmly in the ranks of important current Cuban Jazz recording artists and composers. Rich and complex while remaining emotional.

ENGLISH: Dafnis Prieto's new project, the Dafnis Prieto Big Band, proves that all those who keep trying to write the obituary for new, creative big band music need to throw their crayons in the trash, shut up, and listen. Big bands live, and they are still doing new and exciting things.
ESPAÑOL: El nuevo proyecto de Dafnis Prieto, el Dafnis Prieto Big Band, muestra que todos los que intentan escribir el obituario de la música nueva y creativa de big band deben tirar sus lápices de colores en la basura, callarse y escuchar. Las grandes bandas todavía viven, y todavía hacen cosas nuevas y emocionantes.

Made in Cuba with a great deal of passion for the subject, this video about Rueda de Casino is a multilevel instructional course AND includes history and interviews with founders of this now-global dance phenomenon.

ENGLISH: The Arango Family has been a giant force in Rumba, Cuban Jazz, Afrocuban Folklore and Timba for decades. Bendita Guanabacoa by Hermanos Arango, nominated for a Cubadisco in 2019, brings it all together In a wonderful new recording that contains genuine surprises even for well-educated ears.
ESPAÑOL: La familia Arango ha sido una fuerza gigante en Rumba, Jazz cubano, Folclore afrocubano y Timba hace décadas. Bendita Guanabacoa por Hermanos Arango, nominado para un Cubadisco en 2019, lo reúne todo en una nueva grabación maravillosa que contiene sorpresas genuinas incluso para oídos bien formados.

ENGLISH: Blues Con Montuno is the latest release by master showman and Jazz artist Bobby Carcassés. It won a Premio Cubadisco in 2017 for Jazz Soloists. There is indeed some excellent Cuban Blues here, but the album features the styles of Jazz for which Bobby is renowned (some of it danceable, naturally). And, there is, of course, a lot of great scat singing.
ESPAÑOL: Blues Con Montuno es el nuevo lanzamiento de Master Showman y jazzista Bobby Carcassés. El álbum un premio Cubadisco en 2017 en la categoría Jazz Solistas. Hay de verdad un poco de excelente Blues cubano aquí, pero el álbum ofrece los estilos de Jazz para los cuales Bobby es renombrado (incluyendo el Jazz bailable, naturalmente), Y, por supuesto, hay un montón de scateando.

This is the VERY impressive debut release by Zule Guerra & Blues de Habana, a relatively new presence in the Nu Jazz scene that is beginning to flower in Cuba. Yasek Manzano and Bobby Carcassés add additional firepower to an already formidable group. This hasn't really hit the US yet, but when it does it may make some waves.

The back story to the cover art started some interesting conversations within the Latin Jazz community, but nobody can reasonably deny that Chucho's new release is musically intense. Released in Cuba under Colibrí label with the title Sin Fronteras, this was nominated for a GRAMMY (Latin Jazz) and a Cubadisco (Jazz Cubano)

Bueno was one of two winners of the Composers Prize in Cubadisco 2013 and also won the Canción Contemporánea and Videoclip categories. Includes several collaborations with other prominent Cuban artists. This is a popular music album, but several promient Cuban Jazz musicians appear in the roster for the project. .

Back after a six month hiatus, Calle Real performed two hot sets for dedicated fans who braved the autumn rain in Stockholm and were rewarded with two new songs.

Caminos Abiertos is the stunning debut album of trombonist/bandleader/composer/arranger Eduardo Sandoval, who has nearly cured my years-long period of mourning over our loss of Juan Pablo Torres with this new release.

Canto a Dios is as deep as the river (the Mississippi) which inspired some of its compositions, and when the excitement surrounding Chucho's most recent release, Border Free, has subsided a bit, this 2011 release deserves a much closer second look by North America. It is not impossible that it will be one day be considered a masterpiece.

This is an innovative blending of Chuchito's Afro-Cuban and Jazz background with Eddy Navia's background in Andean folkloric music. The strongest ingredients in the mix are Andean, but the Cuban influences are unmistakable, and the final result is beautiful.

One of the very best Jazz combos in Cuba today in a CD/DVD combination package of a live concert in Havana in 2012. The music, audio and video are all superb. This was nominated for a Cubadisco in the Jazz Cubano category in 2014 and received a Cubadisco for best Live Recording.

The album shows that musicians in Cuba can perform other styles quite effectively and regular fans of CH should not despair.

Nominated for a Cubadisco for Cuban Jazz in 2013, this recording is deep and beautiful. Saxophonist Carlos Miyares' style has been described as post-Coltrane by some reviewers.

This 2013 Cubadisco winner in the Ópera Prima category (similar to Best New Artist in other countries) combines a variety of influences from Cuban music, Jazz and Funk. It's a Cuban Jazz album, but there are some Funk moments that will knock your socks off too.

This is an intriguing 8-CD box set covering 30 years of recordings by one of Cuba's best representatives of the Nueva Trova movement, Liuba María Hevia. It won a Special Prize in Cubadisco 2014.

Timbalive keeps getting better and better - their new release, Con La Música Cubana NO! is the best of their three albums to date. Solid Timba with touches of Rumba (in a tribute to Irakere) round out the recording.

This excellent 1978 live concert was nominated for a Cubadisco in 2014 in the Música de archivo category. Part of EGREM's Cuba En Vivo series

This extraordinary album is what the title says it is, and possibly the best recording of it ever made anywhere. Recorded in the EGREM studios and originally manufactured and distributed by a Japanese label, now available in Cuba as an EGREM CD. Nominated for a Cubadisco in 2013 (Vocal-Instrumental Music), it deserves to win something, somewhere.

Cuba Now Danzon updates the Danzon with some modern touches, innovative arrangements (especially with brass) and a first-tier cast of musicians. It won Cubadisco 2015 awards for Instrumental Music and Recording (a technical category)

An historic recording in a very literal sense - recorded in Havana with several prominent Cuban guest artists, and the scope of the music ranges from the days of Gillespie and Pozo to the sounds of today (and perhaps even a taste of tomorrow). Currently a nominee for a GRAMMY for Best Large Jazz Ensemble and Best Instrumental Composition. If Jazz is part of your diet, this should already be on your shelf by now.

ENGLISH: Cubafonía is Dayme Arocena's third full album in her own name. Accompanied by several members of Cuba's young Jazz elite, it also has a healthy mix of Rumba, Mambo, Changüi, Jazz and Funk There is a chemistry throughout this album that wasn't as consistently present at the same level in her earlier projects, and Çubafonía could prove to be her breakout album.
ESPAÑOL: Cubafonía es el tercer álbum de Daymé Arocena en su propio nombre. Acompañada por varios miembros de la joven élite de Jazz de Cuba, tiene también una mezcla saludable de Rumba, Mambo, Changüi, Jazz y Funk. Hay una química a lo largo de este álbum que no era presente tan consistemente en el mismo nivel en sus proyectos anteriores, y Cubafonía podría resultar ser el álbum que atrae la mayor atención.

A not-yet-released recording by one of Santiago de Cuba's best Jazz bands. Ivan Acosta's Grupo de Cuba Somos is one of the mainstays of the small but vibrant Jazz scene in Santiago. Review includes photos and links to an interview.