Catching Up
Well, this was the week I didn’t make down to my annual trip to the South By Southwest Music Conference and Showcase in Austin, Texas due to complications. Although nothing can compensate for the missed interviews, networking, showcases, panels, parties….but I did manage to catch amazing sets by Gil Scott Heron (who did a hilarious standup comedy routine in addition to his great soulful songs!) and Malian gnobi master Bassekou Kouyate who plays a wicked spiked lute that sounds like a banjo. An enthusiastic Taj Mahal was cheering Kouyate on from the audience until he was called up on stage to deliver a soulful blues. The world is so small and the connections are deep! Brazilian music icon Gilberto Gil was also performing in the Bay Area with his son Bern and cellist Jacques Morlenbaum. SXSW? There’s always next...
Read MoreMarch 2010 dj tidbits
Personal DJ dates coming up: Saturday 3/13 with Louie Romero y Mazacote (NY style salsa at its best) at Cafe Cocomo in SF. Jake handles the dance lessons starting at 8:30 pm. Sunday 3/14 – a Cuban bachanal with el sonero mayor Fito Reinoso y su Ritmo Y Armonia from 4 to 9 pm at Jelly’s Club Havana…should be a sweat fest. I’ll be putting it in the mix: timba caliente, salsa dura y mas! I’m there monthly now so I’m ready to tear the roof off! No dance lessons…sorry! Joining mi amigo DJ y Rapero Santero later in the month on Wednesday, 3/24 at Lukas, Broadway at West Grand in Oakland – set at 10 pm. Ending the month with Mr. Suave-Julio Bravo y Salsabor over at Cocomo on Saturday,...
Read MoreNew East Bay Spots for Salsa and Timba
Checked out the newly resurrected Caribe on Thursday night over at the Karibbean City in Downtown Oakland. One of the bay area’s hot emerging bands Montuno Swing were the featured band along with house dj Carlitos Way. The club looked better than it has in quite some time: new paint job, renovated dance floor, added area seating, vip area and large projection screen. Although the club needs to tweak the boomy sound and the drinks a bit on the expensive side ($10 for a Barcardi and coke) , the place holds a lot of promise for a regular Thursday night East Bay spot for Salsa. The club has only been open for 8 weeks and the crowd is still building. This is the fourth resurrection of the Caribe since its birth as a Thursday night salsa spot in the late 80’s. Producer Luis Mendoza is hoping that the place will appeal to both the original patrons as well as the new generation of dancers. This is the second new addition to the East Bay scene if you are counting the hot timba Friday nights over at the Mint Leaf Restaurant in West Berkeley which feature a rotation of timba spinners. This small space is packed full of timbaleros who have moved over from the scene at the late Taza Del...
Read MoreA Musical Tsunami with Issac Delgado
Just got back from Hawaii where I was there to attend my goddaughter’s wedding – a beautiful ceremony that was delayed due to a tsunami warning. Thank god nothing happened! However, right before I left for Hawaii, I had the pleasure of emceeing the pair of Issac Delgado shows at the beautiful Bimbos 365 Club in SF for the opening night of the SF Jazz Spring Season. What a pair of exciting shows! Issac was totally into the shows-charismatic, engaging the audience and effortlessly singing with his trademark smooth voice. He fronted a powerful band consisting of an explosive five piece horn section, 2 keyboards (one played by his son), a dancing bass player and an explosive rhythm section. Issac is one of the original voices of timba going back to the late 80’s/early 90’s with NG La Banda (que manda!) . Issac got everyone on the dance floor with his blend of Cuban salsa and timba with material taken from his last 2 recordings “En Primera Plana” and “Asi Soy” He also threw in pregones from soneros such as Beny More and improvised parts of songs for the audience in between songs. Now that was a musical...
Read MoreCarnaval Time!
Of course, it’s Carnaval and Mardi Gras time. I remember when I was totally involved with organizing the acts as entertainment director for Carnaval SF back in 1983 and from 1986 to 1998. What a flood of great memories! I was also involved with Carnaval as radio sponsor through KPFA for a great many years during this past decade. I was fortunate enough to work with artists such as Willie Colon, Santana, the Mighty Sparrow, Luis Enrique, Eddie Palmieri, Arrow, Shaggy, Calypso Rose, Michael Franti, Merle Saunders, Flora Purim and Airto, Libre, Los Hombres Calientes and countless others. I have seen my share of sequined dancing beauties, drum troupes, great bands, massive crowds as well as backstage drama, disorganization and ego trips. Ah..the yin and the yang! But all the good people that I have worked with bring to me the rich memories that are the best. I’ve lost some good people along the way such as one of my favorite stage managers Ethan Fox and great artists such as Carlos Acietuno who passed away at too young an age. I’ll raise a glass and drink a Hurricane to your memory, my brothers. Representing KPFA as an active radio sponsor of live music, I have been fortunate to have emceed shows with Daniella Mercury, Milton Nacimento, Marisa Monte, Bebel Gilberto and the beat literally goes...
Read MoreLive Appearances
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