Rolling like tumble weed Afro-Latin music thread 2012 (salsa, cumbia, reggaeton, tribal guarachero, etc.)

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/musical/2012/05/14/120514crmu_music_frerejones

Sasha Frere-Jones writing about Afro-Latino music for the first time in ages (I think). But his New Yorker piece on Ned Sublette's fave NYC based Cuban conga player (& singer) Pedrito Martinez is only available in full to subscribers right now

Martinez was just down in New Orleans at the 2nd weekend of Jazzfest and did club gigs there too

He's been in NYC since 1998, wonder why he is suddenly now getting more attention?

You might as well ask the rivers to flow backwards

Ha. Any coverage is good and I'm late in finding out about lots of stuff myself too (plus convincing editors to feature articles on percussionists without new cds can't be easy). Martinez I discovered has been making bucks as the go-to Cuban percussionist for folks like Sting and others recording in NYC, while quietly playing club gigs week after week. SFJ at the New Yorker, who I think last wrote up a Latino style-reggaeton--5 years ago, somehow got hip to him and noted that he has been bringing folks to see Martinez who thought they did not like Afro-Cuban or jazz sounds, but are apparently won over by the guy's charisma.

Cynical general answer: There is only a finite, tiny number of artists/Jazz artists/Latin Jazz artists who can be in the spotlight at any one time so everyone has to wait their turn until it shines on them.

Personal answer: Ha, I didn't really know who he was until very recently myself. I only found out about him when I learned that Samuel Torres came in second a few years back in Hand Percussion in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition and though "Man, second? Who came in first?" Then somebody told me to check out his regular gig at Guantanamera where all sorts of famous people are known to drop by such as Eric Clapton, but I haven't quite made it over there yet.

So Latin Beat magazine has chosen to feature obscure DC based Cali, Colombian professor, flautist, salsa singer Verny Varela.

http://latinbeatmagazine.com/features.html

Oh, somebody told me about that Panamanian Jazz Fest from the second article. OK, I see his name mentioned in there.

RIP Junior Gonzalez.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nD9joZnTSQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajZ1D01zNpM

His first album was Hommy. RIP. Was 63

Spotify has the Puerto Rican All Stars. I just discovered their version of Eddie Palmieri's "Busca Lo Tuyo" with young Gilberto Santa Rosa on vocals (from an album in tribute to EP):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWowZxdw37w

I looked around on intranetz for Oscar D'Leon dates in NYC but couldn't find it. Then tonight I was walking down Roosevelt Avenue and saw a big sign- May 4 at, of course, La Boom.

― Singularities Going Steady (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, March 31, 2012 4:29 AM

I was busy with family on the late-night Sunday the 6th Washington DC area gig, did anyone attend the NYC one? He's doing Los Angeles and San Diego gigs at the end of the month. Am curious how this tour compares to the one I saw way back when (early 2000s)

Thought about going but couldn't get over there.

x-post--if Wiki is right, I am learning stuff: Based in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico All Stars (not to be confused with the 1963 namesake band of a similar name, the Puerto Rican All-Stars Featuring Kako) were an alternative and rival to the New York based Fania All-Stars created by Johnny Pacheco....PRAS produced three albums that were released consecutively on an annual basis between 1977-1979.

1979 Puerto Rico All Stars Andy Montañez (Vocals), Frankie Gregory (Producer), Gilberto Santa Rosa (Vocals

x-post-Found on youtube some camera-shakey, poor audio footage of Oscar D'Leon at La Boom in 2011, but nothing otherwise on the recent tour in print or video. He was just in front of the mic, with a bandmate on the standup bass.

I looked at the footage a month ago. Apparently he doesn't play bass for most of the show! Supposedly he said it was because he was tired of opening his case and finding toothpicks inside instead of a bass, so he gave up playing on tour, but it might also be because of his age and health. He does pluck on it every once and while to remind you that that is his instrument.

I think he just played it for the encore when I saw him way back when. But he was fairly energetic behind the mic and did a long show--not bad for a guy who I believe had a heart attack and was hospitalized for heart problems. The W. Post has archived most of their old reviews so I do not see mine online.

Checking out the new Don Omar. There is apparently a Mexican beer anthem, as well as a song entitled "Zumba" which seems to be a Zumba anthem. It sounds okay so far, but I'm not thrilled to see so much song space dedicated to promotional considerations.

Kind of hating this now. I would have hoped for more from him by this point. What is this?

lol i've never had faith in don omar and an effing ZUMBA song confirms this

from kuduro to zumba. He does not care about hipness I guess.

Big selling artists trying to maintain their popularity by shamelessly reaching out to various audiences

I don't think it's about reaching out to various audiences, it's about corporate sponsorship.

i was going to go with "utter lack of creativity/musical chops". his last hit was someone else's hit with his name on it, etc

x-post--I guess RUN DMC did "My Adidas" before they had an endorsement. Not sure here about the Mexican beer plug. Zumba dancing/exercise is seemingly taught everywhere now, did one corporation trademark the name and do they receive money for its usage?

i was going to go with "utter lack of creativity/musical chops". his last hit was someone else's hit with his name on it, etc

That too.

I don't know if he's actually getting money from the ZUMBA® people, but I'm willing to bet he is. (I'm not anti-Zumba per se. I would definitely consider giving it a try.)

My guess confirmed: http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/genre/latin/video-don-omar-talks-new-album-zumba-partnership-1006872152.story

wow

Another Mambo panel Saturday in DC at the Smithsonian Museum of African Art with a free performance from Bio Ritmo

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2012/05/18/metro-mambo-explores-the-fashion-that-went-with-the-rhythms/

Former Lead singers of Los Van Van, Mayito Rivera, Pedrito Calvo, Cesar - Puppy - Pedroso,
Lazarito Valdez & Bamboleo.
Manolito Simonet & Su Trabuco
Jose Luis Cortez " El Tosco" & NG La Banda
U.S Debut of Alexander Abreu & Havanna D' Primera.
Puppy & Los Que Son.
Special Guests: Former lead singer " Tania Pantoja"
" Vania Borges'

DJ Melao on the Mix.

From Havanna to New York Non-Stop Timba Concert.
Saturday, May 26, 2012 at 6:00 PM
THE COPACABANA
268 West 47th St., Corner of 8th Ave

I would probably go to that just because it's such a collection of top timberos (including a couple I at least like some of the time).

does flamenco belong in this thread? i'm reviewing a flamenco/R&B album (eh) this week...

Not really, but go ahead anyway. There's not much action this year.

http://www.ajwnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Caramelo-Ride-cover.gif

It's this one. Sara Erde is Jewish (which is why I was assigned it) but the album isn't particularly Jewish - despite some reviews noting klezmer elements (nothing I can hear tbh).

As I've mentioned on a couple other threads, I like pianist Elio Villafranca's album of duets with percussionist Arturo Stable. I said on the jazz thread that (at least on the track I heard on the radio last night) it seemed as if Stable was pushing Villafranca in a more rhythmically adventurous direction, though there's less of whatever it was that I thought I was hearing along those lines on the whole album than I was expecting. (There should probably be another comma in there somewhere, but I don't feel like figuring it out.) Villafranca is an amazing virtuoso pianist but so far I haven't really been into his albums. He's way more enamored with hard bop than I am, but then again I don't even particularly like Latin jazz in general either. These stripped down collaborations work for me, though some stretches bore me a little.

"Klezmer" feel, starting at 1:13 (and stopping wherever--haven't finished the song yet) on "Brooklyn."

This sounds like something they would play to death on KUNM (UNM's radio station, which I don't listen to any more). Not really into it, though it's not really objectionable.

I could see the accordion on "Peligroso" conjuring up klezmer since there isn't really any tradition of accordion in flamenco (I think, but who knows what was going on when the international accordion trend was in effect?).

i think maybe i'm hesitate to code the accordion stuff as klezmer bc if that's the intention it's kinda a huge dropped ball. flamenco probably does have jewish roots, but it's sephardic + ladino. i wish they had done more there instead of this really broad eastern european (and tbh trendy brooklyn) sound.

As long as we are going off-topic here. . .

Best live act you've seen this year?

I see what you are saying, and I don't think the blend works real well on this album, but I also think if you push klezmer's roots back far enough, you'd get pretty close to the roots of flamenco as well. I mean, ultimately the roma influence is probably taking you back to India. At least based on my deep study of Wikipedia and the Rough Guide to World Music.

I meant to quote what that links to:

A project put together by Orlando Fiol which used an Indian raag as the structure, while incoroprating jazz, western classical, klezmer and possibly other musical sources--and it worked! It did not come across as gimmicky, but rather, well thought out. Everything somehow seemed to be contained by the large mood of the raag. Of course, I know nothing about Indian classical music, and not much about western classical or jazz, but I was sold. That was just the first half of the program. The second was almost entirely percussion based, and mixed Afro-Cuban and Indian elements.

Elio Villafranca's album of duets with percussionist Arturo Stable

I was not familiar with these Cuban-born musicians but I think I will give it a listen. I see that pianist Villafranca has performed live with members of Puerto Rican bomba group Los Pleneros de la 21 (whom I like a lot) so hopefully he can on album sometime do more than hard bop.

Oh, just read Rudiph and James redd comments on the jazz thread re Villafranca and Stable

Rolling Jazz Thread 2012

He can definitely do more than just hard bop; it's just that he tends to gravitate toward that, especially in a lot of his composing. He has done some other work incorporating Afro-Cuban traditional forms, but it hasn't quite worked for me. In addition to being a classically trained pianist with jazz training as well, he started off as a percussionist and he knows the traditions of one of the more obscure orisha-oriented religions in Cuba (I can't remember the name now). I haven't fact checked any of this, but it's all so vague it should be fine. Just remember to consult Wikipedia. Incidentally, I first became aware of him a long while back, when he played a benefit concert for the Free Library of Philadelphia. (He lived in the area and had a personal connection with someone who worked for the library. In fact, his then wife might have worked for the library, I can't remember now. As usual, small world.)

I've posted comments about him going back to 2002. Embarrassingly, all of them are practically the same.

Hey guys, sorry if this is shilling too much, but my friend is trying to do the whole kickstarter/indiegogo thing on a book about music from Colombia, including bits of Cumbia, of course, and I thought some of you might be interested in it:

http://www.soundsandcolours.com/news/sounds-and-colours-in-print-help-make-it-happen/

i'm glad someone's paying attention to vallenato. diomedes diaz's birthday is this weekend (5/26) iirc. (it's the same day as three of my bffs, that's why i remember)

I like the little I have heard of vallenato on disc and what I heard live (at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC one year)

It's pretty sentimental and corny if you listen too closely, but I like the instrumentation a lot.

x-post-- N*d S*bl*tte says that big timba show in NYC is postponed to a June date tba.

He is also excited about: on Wednesday (23rd) there's a rare NYC show by Don Perignon y la Orquesta Puertorriqueña at the Crystal Ballroom of Taino Towers (DJ at 7, band at 8, 240 e. 123rd st.)