Saw some of a free Afro-latin fest in DC w/ Cuban drummer Yissy Garcia, Cuban vocalist Dayme Arocena, and Dominican Yasser Tejeda. Liked some of Tejada set. Was disappointed by Garcia who at times seemed too jam band jazzy. She also backed Arocena which kind of detracted from that set, as her drumming was too over the top. Had fun watching folks line dance to a dj playing pop reggaeton and Elvis Crespo in between live sets
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 7 June 2022 16:09 (one year ago) link
I wrote about the mighty Fruko for Burning Ambulance this week.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Wednesday, 8 June 2022 12:30 (one year ago) link
Haven’t even clicked yet but awesome news!
― Double Elvis on the Dime (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 9 June 2022 01:47 (one year ago) link
Just randomly put on El Violento because of that. So good.
― Double Elvis on the Dime (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 9 June 2022 02:00 (one year ago) link
Joe Arroyo died young at 55 in 2011. Glad I saw him a couple of times between 2004 and his death. His voice was kinda raspy, he looked like he was in bad health, but he and his band (who did Latinized Motown choreography) sounded pretty good. But yeah, need to go back and listen to Arroyo with Fruko recordings.
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 9 June 2022 12:10 (one year ago) link
RIP Willie Sotelo pianist and most recent music director for El Gran Combo from cancer
https://www.billboard.com/music/latin/willie-sotelo-dead-el-gran-combo-pianist-dies-obit-1235081678/
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 9 June 2022 20:22 (one year ago) link
Still listening to El Violento.
― The Crazy World of Encyclopedia Brown (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 12 June 2022 00:20 (one year ago) link
RIP Willie Soleto.
Some Fruko discussion here.
― The Crazy World of Encyclopedia Brown (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 12 June 2022 00:28 (one year ago) link
Thanks. Listening to this song now:
"Fruko El Grande" ("Fruko The Big") is the name of the album I'm talking about. It has one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) salsa hits made in Colombia. The second cut from side B, called "El Preso" ("The Prisoner") is a song that not one single Colombian can say hasn't heard at least once in his/her life. Not sung by Joe Arroyo but Wilson Manyoma "Saoko", the other lead singer in the band.
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 12 June 2022 18:20 (one year ago) link
Cuban band Los Van Van were playing US gigs in May and now its former Los Van Van member Pupe to come with his band Los Que Son Son around the week of July 4th. I saw Pupe and Los Que Son Son, his timba band, once and they were great.
Now coming to SOBs in NYC on July 1st, DC on 2nd, XL in Jersey on 3rd, Los Angeles on July 8, San Francisco on 9th, Louisville, Kentucky on 15th, Chicago on 16h
SALSA TIMBA FESTIVAL - PUPY LOS QUE SON SON-EL NOROSaturday, Jul 2, 2022 - Doors: 9:00pmKarma DC Live Music Venue2221 ADAMS PLACE NORTHEASTWASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 20018
https://www.facebook.com/DD-Records-Arts-Entertainment-107917724118129
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 12 June 2022 19:39 (one year ago) link
Pupy
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 12 June 2022 19:41 (one year ago) link
I wasn't familiar with her work, but RIP ethnomusicologist Roberta L. Singer.
― Jimmy Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne Mary-Anne (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 14 June 2022 13:45 (one year ago) link
I was not either. But I see she did this cool "A South Bronx Latin Music Tale"
https://placematters.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/mambo.pdf
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 14 June 2022 15:21 (one year ago) link
Just saw the Bobby Sanabria writeup of Roberta SInger on FB that some have shared there
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 14 June 2022 15:44 (one year ago) link
Yes. That's how I saw it first.
― Jimmy Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne Mary-Anne (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 14 June 2022 16:13 (one year ago) link
I shared info about Singer on twitter as she was barely discussed there. As annoying as FB can be, it's a better site for some older rooted music genres.
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 16 June 2022 20:29 (one year ago) link
Publicists are hyping US small club tour of Chilean folk-pop Pascuala Ilabaca and her band
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 16 June 2022 20:30 (one year ago) link
― Jimmy Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne Mary-Anne (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 16 June 2022 20:45 (one year ago) link
https://2022.jazz.org/bobby-sanabria looks really good. Don't know if I can get a virtual ticket.
― Ride into the Sunship (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 19 June 2022 21:48 (one year ago) link
Haven't gotten one yet but, ten bucks, cheep!
― Ride into the Sunship (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 19 June 2022 22:50 (one year ago) link
I'm in. Bobby is doing a Father's Day spiel about all the music he listened to with his dad.
― Ride into the Sunship (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 19 June 2022 23:39 (one year ago) link
There is kind of a Buddy Rich thing about him tbh.
― Ride into the Sunship (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 19 June 2022 23:40 (one year ago) link
Band is killing "Caravan" right now, or a medley that includes "Caravan" and maybe something else.
― Ride into the Sunship (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 19 June 2022 23:42 (one year ago) link
Really enjoying this long story about James Reese Europe and Rafael Hernández Marín.
― Ride into the Sunship (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 19 June 2022 23:53 (one year ago) link
Kind of a cool thing now where each trombone player took a mini solo.
― Ride into the Sunship (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 20 June 2022 00:13 (one year ago) link
Now they are doing a version of "Spooky!"
― Ride into the Sunship (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 20 June 2022 01:07 (one year ago) link
"Spooky"!
Now "Do It Again"
― Ride into the Sunship (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 20 June 2022 01:15 (one year ago) link
I feel disloyal to the Steely Dan backup vocalists.
― Ride into the Sunship (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 20 June 2022 01:16 (one year ago) link
Ha
― curmudgeon, Monday, 20 June 2022 17:33 (one year ago) link
Might buy a virtual ticket to Michele Roseman there next Wednesday.
― Ride into the Sunship (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 21 June 2022 13:26 (one year ago) link
https://2022.jazz.org/michele-rosewomans-new-yorubaSomehow I had never heard of her until The Pope told me about her last year.
― Ride into the Sunship (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 21 June 2022 13:35 (one year ago) link
I know her name but not her music. Impressive looking band lineup there. That might be worth checking out.
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 22 June 2022 04:00 (one year ago) link
In a different genre — have heard El Alfa doing gogo dance several times . It’s reggaeton not Dc go-go
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 22 June 2022 04:01 (one year ago) link
Ugh, I messed up her name in my last post, Rosewoman.
― Ride into the Sunship (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 24 June 2022 22:33 (one year ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GHKHDxpK1g
Smithsonian Folklife Festival tribute concert to late plenero Tito Matos. The video has some tech glitches and unrelated footage at beginning before the emcee comes on and the music starts. There is also film of Matos wife and 8 year old son talking about him eloquently .
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 26 June 2022 04:48 (one year ago) link
The tribute is long and there's lots of talking in between, but the dancer who joins La Plena de la 21 part of the way through is fun to watch '21 horn section and percussionists are impressive. The first group led by John Santos mixes plena with jazz fusion and they were my least fave of the night. The 2 younger groups who play after the long Plena de la 21 are good too, and a bit different. One did some nice harmonies and other vocal techniques that worked well.
― curmudgeon, Monday, 27 June 2022 02:43 (one year ago) link
Sirius xm is still playing The reggaeton pop track by Zion & Lennox and Danny Ocean “Brisa” a lot along with that “gogo dance” by El Alfa .
Their algorithms also have them playing Victor Manuelle and El Gran Combo on occasion, so that must mean folks other than me like salsa and Reggaeton.
― curmudgeon, Monday, 27 June 2022 13:08 (one year ago) link
For those Latin jazz gigs in NYC with pianist Rosewoman this week , I see that she has a band including Chris Washburne, trombone/tuba, and Robby Ameen, drums among others
https://www.moderndrummer.com/2004/05/robby-ameen/
― curmudgeon, Monday, 27 June 2022 17:22 (one year ago) link
Yes! And Alex "Alexander Pope" Norris, who I just ran into yesterday at Samuel Torres gig in my neighborhood whilst running an errand. Think Roman Diaz is usually in her band too.
― Build My Gallows Hi Hi Hi (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 27 June 2022 17:31 (one year ago) link
SiriusXM Caliente station keeps playing El Alfa “Go-go Dance”
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 10 July 2022 04:24 (one year ago) link
they might soon start playing “Chu Chu Pamela” too, again produced by Chael Produciendo:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BAEmXqOdJcgreat stuff
― big movers, hot steppers + long shaker intros (breastcrawl), Sunday, 10 July 2022 09:05 (one year ago) link
Sometimes I think El Alfa's speedy, warped vocal sound is really clever and cool, but after awhile (if listening to a full album) it can get a bit annoying.
― curmudgeon, Monday, 11 July 2022 17:06 (one year ago) link
Still like him enough I would want to see him live when he performs locally in about 2 weeks (but am gonna be away)
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 12 July 2022 14:51 (one year ago) link
Some dates of that tour I mentioned upthread with former Los Van Van member Pupe & his band Los Que Son Son, have been postponed. DC show is now July 22 at a club called Karma that usually just has really late night djs or rap and bouncebeat go-go gigs.
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 14 July 2022 20:00 (one year ago) link
Couldn't remember name of this thread well enough to find on search, so just now posted on Rolling Reissues:With this year's American Clave Piazzolla set, mentioned upthread, out now on various streaming services:https://astorpiazzolla.lnk.to/TheAmericanClaveRecordings?eml=2022June10/5728203/6011771&etsubid=33248291,Nonesuch reminds us of this, from last year:
Tom Service commemorates the centenary of the birth of Astor Piazzolla with a portrait of the great Argentine bandoneon player and tango composer, and explores his revolutionary style which changed the genre for ever. He also questions his legacy in today's Argentina.We hear from Piazzolla himself in rare BBC archive material, as well as his widow Laura Escalada Piazzolla; his grandsons Daniel Villaflor Piazzolla, who runs the 'Fundación Piazzolla' and Daniel 'Pipi' Piazzolla, drummer in jazz band 'Escalandrum'. There are contributions, too, from the critic Fernando González, who translated Piazzolla's Memoirs into English and interviewed him for international publications; the pianist Pablo Ziegler, who performed with Piazzolla for 11 years in one of his Quintets; and amongst others, the singers Amelita Baltar, who premiered many of Piazzolla’s songs, and Elena Roger, who offers a new take of Piazzolla's music...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000t4fp
― dow, Thursday, 14 July 2022 20:07 (one year ago) link
Cuban timba pianist Cesar Pupy Pedroso y los que son son were great when I saw them in Arlington, VA near DC years ago; they were on a US tour now, and legendary pianist and bandleader Pupy Pedroso has passed RIP
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 19 July 2022 12:13 (one year ago) link
https://www.granma.cu/cultura/2022-07-17/el-legado-musical-de-pupy-pedroso
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 19 July 2022 13:25 (one year ago) link
Seeing folks on Facebook and twitter talking Pupy and timba and expressing condolences. Spanish language sites mentioning his legacy
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 20 July 2022 13:25 (one year ago) link