Rolling Afro-Latin Music 2017: Salsa, Bomba, Merengue,Reggaeton, Bachata, Latin Jazz, Bolero and more

Awww man, Dog Latin hating on "reggaeton-lite" (Taki Taki and Despacito) in a separate thread

Don’t let it bring you down.

I'm not.

Grrr, I missed the Latin Grammys last night. J Balvin was nominated for 8 awards but only got 1. Jorge Drexler got 3. Victor Manuelle won the salsa one.

I will look for video clips and more articles online

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/11/16/arts/ap-us-music-latin-grammys.html

I like Uruguay’s Jorge Drexler—pop rooted in folk and Brazilian bossa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpG5dR3cp9w

Awwww

That’s what the Salsa Dura DJ at Terraza played to ring in 2019.

From the NPR jazz critics poll, the separate Latin Jazz category--I have only heard the Sanabria and the Palmieri efforts, but gonna try to listen to some of the others (although that may lead me to come back here complaining that Latin Jazz is stuck in a rut and seems so formulaic

Latin
1. David Virelles, Igbó Alákorin (The Singer's Grove), Vol. I & II (Pi)
Votes: 21
A vibrant compendium in which Virelles disinters the rich musical traditions of his hometown Santiago de Cuba. Unexpectedly, his boldest album. The 35-year-old pianist has spent the last decade channeling Afro-Cuban folklore through a jazz prism, producing records that operate as open-ended mysteries. Here, refreshingly, he eschews abstraction in favor of fealty to the past. Though the traditions Virelles explores are fading from Cuban culture, this effort, fiercely rhythmic and thrumming with energy, is deeply alive. —Matthew Kassel

2. (tie) Dafnis Prieto Big Band, Back to the Sunset (Dafnison) 12
2. (tie) Miguel Zenón, Yo Soy La Tradición (Miel) 12
4. Bobby Sanabria, West Side Story Reimagined (Jazzheads) 8
5. Carlos Henriquez, Dizzy Con Clave (RodBros Music) 7
6. Eddie Palmieri, Full Circle (Ropeadope) 6
7. Elio Villafranca, Cinque (ArtistShare) 5

The Virelles album is on Bandcamp but not Spotify. Haven’t checked where else. Virelles went back to Cuba and recorded with elders, including vocalists I think, for this. 1 track I heard on Bandcamp was nice enough in a very old-school Cuban way. More dance and traditional than jazz.

Isn’t it time for a new Rolling thread?

I guess so. I resisted in the past since not too many folks post, and I wasn’t keeping up the genres represented, but I guess yearly threads do make some sense. Not a lot of new salsa these days that I follow; Latin Jazz hangs on, while reggaeton and bachata seem to thrive, and Latin Trap has become very big

I say go for it!

Ok, here it is:

Rolling Afro-Latin Music 2019: Reggaeton, Salsa, Bomba, Latin Jazz, Bachata, Merengue, and more