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 moreRumbankete
The other great act that I caught was the Cuban timba big band Rumbankete from Los Angeles at Yoshis in Oakland this past Thursday night. This explosive band led by trombonist Denis Jiron were playing their timba drenched sounds to a packed dance floor. Made up of 2 violins, 3 trombones, bass, keyboards, drum set, timbales, congas and fronted by 3 charismatic vocalists, Rumbankete played a combination of original material and covers of tunes by Los Van Van and Elio Reve. Potent stuff! Denis told me that the band will be releasing a single in the next month and a new cd should be coming out later this year. Check them out the next time that they swing by the Bay Area…don’t sleep on this...
read moreOn the other end of the spectrum of music I like…
I have checked out two exciting new acts in two very distinctive scenes in the past week. British based pop soul vocalist VV Brown put on a spectacular show at Popscene at 330 Ritch last week. This tall, striking Jamaican/Puerto Rican beauty has a style all her own mixing pop, reggae, hip hop and Brazilian batucada rhythms into her catchy songs. VV came out in a Carnaval head dress, gold lame blouse and checkered pant suit-these English acts certainly have a wicked sense of style. She possess a powerful set of pipes. She tore through a cover of Drake’s “The Best I Ever Had” infusing this hit with dub and reggae. This Capitol recording artist is definitely someone to look out for…a star in the making. She’ll be at South By Southwest in Austin next...
read moreIssac Delgado Returns to the Bay Area
Cuban vocal superstar Issac Delgado returns to the SF Bay Area to perform at the classy 30’s style supper club Bimbos 365 Club, 1025 Columbus Avenue in San Francisco on Friday, Feb. 19. These KPFA Radio sponsored shows at the SF Jazz Spring Season will take place at 8 and 10:30 p.m. Anyone who has seen Issac before know that they can expect an explosive show from Issac whose smooth vocal style fits in perfectly from salsa to cha cha to timba with more than enough charisma to melt any crowd. His orchestra is a tight, well rehearsed band with an ample horn section, two keyboards, bass, full percussion section and two background vocalists. In past shows, he has performed songs from various aspects of his noteworthy career. Be ready for fireworks and to sweat at Bimbos! I will be in the house as master of ceremonies for the...
read moreNew Local Gold, New Scenes, New Year
Now that we’re into 2010, I want to remind all of you that we have great musicians, singers and bands in the San Francisco Bay Area that we should all be supporting in these tough times. Even though the old saying is that the cream always rises to the top, sometimes people don’t get the props that they deserve and get sadly overlooked. So do go out, check out the local greats as well as the new local gold – don’t take the local scene for granted. Crowds came out to support events such as the recent Voices Of Latin Rock extravaganzas that showcased the finest in Latin Rock and Latin Jazz and Seaon Stylist Bristol’s ambitious latin Broadway style tribute to Michael Jackson “Rock With You” featuring Rebeca Mauleon’s powerhouse of a band. The new local gold features emerging faces that are making noise these days: Montuno Swing, the Latin Rhythm Boys, Lina G. Torio’s Mestiza, Carne Cruda and their new project with Brazilian firecracker Dandara, Santero (blowing up all over!), Saboriche, Bang Data and many others that I will bring to your attention during this year. So remember to keep your mind and ears open…porque lo que viene es...
read moreBlessed to Live In The Bay Area – 2010 Edition
I am truly blessed to live in one of the music meccas of the United States where I can enjoy artists from all over the world. The SF Bay Area boasts an incredible slew of talent as well as being a port where major talent visits us on a consistent basis. During these first two months of the new year, we will have Salsa, Cuban and Latin Jazz music concerts in this area by the likes of emerging Cuban piano star Alfredo Rodriguez, the Puerto Rico Golden All Stars with Eric Figueroa (of Batacumbele fame), Richie Flores, Endel Dueno, Ramon Vasquez and the legendary flamboyant violinist Alfredo De La Fe, Issac Delgado, Eddie Santiago, Victor Manuelle, the second annual Salsa Rueda Festival and L.A.’s timba big band Rumbankete. This is all happening despite an awful economic down turn and in the two slowest months of the year in terms of business due to the support of all of you who go to these shows. Que...
read moreLive Appearances
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