Random Notes 5/28/2020

The annual Carnaval San Francisco took the festival online to fundraise for 6,000 needy families in San Francisco’s Mission District that was hard hit by the economic and medical impact of the Coronavirus. The Carnaval parade and festival has been postponed until the fall due to the pandemic. The slickly produced and fast paced livestream that was aired on latinlife.com on Sunday, May 24th featured a predominately Latinx musical lineup put together by Earshot Entertainment and Jaffe Events. The hot musical highlights of the broadcast were performances by Bayonics, Bang Data, Mario Y Su Timbeko and Chali Di. The livestream also featured La Doña, Loco Bloco, Dos Bandoleros, Amor do Samba, DJ’s Julicio and Green B. The livestream was hosted by SF Mayor London Breed, Carnaval Artistic Director Robert Hernandez, radio personality Chuy Gomez, Jairo Vargas of Bayonics, Bianca Starr and Golden State Warriors’ announcer Franco Finn.

Orquesta Borinquen bandleader and trumpeter Bill Ortega Jr. has been releasing solo work on-line. Ortega has been flexing his chops as a crooner singing boleros such as the Beny More classic “Como Fue” and showcasing his fine trumpet playing as well….Also on the internet, vocalist/guitarist Carlos Xavier and his tasty tune “Intocable” backed by friends such as keyboardist Erick Peralta, bassist Ernesto Mazar Kindelan, percussionist Christian Pepin, trumpeters Bill Ortega Jr and Marco Diaz, trombonist Mike Rinta and keyboardist Marco Montoya. Great tune and nice video showcasing the stay at home ethic of these fine players….Multi-talented pianist/trumpeter Marco Diaz continues to post beautifully played creative content featuring himself on all the instruments including percussion…..Pacific Mambo Orchestra and former Avance vocalist Armando Cordova regularly posts his soulful RnB stylings as well. A lot of musical diversity in social media. Support all of these efforts!

Spanish Harlem Orchestra has released their exciting new recording “The Latin Jazz Project”. SHO under the direction of music director/pianist Oscar Hernandez collaborated with top tier Jazz artists Kurt Elling, Tom Harrell, Miguel Zenon, Dave Leibman, Bob Mintzer, Jimmy Haslip, Joe Locke, Miguel Rodriguez, Johathan Powell and Bob Franceschini. Spanish Harlem Orchestra has successfully built a bridge between Latin and Jazz music at prestigious Jazz festivals evidenced by standing ovations at the Monterey, Newport and Montreal Jazz. Pick this one up!! SHO is taking their music up to the next level with this recording.

Dear Readers and Con Sabor listeners, thanks for your support of all my endeavors and programs. We’re all trying to survive the Coronavirus and move forward. Please stay safe!! Ciao 4 now!