Summer 2017 – Live music lives in SF/Northern Cali

Welcome to Summer 2017!  I have been on hiatus from posting the past two months due to personal reasons.  However, I”m back feeling renewed and refreshed.  I saw a trio of terrific Cuban and Salsa shows during these weeks: Alexander Abreu and Havana D’Primera were phenomenal at Roccapulco..what a tight and dynamic orchestra!  The huge and talented presence of bandleader/vocalist/trumpeter Abreu was matched by the charismatic star presence of ex-Van Vanero, Mayito Rivera who is quite an exceptional vocalist.  They teamed up on an incredible tribute to Juan Formell with Rivera singing one of Los Van Van’s anthems “Soy Todo”.  Simply a great show.

Around Carnaval SF Weekend, I just caught some fine acts such as Grammy Award winner Javier Cabanillas “Cabanijazz Project” smoke it out with guest vocalist Edgardo Cambon as well as the hot “La Misa Negra” with their fresh Cumbia sounds and great stage show.  Also caught the reunion of Ramocue with ex-Los Mocosos Victor Castro and Shorty throwing down the funk Mission style.

That same weekend, I caught one of the finest Salsa orchestras in the world today, The Spanish Harlem Orchestra under the direction of pianist Oscar Hernandez at Yoshis in Oakland.  SHO were debuting a couple of songs from their forthcoming album as well as some of the favorites from their last few recordings.  SHO were very impressive with a power packed band including timbalero Luisito Quintero, trombonist Doug Beavers, saxophonist/flautist Mitch Frohman and their explosive trio of vocalists: Marco Bermudez, Carlos Cascante and Jeremy Bosch (also exceptional on flute).

The Western Region Puerto Rican Council presented the 39th edition of the El Dia De San Juan Festival at History Park in San Jose.  This year’s festival featured the exceptional vocal stylings of Herman Olivera, one of the top Salsa singers in this day and age and the youthful and energetic Salsa of Norberto and Gerardo of NG2.  Backed by the impressive all-star <strong>Orquesta Taino, Olivera shined with a powerful set of his past hits that he’s recorded with Eddie Palmieri, Manny Qquendo and Libre and his acclaimed recording La Voz Del Caribe.  Olivera’s fierce soneos combined with his smooth dance moves to deliver a great performance which ignited the audience. NG2 kept the energy up with their high octane show displaying their great voices which combined their well-known songs with their new material.  NG2 kept the dancers going with their contagious commercial Salsa sound tailored for today’s audiences.  Taino did a great job backing up both Olivera and NG2.