Music News 2/7/2021

Mario “Mayito” Solomon (pictured left) is the renowned bandleader, timbalero and vocalist for one of SF Bay Area”s  based hot bands “Mario Y Su Timbeko”.   The band have been working on putting together their new recording. I was impressed after hearing three of their new songs “I Have What You Want”, “Sola Te Quedaste” and “Nadie Sabe Nada”.  Timbeko makes a big splash with fresh bangers showcasing their guitar and keyboard drenched style of Cuban timba full of hooks, catchy vocals and irresistible beats.  I’m hoping to hear more new music soon from Timbeko.  Check out their Facebook page for more information. Mario has excelled in adding his style of percussion magic as a bandleader, studio musician or in-demand sideman to the SF Bay Area music scene.  On a bittersweet side note, Mario is leaving the SF Bay Area due to personal reasons and will be relocating to Austin, Texas.  Best of luck, Mario on your move and I’ll be looking forward to hearing more music from you soon.

Random Notes….another long time member of the SF scene, guitarist Rolando Morales is leaving the Bay Area scene as well according to his recent Facebook posts. Rolando has been entertaining folks as a soloist with his fine vocals and virtuoso guitar playing for more than 3 decades since his stint with Passion & Grace back in the 1990’s. This pandemic has caused a financial nightmare for the music industry especially for musicians like Rolando who are professional musicians who are depending on their next gig to help pay their rent or mortgage.

Livestreams coning up: pianist Omar Sosa will be returning to the SF Bay Area via two livestreams. The first “Our Memories I” will air on Friday, Feb. 12 at 6 PM PST on www.youtube.com/OmarSosaMusic. The second livestream “Omar Sosa & Friends” with special guests Morocan vocalist Bouchaib Abdelhadi, Peruvian percussionist Juan Medrona Cotito, American bassist Geoff Brennan and Peruvian dancer Pierr Padilla Vasquez. This second livestream will air on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 5 PM PST on https://www.piedmontpiano.com/calendar/2021/2/21/omar-sosa-friends. Brought to you by Piedmont Piano Company in Oakland, CA. Viva Sosa!!

Fresh locally based music to listen to include Sentimiento Y Manana’s “Un Changui Para Oakland”...a new take on Cuban Changui by this talented group led by Juan Stable Perez. The group is influenced by the music, culture and life of “La Isabel” Guantanamo, Cuba. Their style is Afro Cuban Changui, Rumba and Bembe. You can learn more about this talented group on their web site: sentimientoymanana.com.

The salsa standard “El Raton” made famous worldwide by Cheo Feliciano, Jorge Santana (of Malo) and the Fania All Stars has been reimagined in the Afro-Peruvian style by two of Peru‘s best musicians Cheo Linares (of Peru) and SF Bay Area based vocalist/percussionist Braulio Barrera (of Pacific Mambo Orchestra and leader of Somos El Son). Both of these fine recordings were produced by the prolific producer Greg Landau for his Round Whirled Records label.

Other tasty new releases: veteran sonero Wito Rodriguez continues his streak of hot Salsa hits with his new one “Ya Me Prepare” on the NMJ Animal Music Label……Percussionist David Lucca and Los Classics De La Salsa’s latest Ponle Corazon is a smoker featuring fine tunes such as “Vida”, “Ponle” featuring guest vocalist Luisito Carrion and “Policia”. This may be an early contender for the best of 2021 lists!!….Leonardo Diago Y La Nueva Era is one Cuban band to look out for!! Their current recording “Este Es Mi Momento” is well worth picking up. To wet your appetite, check out slammin tracks such as “La Pieza” and “La Gozadera”.

Perhaps there will be live music offerings by late Summer 2021, now that the vaccines are slowly rolling out in the U.S., we can only hope and see if things will be better. Major festivals slated for the first half of 2021 such as Coachella have already cancelled for this year while others such as South By Southwest are going virtual. Let’s hope that things can turnaround for SF Bay Area events such as Carnaval SF, the Stern Grove Festival and countless others. My wish to beat this COVID and return to live music soon!! Ciao 4 now!