RIP Johnny Polanco
I received the sad news late last week that Los Angeles based multi instrumentalist and bandleader Johnny Polanco died of a heart attack. Polanco was an amazing musician who excelled on trombone, tres, vibes, violin and practically whatever instrument he would get his hands on. He also led a crack band which featured the legendary Artie Webb on flute and the talented Manny Silviera on bass. He was introduced to me by his then manager, empresario Albert Torres in the late 1990’s and I had the pleasure of working as DJ to his first gigs in the SF Bay Area. Due to the power and swing of Polanco’s music, he became a frequent visitor to the SF Bay Area. He last visited SF when his band backed up Jose Alberto “El Canario” at Roccapulco in a recent visit. I was fortunate enough to catch up with Johnny when I last visited L.A. in early January. A gentleman, a true professional and a nice guy are the memories that I have of Johnny Polanco. He now joins the big descarga in the heavens. Fortunately, we have 3 recordings with his Conjunto Amistad and I have memories of past good times....
read moreRandom Notes 5/15/15-PMO & Summer Fun!
Grammy Award winners Pacific Mambo Orchestra will be headlining a FREE show on the Sunday, June 21st date at the Stern Grove Festival, 19th Avenue & Sloat Blvd in SF. They will be joined by the legendary percussionist and vocalist Sheila E and Grammy Award winner pianist Marlow Rosado. The Salsamania Dance Company will be opening up this KPFA Radio sponsored event. More info: www.sterngrove.org SF Jazz heats up this summer with the San Francisco Jazz Festival and the SF Jazz Summer Series: Pedrito Martinez on Sunday, June 21st at the SF Jazz Center with 2 shows at 7:30 pm and 10 pm and on the same night…the phenomenal tribute to the legendary Cuban composer/pianist Ernesto Lecuona with Chucho Valdes, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Michel Camilo at Davies Symphony Hall!! The Summer Sessions will feature artists such as Latin Alternative rockera Natalia Lafourcade, legendary vocalist Tania Libertad, renowned Oscar award winning singer/songwriter Jorge Drexler and Cuba’s great Los Van Van at Davies on August 14th. For all the info, visit sfjazz.org Eddie Palmieri is bringing his Latin Jazz Septet to the Healdsburg Jazz Festival on Sunday, May 31 at the Jackson Theater in Santa Rosa on a double bill with Pablo Ziegler’s Jazz Trio for New Tango. Palmieri will also bring the jazz group to the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest in August…..Sonero de excelencia Andy Montanez will be headlining the 37th Annual El Dia De San Juan on Saturday, June 20th at San Jose’s History Park. This is a rare Northern California appearance for Montanez, whose last visit was at the 2009 SF Salsa Congress! As I recall, Montanez and his orchestra and his sons tore it up!! So get ready for Salsa dura y Sabrosa Puerto Rican style I’m a bit leery of the phrase “SF Salsa Festival” being tossed around to outdoor shows featuring an out of town headliner and a few local bands. Can we get the real thing organized that is inclusive of the majority of the great bands, dj’s and dance troupes that play and are part of the Bay Area scene without the agendas, politics and narrow minded promoters? Or am I dreaming? If that is the case, I’ll keep dreaming in living color y “en clave”…..Ciao 4...
read moreRandom Notes 5/4/15-Palmieri and more!!
10 time Grammy Award winner Eddie Palmieri and his Salsa Orchestra put on an incredible show on Sunday at the kick off of the 15th Annual Yerba Buena Gardens Festival in downtown San Francisco. Palmieri played splendidly as his all-star band that included sonero Herman Olivera, trescero Nelson Gonzalez, bongocero Anthony Carrillo, conguero “Pequeno” Johnny Rivero, trombonist Doug Beavers, bassist Loques Curtis, trumpeter Jonathan Powell and timbalero Camilo Molina smoked throughout the almost 2 hour set. John Santos and Karl Perrazo sat in and contributed their share of percussion fireworks to the fiery orchestra. The packed sun-drenched crowd went berserk over Palmieri classics such as “Palo Pa Rumba”, “Azucar”, “Muneca” and “Pa Huele”. What an afternoon to remember! Palmieri will return to the Healdsburg Jazz Festival on Sunday, May 31st with his Latin Jazz Septet….Pacific Mambo Orchestra will be celebrating the release of their latest single with a cd release party at SF’s 550 Barneveld on Friday, May 15. Look for PMO to headline a big free show at the Stern Grove Festival on Sunday, June 21st at 2 pm. ….Carnaval San Francisco will take place on May 23rd and 24th. The two day festival will be held on Harrison between 17th and 22nd Streets. Latin Jazz legend Pete Escovedo will be celebrating his 80th Birthday and 60th year in show biz on Saturday performing with Ray Obiedo’s Mambo Caribe. Pete’s daughter…the one and only Sheila E will be the grand marshall of the parade on Sunday, May 24th starting at 9:30 am at 24th and Bryant Streets. Info: carnavalsanfrancisco.org….One of the best Salsa bands, The Spanish Harlem Orchestra will be at Yoshis, Jack London Square in Oakland during Carnaval weekend on May 23rd and 24th….Can’t keep a good club down…Max Jose Enrique’s “Sabroso” will now be open on Thursdays at Santa Clara’s Taste nightclub starting on May 14th!….The phenomenal Jane Bunnett and her new all-female Cuban band Maqueque will make a rare bay area appearance on that same date at Oakland’s Piedmont Piano Company….Ciao 4...
read moreHot Offerings at SF International Film Festival
The 58th SF International Film Festival now through May 7th with showings at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, Castro Theatre, Landmark’s Clay Theatre and the Roxie Theater in San Francisco and the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley are featuring great music films and hot new Latin cinema among their vast offerings this year. Music films include Eden (which parallels the rise of France’s Daft Punk), The Theory Of Obscurity: A Film about the mysterious godfathers of experimental rock music, The Residents and Beats Of The Antonov which focuses on musicians from civil war torn Sudan region in Africa are among the intriguing music films. I heard great things about the “What Happened To Nina Simone” documentary which I missed and will be available on Netflix according to reliable sources. Several live music offerings pairing the hip hop infused electro pop of Cibo Matto with wild and abstract short films are playing the Castro on May 5th at 8 pm. While the esteemed classical/New music icons Kronos Quartet providing instrumental backing to Bill Morrison’s Beyond Zero – World War 1 footage on Wed, May 6, 6:30 pm at the Kabuki. Among the fine Latin films, the intriguing moral drama “El Cordero” from Chile, the heartfelt Mexican documentary “All Of Me” which focuses on the Patronas, a group of women who prepare food and water to hand out to men and women who ride a speeding train towards the US border, “Magical Girl”, a Spanish/French production that is a heartbreaking tale of grief, a tense thriller and a deeply unsettling film noir, the Brazilian documentary “Sunday Ball” which is both a work of poetry and a sports doc that captures the spirit of a championship soccer game between rival teams from Rio De Janeiro’s impoverished Sampaio neighborhood, the nuanced romantic drama “Sand Dollars” from the Dominican Republic featuring Geraldine Chaplin and the engrossing “NN” from director Hector Galvez. There are more Latin films in the festival line up! For more information on these films and the entire SF International Film Festival, visit...
read moreNew Swing Is The Thing!
The San Francisco Salsa Festival, produced by John Navarez and Elizabeth Rojas of the Salsamania dance troupe, now in its 7th year has always catered to the Salsa congress type of dancing crowd. Unlike Salsa festivals of the past, it is not targeted to just music fans. However, they did raise the musical bar on their event by having the New Swing Sextet as their headliners this year. The N.Y. based veteran act is now celebrating its 50th year in existence although they did take 30 years off somewhere down the line. That fact doesn’t matter because the band is an explosive ensemble in the Joe Cuba vein. The New Swing Sextet on Saturday evening were tight, swinging and having a great time on stage being cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd of DJ’s, musicians, dancers and fans. They delivered the goods with scorchers such as “Vete Pa Ya” driving the salsa crazy dancers to the floor and the aficionados to the space in front of the stage to watch the band. I was among the aficionados who couldn’t get enough of watching these pros playing with precision, style, grace…and yes SWING!! These great musicians led by vibraphonist George Rodriguez are busy putting together their 50th Anniversary recording which should be out in the fall. Members of a similar ensemble: the SF based vibes salsa band Vibrason joined New Swing on stage for an east-west summit of swinging descargas that had the place...
read moreIbeyi – A Fresh take on Afro-Cuban Yoruba Fusion
French-Cuban duo Ibeyi wowed the sold out crowd at S.F.’s The Independent on Thursday evening. The twin daughters of the late conga legend Miguel “Anga” Diaz seduced the crowd with their dynamic fusion of yoruban chants, soulful vocals, electronica, beats and hip-hop. Ibeyi is the charismatic duo of Lisa-Kainde Diaz on lead vocals, electric piano, keyboards, samplers, percussion and Naomi Diaz on lead vocals, percussion, cajon, bata, beatbox and samplers. They performed without a back up band. The duo played a huge chunk of their latest recording “Ibeyi” on XL. The crowd cheered on their original tunes that are a sonic evolution of the traditional santeria drums and chants augmented by modern electronics, samples and studio produced beats. Blessed with angelic voices singing in French, Yoruba and Spanish that blended beautifully over sparse arrangements, the magnetic duo took turns singing lead that had the adoring crowd screaming for more. Ibeyi has evolved this religious art form by making the Yoruban chants accessible to a secular public through their unique music. They have also seen their popularity soar as indie darlings in the process as evidenced by their performances at the recent South By Southwest Music Festival and this stunning SF Bay Area performance. They represent the new wave of Afro-Cuban expression in...
read moreRandom Notes 3/24/15
9 time Grammy Award Winner, NEA Jazz Master and Latin Music legend Eddie Palmieri will be bringing his mighty Salsa Orchestra to open up the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival 2015 season on Sunday, May 3rd at 1 pm. The show is FREE to the public. The Gardens are located on Mission Street between 3rd and 4th Streets in San Francisco. The rest of the season will feature such acts as Cuban drum phenom Dafnis Preito, the Venezuelan Music Project, Yosvanny Terry and Baptiste Trotignon, Bixiga 70 direct from Brazil, Marcus Shelby, Lavay Smith and her Red Hot Skillet Lickers and others! The series will go until early October with free noon-time concerts during the week and free weekend early afternoon shows….Space 550 located at 550 Barneveld is becoming the place to be for the Salsa dance community on Saturday evenings in SF. The multi room space is featuring shows produced by the Club Fuego group and the Yerba Buena Social Club group. Shows have been featuring L.A.’s Boogaloo Assassins and such local favorites as Louie Romero’s Mazacote….I am wrapping up a month long DJ residency at Friday Nights at the OMCA (Oakland Museum) this Friday (March 27) from 5 to 7 pm. The Friday night scene which actually goes from 5 to 9 pm features a live band (this week is Hot Einstein), gourmet food trucks, wine/beer available, 1/2 price to the museum’s exhibits and band starting at 7 pm. It’s FREE to the public!…..I will also be guest DJ at the popular Koketo’s Sundays this coming Sunday, March 29th at St. James Gate Pub, 1410 Old County Road in Belmont from 4 to 9 pm. The featured band is the hot Orquesta La Original featuring vocalist Alexis Guillen. Get ready to sweat to the hottest in Salsa Brava, Timba, Mambo, Guaguanco, Merengue, Bachata y lo que sea for the dancers!!….Tomaj Trenda continues his Levitate Fridays and 3rd Saturday’s Party (3 1/2 years strong) at the spacious Just Dance Ballroom, 2500 Embarcadero in Oakland. The venue features 3 rooms including a Bachata and Kizomba room….SF Jazz will be presenting Chucho Valdes, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Michel Camilo in a tribute to the Cuban legend Ernesto Lecuona on Sunday, June 21st at Davies Symphony Hall where Los Van Van will be presented on Friday, August 24th! The summer is going to be hot in the SF Bay!! Ciao 4...
read moreA New Sunday Kind Of Love
Once upon a time, I was a rotating resident DJ/Host at Jelly’s Dance Cafe which was a Salsa lover’s phenomenon on Sundays. The place was always packed with dancers, music aficionados and hangers on. The level of music was incredible from both band and dj – there was a strong connection between performers, dancers and the public. Salseros, Timberos y Los Bailadores had a place where everyone was part of the family. Jelly’s closed down in 2010. Different promoters have tried to capture the magic but few have lasted. Koketos, a Sunday party born last Summer in Belmont at the St. James Gate Irish Pub is the latest contender that actually is reminiscent of the same set up as Jelly’s. The place has an indoor/outdoor scenario-each with a stage, dance floor and full bar. They are featuring live Salsa bands such as Bembe and Pa’l Bailador as well as DJ Antonio (who was a monthly resident DJ in the final years at Jelly’s) who spins in a Cuban/Timba style mixing in Salsa and Bachata. The party is run by the charismatic husband/wife team of Eric and Grace Rivera with the sound run by Len Johns. The inside room was set up for the show the Sunday that I visited due to cold outside weather. It’s a smaller space than the outside patio but had a warm, cozy feel. This popular place will be one of the main places to go on a Sunday once the warmer weather hits..the patio has plenty of room to accommodate a large crowd. Over in Sausalito, the Seahorse has been the enduring contender in the Sunday Salsa sweepstakes outside of El Rio and The Ramp. It’s an Italian restaurant that has a large dance floor but does not have an outdoor or a patio space for dancing. It’s been the home of Salsa and Cuban bands such as La Moderna Tradicion, Edgardo y Candela, Louie Romero’s Mazacote, Fito Reinoso and others. DJ’s Ian, Jose Ruiz (KPFA/KPOO) and Carlitos Way rotate each week. The Sunday parties are hosted by Linda Wosskow, one of the original co-founders of the late Sunday Jelly’s scene. The place serves beer and wine only. As a reflection of today’s audiences, The Seahorse caters to an older crowd while Koketos caters to a wider and younger range of salseros. Both places strive to capture the Jelly’s type of ambience. However, each place has it’s own unique charm and in their own way…trying to keep Salsa alive in this day and...
read moreRandom Notes – 2/15/15
A “new” Buena Vista Social Club cd “Lost And Found” has arrived. The project consisting of unreleased recordings featuring band members both living or deceased such as Ibrahim Ferrer, Ruben Gonzalez, Compay Segundo, Cachaito Lopez with Miguel Anga Diaz, Eliades Ochoa and Omara Portoundo is a revelation. Live recordings, outtakes and rarities featuring these beloved artists is now out on the World Circuit label distributed by Nonesuch…..Pacific Mambo Orchestra is set to release a single “The Pacific Mambo Dance” as a followup to their Grammy award winning “PMO” recording. A video will also be released. The song will also feature their newest member, vocalist Armando Cordova (Avance)…..The Salsa Rueda Festival is set for this coming week from Thursday, Feb. 19 through Sunday, Feb. 22 featuring former Van Van vocalist Mayito Rivera as headliner accompanied by Miami’s Timbalive. The festival will also feature appearances by the Bay Area Rumba All Stars and Rumbache as well as dance performances and dance workshops for beginners to advanced dancers during the day. For more information, go to salsaruedafestival.com…..Vocalist Herman Olivera and Trombonist Jimmy Bosch who are two extraordinary talents in the Salsa world will be appearing together as part of a Salsa/Bachata weekend happening at San Jose’s renowned Club Milano on Saturday, March 21st. The club’s Producer Max Jose Enrique has leaked on Facebook that he is bringing the highly regarded salsa band from Italy, La Maxima 79 to the club this Summer…San Jose is certainly stepping up in terms of showcasing Salsa in Northern California…..New scene: Baylando Wednesdays at the Berkeley Underground (formerly Shattuck Down Low and Mr. E’s) featuring salsa dance lessons and salsa bands in the early part of the evening until 11:30 then turning the show over to the Baylando label DJ’s consisting of DJ Santero, DJ Kool Kyle, DJ J Styles (Jerry Limon) and others. I will be a guest MC/Host for the Wed, Feb 25th show…see you there!!…..For the dancers: Fridays at Just Dance Ballroom, 2500 Embarcadero in Oakland boasts 10,000 square feet of dance floor with 3 separate rooms with Salsa, Bachata and Timba brought you by Tomaj Trenda who is the host of a highly successful party every 3rd Saturday at the Allegro Ballroom in Emeryville….Phenomenal Spanish vocalist Buika at SF’s Nourse Auditorium on Sat. Feb. 28…Ciao 4...
read moreXiomara Luagart – Music 2 my ears
Just wanted to drop a few lines about Xiomara Laugart’s new cd “Tears And Rumba” on Chesky. A new take on Afro Cuban folklore, rumba, son montuno and boleros from the ex-Yerba Buena vocalist. Laugart shines throughout the recording with a wealth of material ranging from the moody trova style standard such as Maria Teresa Vera’s “Ausencia” to the danceable son montuno of Miguel Matamoros’ “La Mujer De Antonio”. Laugart dives into these classic Cuban songs with a lot of soul, heart and feeling. She is backed by an excellent ensemble comprising of bassist Yunior Terry, guitarist Roman Lajara, flautist Javier Porta, percussionist Luisito Quintero, vocalist Gerardo Contino and her son Axel Tosca Laugart, the musical director on the date on vocals and clave. Laugart serves up a heartfelt musical stew that isn’t your typical Cuban fare. It’s moody and aspires to reach deep into monte adentro. It’s worth the effort to join her on this...
read moreLive Appearances
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