All March concert/club appearances are cancelled or postponed for now!
Due to concerns regarding public safety during the current Coronavirus outbreak, all of the March events mentioned on my last blog Random Notes post have been either cancelled or postponed to a later date. Will update on future events soon. Please be safe, take care of yourselves and wash your hands. This is no joke!!
read moreRandom Notes 3/6/20
Lot of action scheduled for the SF Bay Area for the next few months…Look for Grammy award winner Tony Succar on a double bill with Peruvian sensation Daniela Darcourt at Roccapulco in March. Grupo Niche will be also making one of their annual stops at Roccapulco as well as Cuba’s own Manolito Y Su Trabuco with special guest Emilio Frias a.k.a. El Nino from El Nino Y La Verdad in April. If that wasn’t enough, Puerto Rican legends La Sonora Poncena will be making a rare appearance there on Saturday, May 16th……Also Eddie Palmieri and his Latin Jazz Sextet will visit the SF Jazz Center on Friday, April 3rd!!…..John Santos will be presenting a number of shows at the SF Jazz Center in late March including Batacumbele alumni Jerry Medina and his band on March 26, the John Santos Sextet on March 27, A Tribute To Cachao with percussion legend Orestes Vilato on March 28 and a matinee with members of the Electric Squeezebox Orchestra and special guests on March 29. For more information, visit www.sfjazz.org….The exciting Flamenco/Latin Jazz saxophonist Antonio Lizana will be visiting Berkeley’s Freight and Salvage club on Wednesday, March 25 as part of the Bay Area Flamenco’s Festival Flamenco Gitano. The series will also feature noted guitarist Antonio Rey on March 18th. Check out thefreight.org for more information. The Freight is also featuring Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca and his Yesun project on Saturday, March 7th…..Ciao 4...
read moreReve scheduled to appear at this year’s Salsa Rueda Festival in SF
The 12th Annual Salsa Rueda Festival is taking place this week from Thursday, Feb. 13th through Sunday, Feb. 16th at the Hotel Withcomb, 1231 Market Street between 8th and 9th St. in San Francisco. The scheduled headliner Cuban powerhouse Elito Reve Jr. Y Su Charangon.
read moreBay Area Latin Jazz Festival Valentine’s Day Bash @ Oakland’s California Ballroom
The historic California Ballroom at 1736 Franklin Street in downtown Oakland will be the site of a Valentine’s Day Dance/Concert Bash this Friday, Feb. 14th featuring the explosive trple bill of the renowned vocalist/conguero Edgardo Cambon and Candela, Grammy award winner Julius Melendez and the MP All Stars and the festive music of The Latin Rhythm Boys
read moreNew Recordings for PMO, VibraSON
Pacific Mambo Orchestra celebrated the release of their new recording “The III Side” with two nights featuring their new music at Yoshi’s in Oakland. The set featured dynamic versions of “Mambo Rachmaninoff” which was a classical influenced showcase for pianist/co-leader Christian Tumalan and PMO’s version of their own Afro Cuban Suite.
read moreNew Years Eve: Musical Fireworks At The Freight
Berkeley’s Freight and Salvage was the place to be to bring in the New Year with an evening of dancing and listening to mesmerizing Afro Cuban Jazz and swinging Salsa.
read moreRandom Notes 11/10/19
Legendary Salsa icon Willie Colon conquered the Bay Area with a rare appearance at Berkeley’s UC Theatre on Friday, November 8th. Colon played a rousing set of his classic hits to a sold out crowd. Congratulations to Adrian Goddard of Jaffe Events who produced the show……Cuba’s Alexander Abreu and Havana d’Primera also performed to a sold out crowd at Roccapulco in late October. Havana d’Primera were in top form as they wowed the crowd with their infectious brand of smokin’ timba…..VibraSON led by veteran salsa instructor turned bongocero Jake Jacobs are coming out with their new release “Llego VibraSON”. VibraSON has been exciting audiences on their popular Tuesday night residency at the hip Bar Flexus located within the Hotel Del Arts in San Francisco. The new recording showcases their vibes dominated sound which is reminiscent of bands such as Joe Cuba and La Siete Potencias. VibraSON features all star talent such as Charlie Barreda on vibes, pianist Marco Diaz, bassist Saul Sierra, timbalero Christian Pepin, conguero Julio Perez and former lead vocalist/composer Luis Morales. The band is now featuring rotating vocalists including former Azabache vocalist Manny Martinez on their live shows. Check them out!!….Pacific Mambo Orchestra is now working on their third album scheduled for an early 2020...
read moreRandom Notes 10/3/19
Congratulations to Pacific Mambo Orchestra who just finished playing a triumphant set at the prestigious Monterey Jazz Festival on Sunday, September 29, 2019. They are currently in the studio working on their 3rd recording to come out in 2020!…
read moreBeautiful Summer – SF Bay/Northern California
Hi Everyone, I just got back from a much needed vacation in Europe. However, the San Francisco Bay Area has been enjoying a slew of fine events to kick off the Summer. The Los Van Van free concert at Stern Grove was a complete blast! Los Van Van led by el maestro Samuel Formell on the hybrid drum/timbal set played everyone’s favorites led by the fearsome front line of vocalists Mandy Cantero, Roberton, Lali and Vanessa.
read moreRandom Notes 5/8/19
Lots of great acts have been visiting our area lately including The Uprising All Stars featuring music director/trombonist Jimmy Bosch, vocalist Frankie Vasquez, conguero Little Johnny Rivero, trombonist/Grammy nominee Doug Beavers and master tresero Nelson Gonzalez.
read moreLive Appearances
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