Rolling Afro-Latin Music 2015 and onward: Salsa, Bomba, Merengue,Reggaeton, Bachata, Latin-Jazz and more

This is the new thread to discuss salsa music and dance (from 2015 onward or reissues) and other Spanish language genres and instrumental sounds too. One is free to dis or praise here bachata and Latin-jazz and NPR-friendly alternative Latin sounds and hipster Anglo salsa.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/10-great-latino-albums-2014-n276481

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102304900

Today, the top sources of Fania's revenue are partnerships with Sirius/XM, advertisement sharing with YouTube and licensing to Spotify and other streaming services. Fania recordings are downloaded by fans as far flung as Japan and Eastern Europe.

Thanks for restart. Still waiting to hear about my neighbor's López-Nussa Christmas.

Me too. Still catching up on lots of Latino music...

https://nacla.org/news/2014/7/17/un-verano-en-nueva-york-summer-latin-alternatives

This year, two Cuban singers, Diana Fuentes and Danay Suárez, were particularly interesting because they were both seeking a radical new direction while clearly influenced by the Cuban tradition, expressing themselves in distinctly different ways.

The above is from NYC writer Ed Morales. Below is a link to descarga.com's list and their intro paragraph. They continue to fight for salsa

http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/onsite_best_of_2014

This year we have a couple of great Cuban titles, from Adalberto Alvarez and Pupy y Los Que Son Son respectively. There were a good number of superb new releases from known entitles like the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Don Perignon y La Puertorriqueña, Puerto Rican Power, Herman Olivera, Ismael Miranda and Bobby Cruz. There was also a major push by deserving lesser known artists like Avenida B, Boogaloo Assassins, Crocro y Su Tumbaka, Lucky 7 Mambo, Neftali Rosado Jr. & Fernandito Jr., Peliroja, and The Latin Heartbeat. Additionally, we have some superb Latin jazz releases from Bobby Sanabria, Luisito Quintero, Steve Kroon, and Steve Pouchie.
As usual, there were many other outstanding releases that aren't represented here. The new big band release by Oscar D'Leon, for example. Furthermore, the self imposed thirty-five title limit restricted us from including some really great reissues.
In all, a very strong year for our music, and a very promising 2015 ahead.

Interesting. Wondering if Luisito plays his SlapStick bass on that recording. Wonder if Diego Lopez is on that Steve Kroon record.

Lucky 7 Mambo is a Los Angeles group.

Also found this of interest re the Morales article:

Fuentes sees herself as a kind of intelligent pop singer influenced by the “feeling” and not the “filin” of the legendary Elena Burke, and has an extraordinary power and range. She’d already been a backup singer for post-nueva cancionero Carlos Varela, a collaborator with the legendary Sintesis, and has recently married Eduardo Cabra, musical director of Puerto Rico’s Calle 13, who produced her soon to be released debut album.

I haven't heard her album yet

x-post

You had me curious, so Diego Lopez is mentioned on Spanish Harlem born Kroon's bio on Kroon's webpage, shortly after a discussion of the cd, so I think the answer is yes.

Here's the 2014 thread btw:

Rolling Afro-Latin Music All Stars - Tribute to Afro-Latin Music Thread 2014 (DVD incl.)

Ned S*blette is excited about this Wed. gig:

i'm going out tomorrow (Jan. 7), to Subrosa, for Manuel Valera's New Cuban Express: Manuel Valera - piano / Troy Roberts - saxophone / Luques Curtis - bass / Samuel Torres - percussion / Ludwig Afonso - drums.

See those guys all the time in my neighborhood /jaded.
Well except for Luques, who only came out here once with Manuel, although I've seen him in the city at some other places. And Troy Roberts, who I never heard of until now. Also that place is expensive,drinkwise at least. But I hope other people go.

In other news, just got Chris Washburne mailing about SYOTOS appearing at Winter Jazzfest

What about this NYC resident & band (who are visiting my hood soon)

Gerardo Contino y Los Habaneros

A lawyer by day, Contino, or “El Abogado de la Salsa,” as he is affectionately referred to by fans, is singer and songwriter who is best recognized as the former lead singer of renowned Cuban salsa and jazz orchestra NG La Banda. Upon moving to New York City from Cuba, he formed Gerardo Contino y Los Habaneros, a group known for its refreshing take on salsa and timba tunes, its impressive rhythm section and interactive call-and-response performances led by Contino

So Dow listed this Rough Guide to Psychedelic Salsa album that's coming out soon on another thread. It includes:

Track List

01 Grupo Fantasma Feat. Larry Harlow: Naci De La Rumba Y Guaguanco
02 La Mecanica Popular: La Paz Del Freak
03 Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno: Dub Y Guaguanco
04 Conjunto Siglo 21: Jud Ross
05 Ray Perez Y Su Orquesta: Recordando Los Soneros
06 San Lazaro: Muchacho Tranquilo
07 Bacalao Men: Japones
08 Nelson Y Sus Estrellas: Londres (London)
09 Los Sander's De Nana: Recuerdos
10 Los Pambele: Cannabis
11 Fruko Y Sus Tesos: El Son Del Carangano
12 Orchestra Rytmo Africa-Cubana: Vamos Pa' Dakar
13 Bio Ritmo: Chuleta 07:00

Yes, didn't think to look for this thread, here's the rest:

THE ROUGH GUIDE TO PSYCHEDELIC SALSA

Release Date: 23 February 2015
Cat No: RGNET1304CD
Barcode: 605633130423
Format: CD & Digital Download

This Rough Guide explores the heady influence of psychedelia on salsa, from the fuzzy tropical guitars of the sixties and seventies to today’s cutting edge bands experimenting with weird & wonderful psychedelic sounds.

Psychedelic rock and salsa came of age together in the mid to late 1960s under parallel socio-cultural circumstances of upheaval, unrest and experimentation within the respective youth cultures of their core audiences.

Historically there are direct connections between the world of the hippie counter-culture and Latin music (from Fania’s Jerry Masucci being friends with Woodstock’s Michael Lang to ‘mambonik’ Bill Graham urging Santana to cover Tito Puente. In places like Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, and especially Peru, non-Latin global youth culture – or at least some of the music, dress, art, and social attitude – was quite influential as well, producing tropical music with fuzzed out guitars, echo effects, and electric keyboards.

In the late 1970s through to the 1990s, discotheque remix dance culture spawned the psychedelic extended salsa mixes of studio wizards like Baron Lopez and the wild playing of Cuban violinist Alfredo de la Fé (featured here with Orchestra Rytmo Africa-Cubana), both of which factored in trippy dub effects borrowed from another Caribbean music with psychedelic leanings, namely reggae.

This collection explores not only those early connections and cross-pollinating influences but also the resurgence of interest in the subject of the psychedelic sound today, from a revival of the experimental vibe that made the early years of salsa so varied and interesting to the equally intriguing phenomenon of retro analogue aesthetics that seems to be on the rise.

Current Latin artists like Bio Ritmo, La Mecánica Popular, Bacalao Men, Quantic, Fantasma and San Lázaro have found themselves looking back to the days of progressive, open attitudes when the emphasis was on message and music, not on singer as star or producing bland pop for mass consumption. This is, perhaps, a reaction to the fallout of the over-commercialisation and dilution of salsa in the 1980s and the concurrent ascendance of merengue, bachata and (later) reggaeton. The influence of rare groove collecting, DJ-driven investigations into the golden era, and a spill-over from the success of retro funk and soul acts like Sharon Jones have shaped current ‘indie’ salsa production as well.

Track List (incl.in curmudgeon's xpost)

Total Playing Time: 61:32
music from this and other releases here: https://soundcloud.com/world-music-network

Also in press release:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuXmXG9qbF8

Fruko's late '60s stuff isn't even psychedelic—it's like the garage punk version of salsa. And this is one of the most gangster-ass album covers of all time, in any genre:

http://vf-images.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/fruko-y-sus-tesos-el-tesura.jpg

What an awesome cover

Ned S*blette loves his latin-jazz:

I try never to miss Papo Vázquez's Mighty Pirates Troubadours. They're at Dizzy's Wednesday and Thursday (21 and 22).

>With Papo Vazquez, trombone/leader; Willie Williams, tenor saxophone; Rick Germanson, piano; Dezron Douglas, bass; Alvester Garnett, drums; Anthony Carrillo, percussion; Carlos Maldonado, percussion; and Invited Guest Sherman Irby, alto saxophone.

* * *

On Friday, January 30, at 7 pm, I'll be moderating a pre-concert talk with Lionel Loueke and composer / pianist / bandleader / ambassador Arturo O'Farrill at Symphony Space in Manhattan. The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra's concerts at Symphony Space are always something original, featuring bespoke big-band arrangements -- in this case, from Loueke's big book of tunes. The concert, "An Evening with Lionel Loueke," featuring Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, is January 30-31, 2015 at 8pm. Discounts for seniors and students.

The ALJO was in Havana on December 17 when the news of the diplomatic opening broke . . .

Thanks. Saw a member of the ALJO last Thursday who told me a little bit about that, although I didn't get to talk to him for too long. He also told me they did some recording down there.

Yeah, Fruko cover is pretty intense. It was in the booklet for that Discos Fuentes comp from about half a decade back.

I have seen Gerardo a few times, he is an exciting performer. Knew he was in NG La Banda, did not know he was a lawyer.

Ned S and I seem to prefer different venues to see music, which is why I never cross paths with him except for that one time.

that tesura album cover is demolishing me

Fruko y sus Tesos are still together and touring too (albeit with some mebership changes)

This is the new thread to discuss salsa music and dance (from 2015 onward or reissues)

Glad to see you are doing it this way. If it gets too big we can start a new one.

With any luck, this might be the year I start getting out again, in which case I might have something to report back on.

Still pretty uninspired by almost everything new I'm hearing, in this niche.

http://open.spotify.com/user/forksclovetofu/playlist/73ZkB3SrNp2QDIwHhr49G2

Cool. I need to post here N*d Sublette's fave Latin-jazz efforts from 2014 that he listed in the very back of a super long pdf attachment of his fave books, his New Yorker contributor wife's fave books, and Dave Marsh's fave books (sent out via email to his mailing list). Ned liked a Spanish language bio of Bebo Valdes on his book list, while Marsh liked that all-inclusive volume 1 Beatles one

Here's some of his faves. He doesn't like his stuff to be linked or re-posted online, but since I liked his books on Cuba and on New Orleans, I think his interests are of interest to us here (he has a Spotify list too):

New Throned King (5pasión) is Yosvany Terry’s seven-year project of self-discovery with his group Ye-Dé-Gbé

Elio Villafranca and the Jass Syncopators’ Caribbean Tinge: Live at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola (Motema) takes an inter-island view

Miguel Zenón’s Identities Are Changeable (Miel)

I want to shout out a record that I was peripherally involved in: Danny Rivera and Nelson González’s Obsesión

Pro tip: "Latin jazz" isn't hyphenated.

Salsa choke fad persisting in Colombia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPhbr64BS3o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO69ua3Nggs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB-84cii7C4

All this stuff sounds pretty good to me, for the moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=galuD0vU1hc

yeah, i'm digging that!
http://remezcla.com/music/welcome-to-salsa-choke-7-tracks-reinventing-colombias-salsa-urbana/

me too

Holy shit, a new Tego Calderón album came out yesterday! His first since 2007. For a long time, it was supposed to be called Mr. T, which was kind of hilarious, but now it's called El Que Sabe, Sabe. He raps in English on "Canción de Hamaca"—not just the chorus, like on "Slo Mo" from The Underdog/El Subestimado; half the song is in English. One song with Don Omar, one song with Kany García. I'm only 1/3 of the way through it right now, but I like it. It's not quite as weird as El Abayarde Contra-Ataca, but it's definitely wide-ranging, stylistically.

Cool. Will look for it. He keeps touring periodically, but I haven't seen him live in years.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/latin-notas/6319476/tego-calderon-new-album-el-que-sabe-sabe

Plus he's been in some of the Fast and Furious movies and made his own music videos according to this article

he was supposed to be in the park for a free show last year but he fucked up his leg
http://www.latingossip.com/tego-calderon/tego-calderon-seriously-damages-knees-in-fall.html

Yeah, he and Don Omar have been a really good comedy team in at least two of the Fast & Furious movies. I've put in a request for an interview (specifying that it would be in English) but haven't heard anything back yet.

Never heard of the below singer, but thought I'd pass this on

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/latin-notas/6458543/celina-gonzalez-dead-85-cuban-country-queen

excerpt:

Cuban Country Queen Celina Gonzalez Dead at 85

By Judy Cantor-Navas | February 05, 2015 10:18 AM EST
Cuban Country Queen Celina Gonzalez Dead at 85

"She was the greatest Cuban voice that U.S. audiences never got to hear," said Qbadisc founder and Cuban music historian Ned Sublette after hearing the news of her death.

Celina Gonzalez, the singer known as Cuban music's country queen, has died. Gonzalez passed away in Havana yesterday (Feb. 4), according to a statement from the Cuban Music Institute. The Latin Grammy-nominated artist was 85 years old.

The powerfully-voiced Gonzalez rose to popularity with her husband, guitarist Reutilio Domínguez. Together they were dedicated to the preservation of guajira music, the Spanish-influenced acoustic Cuban country genre whose poetic lyrics are inspired by rural life. Gonzalez also brought an Afro-Cuban sound to her music, She is probably best known for her song "Santa Barbara" (Also called "Que Viva Chango"), a tribute to the popular Afro-Cuban warrior god of fire and patron of percussion, whose Catholic alter-ego is St. Barbara. The song was later recorded by Celia Cruz.

Gonzalez's version was featured on Que Viva Chango!, a 1993 compilation of music by the artist on the New York label Qbadisc, which brought some attention in the U.S. to the singer, who lived in Cuba her whole life.

Victor Manuelle's Que Suenen los Tambores is joyful stuff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dP-mkN6QiE

admirably nutty "music overcomes all of life's sadness" video too

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Feb. 16, 2015

Narrowing the 90 Miles
How U.S.-Cuba relations may play out for musicians

By LARRY BLUMENFELD

In late December, 10 days after Presidents Barack Obama and Raúl Castro announced a path toward normalized relations between the U.S. and Cuba, the dressing-room conversation at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s nightclub, mirrored many on the subject: hope mixed with wait-and-see skepticism.
Drummer Dafnis Prieto, one of four Cuban-born musicians now living in the U.S. in an all-star group billed as “Nuevo Jazz Latino All-Stars,” said, “A truer relationship between the two countries is what many people, especially artists like us, have been longing for. But as artists, we’ve never had power in these decisions.”

Saxophonist Yosvany Terry, once Mr. Prieto’s conservatory classmate and bandmate in Havana, said, “The ideas are exciting, but we don’t yet know how this will be implemented. The devil is in the details.”

Those details are only beginning to take shape. The first steps of an earnest if tentative dance began on Jan. 21, when the U.S. and Cuba opened their highest-level diplomatic talks in nearly 40 years, in Havana. Thus began a process, as President Obama described in his Dec. 17 address, “to move beyond a rigid policy that is rooted in events that took place before most of us were born.”

Renewed political ties hold special promise for the relations between jazz musicians from the U.S. and their Cuban counterparts, which are rooted in even earlier events. In the audience at Dizzy’s that December night was percussionist Candido Camero, a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master. He first arrived in New York from Cuba in 1946, just as trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie (after whom the Jazz at Lincoln Center club is named), along with Cuban musicians such as trumpeter Mario Bauzá, percussionist Chano Pozo and singer-bandleader Frank “Machito” Grillo began blending Cuban and American music in novel ways. These musicians created a new, popular and profoundly influential musical style but also furthered a bond that pianist Jelly Roll Morton recognized as essential to jazz’s origins—one never broken, yet hindered by a half-century of often-forbidding impediments.

Since the U.S. embargo of Cuba began, the ability of Cuban and U.S. musicians to travel back and forth has shifted with political winds. The late 1970s saw a brief but notable loosening of tensions. By 1985, a hard line restricted cultural exchange. In the late 1990s, even as the Helms-Burton Act tightened many sanctions against the Cuban government, some doors opened, particularly for artists, through an official U.S. effort to encourage “people-to-people exchange.” Trumpeter Roy Hargrove’s Grammy award-winning 1997 album, “Habana,” featuring stellar Cuban musicians such as pianist Chucho Valdés, was one reflection of vibrant cross-cultural collaborations at the Havana International Jazz Festival, then under the musical direction of Mr. Valdés.

The unexpected commercial success of the 1997 album, “Buena Vista Social Club”—produced by American guitarist Ry Cooder, recorded at Havana’s Egrem studio, and showcasing a collective of musicians then mostly unknown to U.S. listeners—generated a fresh U.S. wave of popular fascination with Cuban music. Still, the 1998 Carnegie Hall concert captured in Wim Wender’s Oscar-nominated documentary about that recording would have been impossible to produce by 2004, owing to harsh U.S. travel restrictions regarding Cuba. Singer Ibrahim Ferrer, a Buena Vista member, could not accept his 2004 Grammy award for a subsequent album onstage; he was denied a visa to attend the ceremony. In fact, following a memorable December 2003 engagement by Mr. Valdés at Manhattan’s Village Vanguard, no other musician living in Cuba played in the U.S. until 2009, when the Obama administration began loosening travel restrictions.

The present shift in policy is more formal and holds more lasting promise. Already, rule changes should bring more American musicians and listeners in direct contact with Cuba. As of Jan. 16, U.S. citizens can travel to Cuba for one of a dozen approved purposes (including public performances) without prior written license from the U.S. Treasury Department, a time-consuming process that has intimidated promoters, producers and American travelers. Out-and-out tourism will not be permitted, but visitors from the U.S. will be allowed to spend more, use credit cards, and even bring home up to $100 in Cuban cigars.

The removal of Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, as is currently under review, would presumably end the State Department security checks and visa denials that have led to last-minute cancellations of U.S. tours by Cuban groups. Though President Obama’s call for an end to the embargo is unlikely to gain congressional support, a less broad easing of commercial restrictions might permit American presenters to pay fees to Cuban artists, who are now allowed only per diem and travel reimbursements. Such changes might enable longer artistic residencies and collaboration on a grander scale, perhaps even an orchestra or institution based in both the U.S. and Cuba.

The past and present of American jazz and Cuban music intertwine in obvious ways. New York’s current jazz scene cannot be adequately described without highlighting the contributions of Messrs. Prieto and Terry, the sudden ubiquity of percussionists Román Díaz and Pedrito Martinez, and the innovations of some half-dozen other Cuban musicians, all now living in the U.S.

Likewise, musicians from the U.S. have long marked the Cuban scene. When I interviewed Mr. Valdés in his Havana home in 2010, one wall of his study was dotted with photos of storied Cuban musicians, including his father, the pianist Bebo Valdés, who died in 2013, and who played with American stars like Nat King Cole and Sarah Vaughan during his decadelong tenure as pianist and arranger at Havana’s famed Tropicana nightclub. “Cuban music and American jazz, that’s what we lived and breathed in my house,” Chucho told me. “I learned to play Jelly Roll Morton by listening to my father play.”

Some fear, reasonably, that an influx of tourism from the U.S. to Cuba may encourage the packaged nostalgia that often accompanies increased commercialism. Yet a freer exchange between musicians from both countries could rekindle energy akin to what Chucho Valdés grew up around.

And it may foster something yet deeper.

Pianist and bandleader Arturo O’Farrill learned of the current diplomatic breakthrough while in Havana, where he recorded an album combining his Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra with Cuban musicians, titled “The Conversation Continued.” Mr. O’Farrill, who was born in Mexico and raised on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, is the son of the Cuban composer, arranger and bandleader Chico O’Farrill. Arturo’s immersion in Cuban music began with a personal search for identity but now reflects a broader aesthetic mission that he sees as enabled by renewed relations.

“Now we can begin in earnest to have a healthy relationship in which Afro-Cuban music is not so exoticized,” Mr. O’Farrill said, “one in which we look at each other as inheritors of a common legacy, and as true partners.”

It remains to be seen whether diplomatic relations will, as President Obama announced, “begin a new chapter among the nations of the Americas.” But the policy changes already in motion may help turn such a page for the best jazz musicians of this hemisphere.

Mr. Blumenfeld writes about jazz for the Journal. He also blogs at blogs.artinfo.com/blunotes.

* * *

I am kinda interested in the above, but recognize what an insular little Cuban and NYC Latin-Jazz world he is referring too. No mention of timba or rap, or how this impacts other parts of the Latin Caribbean and Americas, but Blumenfeld is a jazz critic so maybe its wrong of me to expect more, and he only has so much space.

This show sold out the Garden

Puerto Rican reggaeton duo Plan B will headline The Best Latino Urbano concert at Madison Square Garden. Appearances by Daddy Yankee, J Alvarez, Arcangel, Tony Dize, Alexis y Fido, and Dominican artists El Mayor, Secreto and El Alfa have also been announced for the Feb. 6 all-ages show.

But Subl*tte's excited about the Latin-jazzers coming to the 92nd St Y in NYC (plus his upcoming trip to Cuba)

http://brianlynchjazz.com/2015/02/latin-on-lex-a-latin-jazz-festival-in-nyc-with-bl-at-the-helm/

Latin on Lex: A Latin Jazz Festival at the 92nd Street Y
Brian Lynch, artistic director

Wow, a 2015 version of the Buena Vista Social Club is touring the US this summer with Pedrito Martinez' group opening. Coming in late August to Wolf Trap Farm Park outside DC

Eugenia Leon's name does not turn up in the ilx search engine. Trying to get a grasp on the music of this Mexican singer--sometimes she sounds operatic, her roots are in nueva cancion folk I read, she's done a bossa album, sounds cabaret theatric jazzy too

I listened to Spotify and checked out some Youtubes. Her bossa album is ok, and she's done various other styles. Mostly diva-esque slow tempos although the bossa album is a bit more bubbly.

x-post- those Brian Lynch hosted 92 St Y gigs in NY include E. Palmieri on March 12th and the younger Cubans on the 13th

Yosvany Terry, alto sax & shekere
 Gregory Tardy – tenor sax
, Manuel Valera – piano,
 Pedrito Martinez – percussion
, Hans Glawischnig, bass, 
Obed Calvaire – drums

 And Brian Lynch, host and trumpet

While the Cuban jazz dudes in NYC get most of the media attention, I am still liking this Cuban timba & salsa singer who moved to NYC

GERARDO CONTINO Y LOS HABANEROS

A lawyer by day, Contino, or “El Abogado de la Salsa,” as he is affectionately referred to by fans, is singer and songwriter who is best recognized as the former lead singer of renowned Cuban salsa and jazz orchestra NG La Banda. Upon moving to New York City from Cuba, he formed Gerardo Contino y Los Habaneros, a group known for its refreshing take on salsa and timba tunes, its impressive rhythm section and interactive call-and-response performances led by Contino. The talented lineup includes Grammy winning bassist John Benitez,pianist Axel Tosca Laugart and percussionist Luisito Quintero.
The group released its debut album, Somos Latinos, in 2013 to critical acclaim, with Timba.com describing the record as a “treasure trove of state-of-the-art bass, piano and percussion work laid down by some the very best instrumentalists in the genre.”

Plus the Colombian salsa choque/ salsa choke that Rudiph mentioned earlier above

http://www.salomefm.com/events/festival-salsa-choke-15-de-febrero-2015/

Eddie Palmieri tonight in NYC, but I'm down farther south in the US of A

Gonna try to dance to Gerardo Contino tonight as he & his band are appearing near me (not that the wife and I know how to really do so)

If John Benitez is on the gig, tell him you are my friend. He doesn't know me by name but I see him all the time. Oh wait, you could describe me. Oh wait, we've never met in person. You figure it out.

He is listed as being the likely bass player.

I will try to see him on Sunday to close the loop

Cool. Bass player had a shaved head and singer Contino garbled the intro. I think it was him but am not sure. Did not introduce myself and tell him I know online the intranetz King of the borough of Queens.

Show was kinda uneven, sadly. I love the 2013 album, but Contino live this time was trying so hard to please everyone and got kinda loungey and talked to much in between songs in multiple languages--this is a song for Colombians; this is a Buena Vista Social Club song; "my international people will know this one--"Bailando" (that's the Enrique Englesias huge hit w/ the video I like)-- that it didn't seem that impressive. They did a new song that was kinda bachata, plus another bachata-like cover. But little timba.

Think I know exactly what you mean. Sort of what I don't totally dig about what Pedrito does.

John's hair goes back and forth from dyed blonde to not, from kind of long and curly to super short.

John is a pretty big guy though, hard to miss.

Maybe it wasn't him. Also re the gig, Contino's voice lacked the authority and passion of some old-school salsa singers I have seen, and the music lacked the energy of some salsa acts I have seen too--not enough timbale and cowbell.

Timba is different from old school salsa dura.

Have not yet totslly warmed to it myself.

What I mean is live Contino and band did not have the funkyness of timba or the rhythmic clave style and power of athletic and graceful old-school salsa dura, or at least whenever they started to exhibit it, Contino would get loungy in his vocal style, and the music would change and the songs would end too quickly.

Interesting though in the choice of covers and the new songs. Once upon a time such acts would try to do a schlocky syrupy salsa romantica cut but now they do bachata.

I have liked the couple of timba gigs I have seen, and this live was not that timba.

Natalia Lafourcade's new album Hasta La Raíz comes out today. I'm listening to it on Spotify and it's fucking great; will probably buy it from Amazon MP3 by day's end.

https://open.spotify.com/album/6DWTUm9rifRvl5PTyNMwqV

Cool. Like her too and will give it a listen. My only concern in advance is that she was a bit uneven live when I saw her perform last year.

It's a very produced record. Not in the sense that it sounds of-the-moment; it's got a classic '60s vibe (strings, heavily reverbed guitars, etc.), with very few concessions to the 21st Century.

Still need to get to that. On my list

Finally gave Lafourcade a quick listen. I like it too, and like Venegas it has that timeless Latin-American indie-pop feel that they both can do so well. Trying to figure out why they do it more impresively than many folks singing in English---better craft, better melodies...

Ned S*blette's back in Cuba for the first time in a while

A quick music diary . . .

Saturday: Pedro Luis Ferrer
Sunday: Emilio Morales y Los Nuevo Amigos at La Zorra y El Cuervo
Monday: Harold López-Nussa
Tuesday: a triple play: the peña (regularly scheduled gig) of Pancho Amat at the Museo Nacional de la Música; Havana d'Primera at Casa de la Música Miramar; Aldo López-Gavilán
Wednesday: Roberto Carcassés y Interactivo at Bertolt Brecht
Thursday: Pupy Y Los Que Son, Son at Casa de la Música Galeano . . .
Tonight: Van Van at the Capri . . .
Tomorrow: Reguetón .

Ned is back from Cuba and preparing an article for Billboard. He is also checking out Cuban music that is not Latin jazz. A recent Sublette email mentions the Enrique Iglesias video for "Bailando" that was filmed in Havana (and is worth watching; it also has a huge # of Youtube views) and a number of other videos. I haven't checked 'em all out yet.

Still haven't

Haven't heard the new Omar Sosa album either....been listening to Giberto Gil, Dom la Nena, Richard Bishop, afropop, Danny Gatton, D'angelo, Kendrick lamar and more though

This is a quick, quarterly reminder that all available tracks mentioned on this thread (and a few album selections) are being posted as updated to a thread-specific Spotify playlist that I'm maintaining. I just did a quick sweep prior to posting this message and updated as of today with everything that's been added on Spotify since it was first mentioned.

That playlist is currently a bit more than two hours of music and is clickable below. Give it a spin and subscribe if you want to listen along through the year.

Rolling Latin/Afrolatin 2015 Thread Spotify Playlist

This is very good, but it takes its time heating up. By the son of Puerto Rican bandleader Don Perignon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDSC183Mk9Q

The rest of the album is worth a listen as well, though that's the standout for me.

Ivy Queen has put out four albums, all entitled Vendetta (some of us are just less forgiving than others), in four different genres, which could probably be melted down to one solid EP. I like these.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fljU5MccE9Y

Salsa lite, the way reggaetoneros do it, but kind of nice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lLmhkw56h8

(Some back story for that first video: apparently she is pissed off about the way she was treated by music business types while she was pregnant.)

I like the Ivy Queen. Also like this El paso de la Bailerina - Alexander Abreu & Havana D' Primera - Original Version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIOihbD-CFY#t=44

That's one Ned Sublette linked to. Here's another: La Charanga Habanera y David Calzado "LA PEGADERA" - (Official Video) Salsa Cubana 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-IvwWdBzPo

Three of Cuba's great young pianists: Aldo López-Gavilán, Jorge Luis Pacheco Campos (who plays with his quartet at Dizzy's April 23), and Harold López-Nussa---says Ned

Writer Ned Sublette who was just in Cuba likes these three Cuban jazz pianists. They have been at the Kennedy Center in DC and their shows were video-streamed and archived

http://www.kennedy-center.org/explorer/videos/?id=M6251&type=A

Pacheco and Gavilan live at the Kennedy Center

http://www.kennedy-center.org/explorer/videos/?id=M6040

Lopez-Nussa trio at the Kennedy Center

The jazz concert videos are long btw.

at the risk of spamming the board, here's a list of pertinent shows scheduled for this season at NYC's SummerStage:

FREE SHOWS featuring (in alphabetical order) BABY DO BRASIL, CANO ESTREMERA, CESÁRIA ÉVORA ORCHESTRA, COMPASS, DIEGO GARCIA, FELIX HERNANDEZ RHYTHM REVUE, GERARDO CONTINO Y LOS HABENEROS, HELADO NEGRO, ISMAEL MIRANDA, JORGE DREXLER, JOSE PEÑA SUAZO, JUDY TORRES, MAYRA ANDRADE, MISTER G, NAÇĀO ZUMBI, NATION BEAT, NO TE VA GUSTAR, OQUES GRASSES, OUR LATIN THING, SYSTEMA SOLAR, TITO NIEVES, TKA, TONY TOUCH, VICENTICO, XIMENA SARIÑANA, and many more
***
• Wednesday June 24 - Crotona Park, BX - 7pm - Judy Torres + Tony Touch
• Sunday June 28 - Central Park - 3pm - Catalan Sounds On Tour with Oques Grasses + La Iaia + Silvia Perez Cruz + DJ Guillamino
• Tuesday July 7 - St. Mary’s Park, BX - 7pm - LAMC presents Our Latin Thing + DJ Afro
• Wednesday July 8 - Central Park - 6pm - LAMC presents Systema Solar + Compass + Helado Negro
• Wednesday July 8 – St. Mary’s Park, BX – 7pm – Ismael Miranda
• Thursday July 9 - St. Mary’s Park, BX - 7pm - Cano Estremera
• Saturday July 11 - Central Park - 3pm - LAMC presents Vicentico + Ximena Sariñana + No Te Va Gustar
• Sunday July 12 - Central Park - 3pm - Cesária Évora Orchestra + Mayra Andrade + Dino D'Santiago
• Sunday July 12 - St. Mary’s Park, BX - 4pm - Mister G + Soul Street Dance + DJ ASHO
• Sunday July 12 - St. Mary’s Park, BX - 7pm - Gerardo Contino y Los Habeneros + Film Screening: Celia - The Queen (2008)
• Sunday July 19 - Central Park - 7pm - Jorge Drexler + Diego Garcia + Danay Suarez
• Saturday July 25 - Highbridge Park, MN - 7pm - Jose Peña Suazo y La Banda Gorda
• Saturday August 1 - Clove Lakes Park, SI - 7pm - TKA + Tony Touch
• Sunday August 2 - Central Park - 3pm - Brasil Summerfest with Nação Zumbi + Nation Beat’s Carnival Caravan with Cha Wa + DJ Vinil Pompéia
• Sunday August 2 - Clove Lakes Park, SI - 7pm - The Felix Hernandez Rhythm Revue + Film Screening: Get On Up (2014)
• Tuesday August 4 - East River Park, MN - 7pm - Tito Nieves
• Sunday August 9 - East River Park, MN - 7pm - The Felix Hernandez Rhythm Revue + Film Screening: Our Latin Thing (1972)
• Saturday August 15 - Central Park - 7pm - Brazilian Film Festival of NY featuring Baby Do Brasil + Film Screening: Samba & Jazz (2014)

http://www.hffny.com/2015/we-the-music-3/

April 9 to 17th Havana Film Fest NYC

Wish I could make it up there for some of the music ones including:

BLUECHACHA

Ernesto Daranas | Cuba | 2012 | Documentary | 35min

Promotional documentary featuring the last album of the famous Cuban guitarist, composer and director Manuel Galbán, founder of the famous quartet Los Zafiros. Before his death at age 80, Galbán managed to finish his latest project, a delightful album titled “Bluechacha” that he recorded in collaboration with his daughter, the composer Magda Rosa Galbán, who handled musical production and arrangements along with her husband, musician Juan Antonio Leyva

My take on movie Ciudad Delirio that's showing at Filmfest DC

A doctor from Spain named Javier (Julián Villagrán) goes to Cali, Colombia for a medical conference and meets a salsa dance instructor, a single mother named Angie (Carolina Ramírez). She struggles to afford costumes for her working-class dance company, the Cali Stars, who are determined to win a competition. The plot of Ciudad Delirio is formulaic, and positioning the doctor as a stiff, nice white guy who can’t dance and Angie’s ex (her child’s father) as an irresponsible, flashy black dancer doesn’t help. But if you’re a sucker for corny romance tales, the drum-and-horn pulse of classic salsa, and Latin choreography glitzed up with Vegas-style sequins and spectacle, you might be able to overlook director and co-screenwriter Chus Gutiérrez’s reliance on stereotypes and clichés.

Sat. April 18, 9:15 p.m.; Wed. April 22, 6:30 p.m., AMC Mazza Gallerie

The International Bachata Day Music & Dance Festival May 28, 2015 - June 1st, 2015 in Republica Dominicana

Even if I liked bachata more, not sure I can make it.

Speaking of bachata, Romeo Santos is on the cover of Billboard

“With a high-profile cameo in 'Furious 7' and co-signs from Usher and Drake, the bachata star may finally be crossing over -- but strictly on his own terms… Romeo Santos has more #1 chart hits than any other Latin Music artist this decade… ‘Propuesta Indecente’ is one of the biggest songs in Latin music for most of the last two years. The track has spent a record-setting 89 weeks in the top five of Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart… he is the leading finalist at the Billboard Latin Music Awards with 21 nods in 16 categories, a record in the show’s 26-year history… with a sound rooted in the swagger of contemporary R&B and hip-hop, Santos has revolutionized Bachata …it’s now both a Pan-Latin and global style -- something you can hear from the Dominican Republic to Colombia to Italy -- largely due to Santos. ..on Formula Vol. 2, he stuck to Spanish, and let his guest stars cross over to the bachata side. ‘Odio,’ his single with Drake, became the highest Billboard Hot 100 debut for a Spanish-language track in the chart’s history”

He was impressive and charismatic when I saw him live years back as the lead singer of Aventura. But I have never been wowed by the albums

Never seen him headline, but he came out as a guest when I saw Wisin & Yandel at Madison Square Garden and the minute he stepped onstage, the screaming doubled in volume and went up an octave. It was crazy. Nothing's ever gonna make me like bachata, though.

I want to hear this---

On air this week is “Music in a Changing Cuba.” Veteran Hip Deep producer Ned Sublette drops by our studio in Brooklyn to share music and stories from his recent trip to Cuba for a reporting trip for Billboard magazine. Reggaeton has become the youth music of choice in Havana but timba big bands still command loyal followings. We’ll hear hot sets of both. Plus Ned talks about what is changing in Cuba and what is not changing.

http://www.afropop.org/22599/music-in-a-changing-cuba/

What’s up in Havana besides tourism? Ned Sublette, who recently
traveled to Cuba for Billboard magazine, talks with Sean Barlow about
the present moment in the fast-changing music capital. Timba from
Havana D’Primera, jazz/son by Pancho and Daniel Amat, and
a mastermix of reguetón by Chacal y Yakarta, El Micha, and others.

Reggaeton lives!

EL ZOL 107.9

PRESENTA:

SABADO 23 DE MAYO

"LATIN EXPLOSION 2015"

YANDEL / ALEXIS Y FIDO / ANDY ANDY /
IVY QUEEN /J. ALVAREZ / ZION & LENNOX

DE LA GHETTO / KHRIZ & ANGEL / JOWELL & RANDY /

MESSIAH / JORY BOY / EL CHEVO / SAHARA

at the 10,000 seat Patriot Center Arena

Not sure where to post this, but def Latin, jazz feel applied to crooning, results vintage cool:
The Rough Guide To Tango Legends: Carlos Gardel
Release Date: 25 May2015
Cat No: RGNET1329CD
Barcode: 605633132922
Format: CD & Digital Download

Carlos Gardel’s style and charisma set him apart from all other singers and musicians of his time. This definitive collection of 27 lovingly remastered classic tracks shows why he remains the undisputed ‘King Of Tango’.

There’s something about Gardel that sets him apart from all other artists and musicians, and which keeps him safe and sure in his position as undisputed number one tango legend. But no one quite knows what it is.

Born in Toulouse in 1890, Charles Romuald Gardes and his beloved mother, Berthe, sailed to South America in early 1893. They were just two of many thousands of economic migrants trying their luck in Buenos Aires. Berthe made a living as a laundress in the Abasto district. Her son – renamed Carlos Gardel to fit in – sang at private parties, and then strummed and sang in a folk duo with José Razzano. In 1912 he recorded 15 folk songs as a soloist.

But the key years were between 1917, when Gardel released his tango debut, ‘Mi Noche Triste’ and launched a genre known as ‘tango cancion’, and 1935, when he died tragically in an aeroplane accident in Medellin, Colombia, aged just 44. In this period he released more than 750 songs – many of which he penned the music for – visited Europe and the USA, and made eleven feature films, all vehicles for his toothsome smile and his tremulous baritone. He collaborated closely with some brilliant lyricists, most notably Alfredo Le Pera, with whom he would write magisterial tango songs such as ‘El Dia Que Me Quieras’, ‘Por Una Cabeza’ and ‘Volver’.

The back catalogue is as uneven as it is extensive. Some of the original songs sound small, tinny and fragile, as if played by miniature musicians at the bottom of a gramophone funnel. Others are smoother, slicker, with big orchestras bouncing along and Gardel’s voice revealed in all its range and richness.

This selection of tracks is definitive with that caveat in mind. While I have allowed in a few scratchy classics, I have often opted for cleaner tracks that demonstrate the power and presence of Gardel’s voice. What emerges is a multi-faceted talent, a tanguero who sounds sometimes like a romantic hero, sometimes like an old friend, or perhaps a relative, or a cheeky chappy of the barrio, but always a legend. The sequence is driven by mood rather than chronology and paints, I hope, a picture of Belle Époque Buenos Aires and of tango’s golden age, while telling the story of the meteoric rise of Carlos Gardel, ‘The Creole Thrush’, ‘The Magician’, ‘The Quiet Man’, the ‘Abasto Brunet’ and the eternal ‘King Of Tango’.

Wow - thanks for the tip. My wife's been obsessed with tango recently; will definitely be buying this.

You might also like Rana Santacruz's Por Ahi, out May 5. The opener,"El Chaputin," is minor key swing, influenced by the old Latin-klezmer connection; the second track, "Cumbia de la Serpiente," is a charming-disarming serenade; "Noces de Lluna" is an expansive, intimate waltz, "La Plaza de la Flora" makes me want to prowl the dance floor (or the plaza) with a rose in my teeth; others flow in and out of each other's momentum and atmospheres more seamlessly, but still changing things up sufficiently: Santacruz's subtle tenor voice, with violin and acoustic bass, are the constants; banjo, accordion, horns and drums show up pretty often. Bliss-inducing, but never blissed out. Is this love or just infatuation? Don't know yet, but it went better than most first listens
http://www.npr.org/2015/04/26/401968597/first-listen-rana-santacruz-por-ah#playlist

"*Noches* de Lluna," that is.

This guy! Gotta get something by him:
http://www.npr.org/2015/05/07/404945711/violinist-federico-britos-returns-to-the-hot-club

interesting.

For those in New York:

http://gcmusic.commons.gc.cuny.edu/events/conference-congo-cuba-in-new-york/
Congo-Cuba in New York: Palo Mayombe Music, Dance & Religion

Discussion
May 11, 2015, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Skylight Room 9100

Join leading scholars, priests, and performers of Afro-Cuban Congo culture for enlightening presentations and discussions exploring the ways music, dance, religion, and philosophy influence how a people conceive of themselves, negotiate relationships with each other, and their history. Participants will elaborate the ways practitioners surface notions of warfare, identity, and power through drum and music practice. What theoretical organizing frameworks surface through the music, dance, and religious practice and what are their relationships to Congo, to Cuba, and to other Congo-influenced practices such as Petwo in Haiti? What is unique to Palo Mayombe and how does this impact current knowledge in Caribbean Studies, African Diaspora Studies, Ethnomusicology, and Cultural Studies?

Scholars will each identify and elaborate on the analytical lenses they employ in their scholarly and cultural organizing work with Afro-Cuban palo mayombe music and dance, updating the field on their recent findings and the implications this has for themes covered in Ethnomusicology, Cultural Anthropology, and History. Presentations and panel discussions will be followed by an interactive discussion with the audience.

Schedule

12-12:10pm Welcome- Manuela Arciniegas, Ryan Mann-Hamilton, CUNY Graduate Center PhD Candidates in Music and Anthropology
12:10-12:20 Introduction- Spirituality and Culture in the Diaspora- C. Daniel Dawson, Columbia University
12:20-12:30 Connections to Caribbean Music Studies- Dr. Peter Manuel, Music Department, John Jay College, CUNY
12:30-1:15 A Visit to Mbanza Kongo- Ned Sublette, Historian, Musicologist, Composer, and Producer
1:15 1:45 Spirituality and Religion Through The Mambo - Alex LaSalle, High Priest, Singer
1:45-2:45 The Congo Drum Hidden Language- John Amira & Co., Musician and Educator of Palo, Haitian Petwo, and Bata
2:45-3:15 Embodying Warfare: W(rite) and Dance of Cuban Congos- Yesenia Fernandez Selier, Performer, Researcher, PhD Candidate/NYU
3:15-4 Audience Question and Answer, Discussion

The day of activities will be followed by the Live at 365 Concert: Roman Diaz and Afro Cuban Music Ensemble on May 11, 2015 @7pm in the Elebash Recital Hall at the CUNY Graduate Center with a Pre-concert talk taking place @6:15pm. http://www.liveat365.org/concert08.php

Cosponsored by the Advanced Research Collaborative, the Music Department at the Graduate Center and the Dominican Studies Group.

NYC-based Cuban drummer Dafnis Prieto has a new Latin Jazz effort out, and the NY Times and a freelance jazz critic on NPR like it and him

http://www.npr.org/2015/05/06/404657875/cuban-drummer-dafnis-prietos-crisp-rhythms-are-good-for-jazz

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/05/arts/music/review-triangles-and-circles-an-album-from-the-dafnis-prieto-sextet.html?_r=0

This is from last year. Elio Villafranca, live from the Steinway & Sons factory floor:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4PAYWL3Sco
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxknykDTWPk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwDoXRI64S8

etc.

(Haven't watched all of this myself.)

that dude is hella cool.

I don't think I posted this song to this thread last year. It's a decent salsa version of an early Shiina Ringo hit, by a band with a Japanese singer, out of Bogota, Colombia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeQDbPpfcIQ

I wish she would soneo in Japanese but maybe she sings straight in general.

Original: http://nhacso.net/nghe-nhac/marunouchi-sadistic-marunouchi-sadistic.Vl1TUEZW.html

One of many Tokyo Jihen live performances:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDu88M_1ZM4

(Nagoya, come on!)

Cocoblue Salsa Band should have given it a harder arrangement.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/18/arts/music/fire-and-ice-minnesotans-join-orquesta-aragon-in-havana.html?&moduleDetail=section-news-0&action=click&contentCollection=Music®ion=Footer&module=MoreInSection&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&configSection=article&isLoggedIn=true&pgtype=article

classical and charanga

All you Nueva Yorkers went to this, Si?

http://remezcla.com/events/visual-clave-50-years-latin-album-cover-design/

Missed the opening night, but the exhibit is still there for a bit.

>Featuring a multimedia presentation by Izzy Sanabria, graphic designer for many album covers on the Fania record label, as well as the founder of the groundbreaking magazine, Latin New York. Presentation starts at 6:30pm. DJ Turmix, DJ Andujar and DJ Bongohead will be playing classic Latin vinyl throughout the reception.

>The BMHC Laboratory in Crotona East is a 1,400 square foot performance, gallery, and retail space where Bronx artists can innovate and showcase their work, even before the permanent home to the BMHC opens in 2017. The Lab is a music incubator that hosts artists-in-residence, concerts, open mics, film screenings, galleries, arts retail, wellness events and roundtable discussions for musicians, artisans, and the community to enjoy. It is run by WHEDco (Women's Housing and Economic Development Corporation).

Bronx and Brooklyn locations...

BMHC Lab | 1303 Louis Niné Boulevard, Bronx NY

Featuring slide lecture presentation by Izzy “Mr. Salsa” Sanabria and DJ Turmix, Andujar and Bongohead playing classic Latin vinyl

ABOUT VISUAL CLAVE:
Visual Clave documents the little known evolution of ‘Salsa Graphics’ and the expression of Latino/a identities through the prism of album cover art over half a century of music packaging and graphic design.

This exhibit explores the evolution of Latin music album cover art over the last 50 years, paying critical attention to issues of identity and aesthetics through depictions of Hispanic people and cultures, with an emphasis on historical context and the unsung graphic artists who helped present Latin music — and its attendant socio-cultural themes — to the world. Visual Clave’s premise is that the record jacket is not just an ephemeral mass-produced object to be relegated to the trash heap of a bygone era, but rather a unique 12 by 12 inch window onto a culture’s soul.

GALLERY HOURS:
June 5 - August 15
Monday – Tuesday – Thursday: 4:00 – 7:00 PM;
Saturday: 1:00 – 5:00 PM

**One show, two locations! Don't forget to check out the rest of the show at its Brooklyn location:
VISUAL CLAVE: BROOKLYN
PICTURE FARM GALLERY
338 Wythe Ave., Brooklyn NY

Sounds cool!

No, missed it so far, but would like to go. Will ask around.

Samuel Torres has a great band playing tonight in my neighborhood.

Gonna be in the NYC area in August I think, so maybe I will check it out then

I'm still about as uninterested in most contemporary Cuban music as ever, but you might enjoy this cover by Pupy y Los Que Son Son, which has produced more of my favorite timba than any other act out of Cuba (for what that's worth):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=666bx2rLgg8

It still doesn't do much for me, but I enjoy some Pupy-isms in it.

I hate what they do with the downbeat though (which has been de rigueur in timba for 15 years or more). To me it just totally deforms the beauty of the clave rhythmic framework.

And now, youtube, I did not mean puppy candela. Does that really make any more sense than Pupy candela?

Thanks for that. I am a fan of Pupy. I enjoyed he and his band live, and also what I have heard via recordings and video. Sacrilege I know, but I can largely deal with their timba downbeat

Saw La India sing freestyle and salsa live sometime between 2004 and 2008, she is back in the area down at the Palace tonight in a Virginia suburb of DC. Tempted to go again.

I'd like to see Pupy live. Here's another throwback-ish song from Pupy, this year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffaUuxWbGYE

He's definitely done far more interesting things than either of those songs.

Fabiano Do Nascimento - Dança do Tempo http://open.spotify.com/album/6PWdY8VAio3JPra3NJ3qq2

Brazilian? Will check him out. Wonder if he was written about here;

Brazilian Music

I have been dancing to and having fun watching Peruvian Amazonian cumbia band Los Wembler's de Iquitos for free at the Smithsonian Folklife Fest. They are also playing Brooklyn July 9th. Their guitarist incorporates surf-rock licks in their sound and they helped inspire chicha music and have been linked to that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqV7m1n-1Zc

Like that sound, thanks for the rec, doubt I can make it.

Fruko y sus Tesos are playing my town next Saturday night, July 11. It's at a club I can walk to from my house, and tickets are only $20. I am sorely tempted.

This is a quick, mid-year reminder that all available tracks mentioned on this thread (and a handful of album selections from each listed) are being posted as updated to the thread-specific Spotify playlist. I just did a top-to-bottom sweep prior to posting this message and have updated as of today with everything that's been added on Spotify since it was first mentioned.

41 tracks from all over the map

ILX's Rolling Latin / Afro-Latin 2015 Thread Spotify Playlist

Although his voice is very weathered at this point, Jose Alberto can still sing. Would prefer a different (non- conjunto style) accompaniment, but I guess we can't be too choosy at this point:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfd3US84HmM

I haven't heard the entire album yet.

Saw Jose Alberto live a couple times many years back and he put on great shows both times. Will check that out

More salsa choque. This one has a guest spot by Nejo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6sPuZkLlHk

Not the best thing ever, but pretty much the only recent type of salsa that doesn't put me to sleep.

Not salsa, but same act as above:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLxokkBQFaE

Yes to ChocQuibtown. Below is an hour live performance video of Peruvian Amazonian cumbia and surf band Los Wembler's de Iquitos, whose final US gig (I think) on their current tour is tonight at Tropicalia in DC

http://www.kennedy-center.org/explorer/videos/?id=M6387&type=A

RIP Joan Sebastian, dead at 64 (bone cancer).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YicJ12EUZz8&list=PLhcFW8IkJSPLpJ8ziFTJ38ydsub5rc1AQ

Cuba's Los Van Van, led by the late founder's son are on a tour now. Have liked them live in the past:

07th WASHINGTON DC – Howard Theatre
08th NEW YORK CITY – Lehman Center
09th CHICAGO – Thalia Hall
13th LOS ANGELES – Conga Room
14th SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco Jazz Center
16th LAS VEGAS – Sam’s Town Hotel
19th ALBUQUERQUE – National Hispanic Cultural Center Plaza Mayor
20th DENVER – City Hall
21st NEW YORK CITY – BB King’s
22nd SAN JUAN, PR – Centro de Convenciones
28th ORLANDO – Majestic Convention center
29th MIAMI – James L Night Center

I was away and missed Los Van Van's gig near me.

Chico O"Farrill just was in Cuba again:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/22/arts/music/cuba-the-conversation-continues-and-live-in-cuba-expand-a-musical-dialogue.html?ribbon-ad-idx=24&rref=arts/music&module=Ribbon&version=origin®ion=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Music&pgtype=article

Surely you mean his son, Arturo.

Ha, of course.

Speaking of Cubans, the current version of Buena Vista Social Club is on tour and the Pedrito Martinez Group is opening.

Author Ned Sublette is doing tours of Cuba starting soon. Twice a year I think

This YouTube channel is pretty great. A lot of amazing album covers.

http://www.youtube.com/user/carlosgulfo/videos

http://www.billboard.com/charts/latin-songs

Put here to remind me to check out some pop

Will do the above shortly, as I was checking out a live review of ArcAngel and De la Ghetto, reggaetoners who still/used to make the charts.

But Saturday night I instead saw NYC based Cuban percussionist/singer Pedrito Martinez and his combo do a half-hour opening set for Buena Vista Social Club(4 oldtimers plus 9 newer folks of various ages) out at Wolf Trap Park. Very enjoyable all around.

The 2015 edition of Jerry Gonzalez & The Fort Apache Band is at the Blue Note in NYC this week. Brother Andy G is just there on certain nights. Tain Watts is drumming

I guess he still lives in Spain now. No US gigs anywhere else

Today on Burning Ambulance, I premiered a track from Banda de los Muertos, a group of Brooklyn jazz dudes who play Mexican banda, and do it straight up, no Tzadik-y "let's mix it with Cambodian surf rock!" BS. Check it out if you want.

Thanks. I am barely keeping up on another ilx contributor's blog that covers banda and more

http://nortenoblog.com/2015/09/02/who-played-it-better-ariel-camacho-or-these-dudes/

Wow, that Youtube old-school salsa channel with the album covers linked above is something...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/reunited-arcangel-and-de-la-ghetto-spice-up-reggaeton-but-sizzles-missing/2015/08/30/34a78170-4f33-11e5-b225-90edbd49f362_story.html

So that Brooklyn banda band mentioned upthread just got mentioned on NPR Morning Edition ( a focus on 3 albums their global music person likes--others were a Bollywood soundtrack and a Sekou Keita kora one). But has a Mexican banda band ever been mentioned at NPR I wonder?

Worked late so i did not see Pedrito Martinez group on their return to DC-- a free gig on the front plaza of the Kennedy Center near the special temporary skateboarding bowl that was set up there. Woo hoo, Afro-Cuban jazz and skaters. They have had multiple genre acts out there. There might be video of them up on the K. Ctr Mill. Stage website.

Wanna see and dance to Oscar D'Leon this weekend, but I have a conflict. He was great years ago when I saw him at a late night gig

Curious about bilingual Mexican pop-rapper Becky G, who is getting lots of attention these days

Plus Dafnis Prieto and band's new Latin-jazz effort Triangles and Circles

More than 20,000 recorded tracks by the likes of Irakere, Los Van Van, Bola de Nieve, Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo, among many others, will get new life thanks to a global licensing agreement struck Tuesday (Sept. 15) between Sony Music Entertainment and the Havana-based Egrem (Empresa de Grabaciones y Ediciones Musicales, or Enterprise of Recordings and Musical Editions in English).

With U.S. & Cuba Relations Thawing, Cuban Musicians Are Ready to Come to America

Egrem’s catalog, the most extensive catalog of Cuban music in the world, encompasses audio and audiovisual recordings produced since the 1960s.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6699585/sony-egrem-cuban-music-catalog-agreement

(Oops. Didn't edit that cut and paste properly.)

good enough to get the point across about all that music

http://www.billboard.com/photos/6686047/50-most-essential-latin-albums-past-50-years/6

There's probably another thread I should put this on

Never liked Mana

More from Billboard

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/latin/6693102/bogota-music-market-colombian-artists-you-need-to-know

Interesting list. I've heard 13 of those, and there are a few more I'd like to check out.

N#d S#bl%tte on Egram and Cuban music and the US

Cuban music was repressed in Miami through terrorism -- I remember one DJ who played Cuban music on a non-commercial station there checking his car in the morning for bombs -- through repudio (organized mob action), through blacklisting of performers who traveled to Cuba, and under an absolute ironclad boycott enforced by Miami broadcasters, who wouldn't even take payola to play it, and ultimately by advertisers. "I'll play it when there is a free Cuba," said one Miami program director to me on the phone when I brought him NG La Banda in 1992, in tones of moral righteousness that I have never otherwise heard in hit-driven radio, about any issue.

It had consequences. The greatest, most innovative Latin dance music of the 90s -- Los Van Van, NG La Banda, Adalberto y Su Son, Charanga Habanera, Paulito Y Su Elite, Manolito y Su Trabuco, and many more -- achieved musical immortality, and built fan bases in cities all around the world, but they didn't get the kind of commercial rewards they merited, as mainstream outlets pretended this music just didn't exist. The genre of timba was mediatically silenced while it was at its apogee in about 1992 though '97, contributing to the climate in which the Buena Vista Social Club movie could popularize an image of a Cuba bereft of contemporary culture, though nothing could have been further from the truth.

Cuban artists occasionally wound up as a low-priority release on one or another major label, typically acquired as part of a foreign catalog from a third country, but generally were not heard on major labels or on US radio or TV, for reasons that had nothing to with content. (Though there was also the fact that the artists were generally blacker than most of what's allowed on corporate Spanish-language TV, which seems to take place in some Spanish-speaking white universe.) There still seems to be a commercial radio boycott of Cuban music in the US, but now that people under 30 don't know what a radio is and have stopped buying records, it matters much less.

Oops,didn't c & P the section on Egrem (now spelled right) just the latter portion

It had consequences. The greatest, most innovative Latin dance music of the 90s -- Los Van Van, NG La Banda, Adalberto y Su Son, Charanga Habanera, Paulito Y Su Elite, Manolito y Su Trabuco, and many more

It may be the most innovative, but I still think these bands are all overrated (yes, including Van Van). I wish there had been no embargo so that I wouldn't have to hear timba boosters belly aching about how their music missed its chance to become wildly popular with Latin music fans in the U.S.

The only Palmieri on the 50 album list is the mediocre collaboration with Tito Puente?

Looks like a number of the salsa selections are collaborations. Too many glitzy glossy balladeers on that list for me, but other choices are of interest

This is a quick, third-quarter reminder that all available tracks mentioned on this thread (and/or an album selection from each listed) are being updated to the thread-specific Spotify playlist as posted. I just did another top-to-bottom sweep prior to posting this message and have revised as of today with everything that's been added since first mentioned. Subscribe if you're into it!

It's 62 tracks, over 4 hours long.

Rolling Latin / Afro-Latin 2015 Thread Spotify Playlist

So cool that you're doing this!

Dafnis Prieto and band's new Latin jazz effort Triangles and Circles

Finally listened...It's a decent jazz record.

Listening to LaFourcade again as she is on a North American tour. Album starts strong and despite a few weak cuts near the end, it satisfies in that guitar-pop manner she has long done. I guess as long she just sings in Spanish, she will never get much Pitchfork or other crossover love.

Here's what was said about her earlier this year here--

------------ ----------------

Natalia Lafourcade's new album Hasta La Raíz comes out today. I'm listening to it on Spotify and it's fucking great; will probably buy it from Amazon MP3 by day's end.

https://open.spotify.com/album/6DWTUm9rifRvl5PTyNMwqV

― the top man in the language department (誤訳侮辱), Tuesday, March 17, 2015 1:53 PM (6 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Cool. Like her too and will give it a listen. My only concern in advance is that she was a bit uneven live when I saw her perform last year.

― curmudgeon, Tuesday, March 17, 2015 1:58 PM (6 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It's a very produced record. Not in the sense that it sounds of-the-moment; it's got a classic '60s vibe (strings, heavily reverbed guitars, etc.), with very few concessions to the 21st Century.

― the top man in the language department (誤訳侮辱), Tuesday, March 17, 2015 2:06 PM (6 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Still need to get to that. On my list

― curmudgeon, Saturday, March 21, 2015 3:31 PM (6 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Finally gave Lafourcade a quick listen. I like it too, and like Venegas it has that timeless Latin-American indie-pop feel that they both can do so well. Trying to figure out why they do it more impresively than many folks singing in English---better craft, better melodies...

― curmudgeon, Thursday, March 26, 2015 2:17 PM (6 months ago) Bookmark

the Lafourcade album i getting some sort of re-release now.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/latin/6708068/natalia-lafourcade-latin-grammy-nominations-hasta-la-raiz-leonel-garcia

It’s been a huge week for Natalia Lafourcade -- and one in which she hasn’t slept much. But that’s quite all right, because the Mexican indie pop darling has been celebrating her five Latin Grammy nominations, including album of the year for Hasta La Raíz and song and record of the year for its title song.

It was a rather unexpected triumph, since Lafourcade hasn’t had a presence on the Billboard charts in years, but it’s also a reaffirmation that great music from quieter artists is still being recognized in a major way.

The magic is in Lafourcade’s collaboration with fellow Mexican singer-songwriter (and former Sin Bandera member) Leonel García, who scored the most nominations (six) this year -- three of them for Lafourcade’s “Hasta La Raíz,” which they co-wrote. The two had worked together on several past projects, including García’s Todas Mías album in 2013 and her own tribute album to the late Mexican icon Agustín Lara Mujer Divina in 2012.

Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club® has been invited to perform at The White House this Thursday, October 15, in celebration of Hispanic Heritage month, where a delegation of about 500 dignitaries and politicians from around the world will be hosted by President Barack Obama.

All the press release news you need to know...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESri9bP7qcI

Winstar?! My first thought was: get out of here! But I guess it's from the name of a famous car.

I heard a bunch of new "tropical" music in my room while I was out of town, on a Music Choice channel (odd operation), so I still need to sort through some of that, but I notice there is an awful lot of new reggaeton that sounds like a weaker version of Jowell & Randy from a few years back. Meanwhile, an entire pop bachata industry should be giving thanks every day to Aventura. I am ready for it to go away. And everyone is wearing leather jackets. I am hoping the younger Dominicans in NYC will come up with something new and exciting. (Maybe they already have, and I probably simply haven't heard it.)

I'm not sure I have ever been right when I've said about some pop music trend: this can't last.

Like some of what I heard by Jory Boy. Haven't listened to the album yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz3obZL2IGo&list=PLOKZoLC5WhHcgnmOkouuBF3Sx6hbrUVyQ

(Jury is still out.)

It may be that I was just hard up for music.

OK, this is one I heard and specifically like, now that I've listened to a bit of it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pbv6G6V2hfM

but I notice there is an awful lot of new reggaeton that sounds like a weaker version of Jowell & Randy from a few years back. Meanwhile, an entire pop bachata industry should be giving thanks every day to Aventura

Yep, can't really add to this, but that's my take on this as well

http://latinjazznet.com/2015/06/12/reviews/cds/tropical-report/ruben-blades-new-album-son-de-panama/

with Roberto Delgado's band

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/latin/6678596/ruben-blades-salsa-alter-ego-fear-the-walking-dead

I haven't listened to this yet...Blades is keeping busy

Not seeing Blades album on Spotify. Spotify search engine can be weird. Will check again later and elsewhere

New Grupo Niche album. Have not heard it yet, but I think they are still a force to be reckoned with.

http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/25820.10?NrgkSHwE;;397

OK. On closer inspection it seems to be remakes, or mostly remakes at the very least, but that's not necessarily all bad. They've done worthwhile remakes of their own material in the past. I'm surprised to find there are still good Niche songs that I either haven't heard or don't recognize. Haven't looked on Spotify yet, but there it is for now on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYo6c9kMpvM

I am not too interested in Blades at this point, but I might give a listen at some point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHosLW2NlYg

For the Spotify playlist, I am requesting that you stick to the more driving tracks. I don't generally like when Niche veers toward the salsa romantica end of things. Of course, this is just a request. You can do what you want. I think some of those more salsa romantica songs are actually more popular in Colombia than a lot of my favorites.

But anyway, other highlights (besides El Coco) for me would be: Mi Negrita y la Calentura, Primer Mensaje, and Primero y Que. Maybe a couple at the end too, but I need to listen more.

Also, you are very fast! I was shocked to see tracks from the album there already.

I'd like Spanish fries with that too.

There was some discussion over at salsaforums about how timba sounding or not this track is. At any rate, it does pull together a slightly novel blend of elements:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9kNd8EVMv8

Here's Oscar D'Leon and here's El Mola was on Bannakumbi's debut.

(I was adding a "who" but somehow clicked on send. Must have been some delayed scrolling.)

"As one of today’s most unique and prepared artists and musicians, Jorge Villamizar is a household name across the Americas and the Caribbean." (Wikipedia)

(El Mola is not really one of my favorite parts of that Bannakumbi album, but anyway. . .)

I was thinking that right now there are three political/social and/or economic trends that could lead to new developments in musica antillana:

• The US opening to Cuba, allowing more communication and collaboration to and from Cuba.
• The influx of Dominicans into NYC. This is already breeding a number of minor bachata stars. Maybe something more interesting will come of it. (One can hope.)
• The economic deterioration of Puerto Rico, which is likely to lead to more Puerto Ricans moving to mainland United States. I am not happy the Puerto Rican economy is in such dire straits, I am just pointing out that it could lead to some sort of new developments musically, especially if large numbers of Puerto Ricans relocate to the US.

I am not going to make any specific predictions (I'm sure they'd be wrong), but I think we could see some clearly new developments ten years from now.

(Sorry, I think the Bannakumbi album I am talking about what not actually their debut.)

my first First Listen listen to Grupo Fantasma's Problemas(Oct. 30) immediately had me walking into the club, eyes all over the place behind my shades; eyes all over the joint all over me too, with searching horns, especially: nuanced but never navelgazing, reaching and pushing, rough-edged and thoughtful and alert. Haven't gotten equally into all tracks, but several things are remarkable (intriguing fade of penultimate, which I'd love to hear further explored live; casually complex flair of finale, for two). The bolero version of Los Beatles' "Because" ("Porque") will get them played and maybe interviewed on World Cafe etc., but they go way past that all the time. Listening on sub-sub-audiophile headphones and distractable work computer, but pretty sure it's pretty good:
http://www.npr.org/2015/10/21/449220567/first-listen-grupo-fantasma-problemas

Even better so far (think I mentioned this before, but hey)
http://www.stereogum.com/1804712/stream-malportado-kids-total-cultura/mp3s/

That's the side-project band from punksters the Downtown Boys. I like 'em better than the Downtown Boys.

Ruben Blades with Roberto Delgado "Son de Panama" album is on Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCCNx07drdQ

I think some folks including me talked about that Malportado Kids release back in May; but on the Downtown Boys thread

•The influx of Dominicans into NYC. This is already breeding a number of minor bachata stars. Maybe something more interesting will come of it. (One can hope.)

Bachata has become so successful as it features young heartthrobs singing sappy songs that appeal to Latin radio & tv; fans of all ages from everywhere who like melodic songs (its kind of the successor to salsa romantica) and it has just enough rhythm and edge to appeal to others.

But yea, hopefully there will be something more. Some of the Cubans and Puerto Ricans in NYC who seek to do something "different", end up just playing formulaic (to some of us) Latin Jazz

xpost Yeah, I agree re preferring Malportado Kids to Downtown Boys---for one thing, the lead singer seems more confident/less brash-to-strained in the former---do I mean "less punk"? No. And the DBs certainly have their moments.

OT: Since Ned Sublette gets a lot of mention here, three may be interest in his impressive looking new book:

http://www.amazon.com/American-Slave-Coast-Slave-Breeding-Industry/dp/1613748205/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1446145695&sr=1-1

Ned and his co-writer, wife Constance, are doing some bookstore and university appearances for this effort

Ned's such a great writer and thinker - will definitely have to check that out.

Amen. He also produced some amazing shows for Afropop Worldwide, and, while not as relevant to this thread as some other tracks (some of his other solo guitar excursions) on his wonderful Kiss Me Down South, the following, though also relatively laidback, is pretty cool ( with other Ned on this page, suce as "Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other, " later covered by Willie Nelson for Brokeback Mountain)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0Q7JjcsF_A

I still need to check out Cowboy Rhumba.

His current book apparently covers how the Confederate South wanted to take over Cuba.

Unrelated-- As a Grupo Niche fan myself, I need to check out that latest one, and some other stuff Rudy posted. Plus that Grupo Fantasma Texas group Dow mentioned (and that others have discussed here over the years)

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/01/theater/sergio-trujillo-realizes-his-dream-of-salsa-on-broadway.html?_r=0

This Colombian 52 year-old choreographer is handling the choreography for the upcoming On Your Feet!,” a musical take on Gloria and Emilio Estefan’s rise to fame,

His Broadway résumé covers a wide stylistic swath of shows, but Mr. Trujillo says that he doesn’t have a choreographic trademark, other than a focus on fitting dance seamlessly into the world of a show — whether that means the hyper-synchronized moves of “Jersey Boys,” the electric ’50s jive of “Memphis” or the truck-centric numbers in “Hands on a Hardbody.”

“Jersey Boys” and “Memphis” won Tony Awards for best musical, but Mr. Trujillo has never been nominated for his work, and his next scheduled assignment is off Broadway. Still, he seems at peace with the ups and downs of show business and relishes the challenge of making the right dance for a show’s needs. “In all of my work,” he said, “I want to create a vocabulary that expresses that particular piece.”

For “On Your Feet!,” that vocabulary happened to already be embedded within Mr. Trujillo, who began dancing salsa as a boy.

More than any show Mr. Trujillo has worked on, “On Your Feet!” throbs with movement. The rapid-fire salsa steps that anchor musical numbers and seamlessly link scenes match the brassy energy of Ms. Estefan’s hit songs. The intimacy of salsa partnering likewise reflects the warmth of the Estefans’ Cuban culture and the easy intimacy they share as a couple

New Joe Bataan track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1Lf8mET7Qk

And here's some live footage from July:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZmbeiMIHqw

I liked Bataan live when I saw him a few years back. He's still entertaining.

New school Puerto Rican reggaeton (Farruko) and new school Colombian reggaeton (J. Balvin) are both big...Here's a Farruko interview excerpt

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/latin/6752869/farruko-visionary-reggaeton-no-1-interview

There’s a new tendency of reggaeton coming from Colombia, which is what Maluma, Nicky and Balvin are doing. I’ve stayed more within classic reggaeton but I fuse it with other styles. People like the Colombian movement, but I’ve stayed around here. I’m more Caribbean, more reggae, and I like to fuse more with electronic music. I’m taking another path.

http://www.hopesandfears.com/hopes/culture/design/216801-designers-latin-club-night-posters

The Chucho Valdes & his (young) Afro-Cuban Messengers show I saw tonight was not advertised on a poster, but I did see an ad for it on a DC Latin concert list website. Nice gig. More jazz than straight-up Cuban dance, but there were a couple of rhythmic songs, plus some Afro-Cuban chants and plenty of percussion(a percussionist with various hand-held instruments; a conga player and a trap drummer). Great 5 man horn section too(2 saxes, 2 trumpets and a flugelhorn)

saw Portuguese / Cape Verdean singer songwriter Sara Tavares tonight; beautiful singer and guitarist and just utterly charming. Great show, especially the moments that veered towards zouk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFS6TfuoATo

Haven't listened to Tavares in a long time, but yep, her more rhythmic songs are better than her singer/songwriter folky ones as I recall

Latin Grammys are on Univision right now. No salsa so far. I missed some of it, but have seen Banda el Recodo and pop and pop-rock people. Julieta Venegas presented an award. Tego Calderon won an award.

Who should win album of the year at Latin Grammys?
Hasta La Raíz, Natalia Lafourcade
Creo En Mí, Natalia Jiménez
Todo Tiene Su Hora, Juan Luis Guerra 4.40
Sirope, Alejandro Sanz
Caja De Música, Monsieur Periné
Orígenes: El Bolero Volumen 3, Café Quijano
Consentido, María Toledo
MTV Unplugged, Pepe Aguilar
Son de Panamá, Rubén Blades con Roberto Delgado & Orquesta
Amo, Miguel Bosé

At the end of the Los Tigres del Norte song a banner was held up onstage that said in Spanish "don't vote for racists"

Natalia Lafourcade won I think 3 awards, and did a nice performance too.

She did "Hasta la Raiz" which won song of the year. Nice pop

http://www.billboard.com/articles/events/latin-awards/6770030/latin-grammys-2015-winners-list

Some other winners

BEST SALSA ALBUM
Son De Panamá - Rubén Blades Con Roberto Delgado & Orquesta -- WINNER
Jukebox Primera Edición - Luis Enrique
Que Suenen Los Tambores - Víctor Manuelle
Son 45 - Ismael Miranda
Estaciones - Rey Ruiz

BEST CUMBIA/VALLENATO ALBUM
Por Siempre - Américo
Sencillamente - Jorge Celedón & Gustavo García -- WINNER
Sigo Invicto - Silvestre Dangond & Lucas Dangond
Al Son De Mi Corazón - Gusi
El Camino De Mi Existencia - Ivan Villazón y Saúl Lallemand

BEST CONTEMPORARY TROPICAL ALBUM
Buen Camino - Lucas Arnau
Lloviendo Estrellas - Leslie Grace
Presente Continuo - Guaco
Todo Tiene Su Hora - Juan Luis Guerra 4.40 -- WINNER
Johnny Sky - Johnny Sky

BEST TRADITIONAL TROPICAL ALBUM
#SiguedeModa - Checo Acosta
Tributo A Los Compadres No Quiero Llanto - José Alberto "El Canario" & Septeto Santiaguero -- WINNER
Homenaje A Tito Rodríguez - Rafael "Pollo" Brito
El Alma Del Son – Tributo A Matamoros - Alain Pérez
Locos Por El Son - Sonlokos

BEST TROPICAL FUSION ALBUM
Radio Universo - Chino y Nacho
El Mismo - ChocQuibTown -- WINNER
Esa Morena - Daiquiri
The King Is Back - Juan Magan
El Día Que Vuelva - Jorge Villamizar

BEST TROPICAL SONG
"Agua Bendita" - Andrés Castro & Víctor Manuelle, songwriters (Víctor Manuelle)
"Cómo Duele El Silencio" - Edgar Barrera, Efraín Dávila, Guianko Gómez & Leslie Grace, songwriters (Leslie Grace)
"Tú Tienes Razón (Bachata)" - Gusi, songwriter (Gusi)
"Tus Besos" - Juan Luis Guerra, songwriter (Juan Luis Guerra 4.40) -- WINNER
"Ya Comenzó" - Alex Cuba, Luis Enrique & Fernando Osorio, songwriters (Luis Enrique)

ChocQuibTown are great; nice to see them win.
I fucking hate Juan Luis Guerra.

ChocQuibTown performed too.

I think you and Rudiph and maybe others hate Juan Luis Guerra and I forget why? I saw him live once and was entertained by his merengue and more rhythms. Is it because he became a born-again Christian? My Spanish is so poor that I have no idea if that is what he is singing about. Curious to hear your reasons. Although I might decided to just show up on metal and free jazz threads and announce my hatred for such musicians.

I had no idea he was a Christian. I hate him because I don't like the sound of his voice, and I find his music to be very NPR/"world-music-is-good-for-you," over and above my well-documented loathing for merengue and bachata in general.

Ok....His audience remains Spanish speakers only btw, I don't see any evidence he has reached NPR types for what its worth.

The voice that grated on me was that of the singer of Bomba Estereo. Her group was doing a special performance with guest Will Smith.

See, her (and them) I like. Not the song with Will Smith, though. I like this one (their first, or at least breakthrough, single):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZXlgNMDK3E

Here's what Ned Subl*tte likes:

Applause for José Alberto "El Canario" (New York) and Septeto Santiaguero (Cuba), whose Tributo a Los Compadres: No Quiero Llanto won and very much deserved the Latin Grammy for traditional tropical. It's a knockout. A fabulous production, a distinguished repertoire, a shining example of international collaboration with Cuba, the best new son record I've heard in years, a very specific statement of a particular musical connection between Cuba and the Dominican Republic, and somehow, as traditional as the style is, it's a contemporary moment. Good for dancing, too. OMG, with Oscar d'León. Ismael Miranda. Andy Montañez. Tiburón Morales. The Conga de Los Hoyos, no less. Eliades Ochoa. Lots more. Pure joy. It's on Spotify, if you have that.

Listening to the above one now...So good so far

As we move to the end of the year, I'd like to drop a quick note to encourage any readers / lurkers / ilxors to post their favorite spanish language tracks from this year to the thread so that I can hoover them into the ongoing spotify playlist. Last chance for any accessible stragglers that may not already be in the lexicon.

Thanks.

I need to listen to that El Canario and Santiaguero one again.

Not my thing. I didn't get through it once.

Cuban folkloric

I prefer the Jose Alberto of Tipica 73's "Baila Que Baila" or RMMish stuff like "A la hora que me llamen voy" or "Quiero Salsa" (which might be SONY but still RMMIsh).

Not that anyone who has gone salsa dancing a little in the last 15 years hasn't heard "Quiero Salsa" a billion times already, but I am afraid I am still a sucker for it.

new Meridian Brothers record:

https://www.ableton.com/en/blog/sounds-in-context-meridian-brothers/

It's a project dedicated to the organ. I was inspired by the ambient Hammond organists in Latin America, a style that developed in parallel to easy listening music genres in 60’s & 70’s. Organists from Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panamá and Brazil developed a remarkable style performing with backing bands that played traditional instruments, with the organ as the central instrument – in some cases achieving really beautiful results. A sub-genre of organ cumbia was created also. This music is still played at some of the "sonideros" parties in Mexico and is very popular in Ecuador.

Starting from some of these records, I decided to investigate this style, using the timbre of the organ, but developing the style further and turning it into a kind of "impossible organ" music – a kind of un-easy listening. I used the same background instrumentation as was used in some of the tunes I was inspired by: double bass pizzicato, jazz-like drums and the organ (using software and hardware synthesizers). Occasionally, I also used drum machines and other electronic sounds. Because it's very difficult to play it on the organ alone, I used the sequencing capabilities of Ableton Live and Max for Live in order to achieve this "impossible" sound I wanted.

xps

amanecer is prob my AOY, every track on that one is a TUNE

so far only seen it on the RS year-end, at #50

Alright, maybe I will give Bomba Estereo another shot...

Aventura, with Romeo Santos, to reunite for NYC shows in February. These tickets are gonna go fast.

Oh yeah.

http://www.npr.org/2015/12/01/457388574/latitudes-our-favorite-global-music-right-now

NPR's global and classical person went to Cuba...She saw the funky Havana musical collective Interactivo and talks about them and others including Ibeyi . Plus she went to the Egram label studio and offices

That Meridian Brothers records is str8 fire, TYVM crüt. Pairs up nicely with the Rionegro debut's vibe.

I like some Meridian Brothers tracks (using cumbia and champeta rhythms), but not others. Was not a fan of Salvadora Robot album cuts that relied too much on animal sounds, Zappa-esque humor, and lounge keyboard grooves influenced by Esquivel.

Ned Subll*te's been emailing about Puerto Rico's financial issues. He posted a forthcoming American Prospect website article--

Puerto Rico’s citizens have moved out. “More people have left Puerto Rico over last two years than all of the 1980s and 1990s,” says LeCompte of Jubilee USA. Austerity measures hurt the poor much more than the nouveau riche. And this suffering creates a vicious cycle: Puerto Rican out-migration erodes the tax base and causes a severe talent drain, increasing desperation. “A doctor a day has left the island,” says Torres-Ríos. “I was at an emergency room, someone said ‘I’ve been waiting 13 hours.’ There’s no staff to handle it.”

NPR's poll of 147 jazz critics also asks them if they so choose, to do a separate list of Latin jazz albums. This year's results

LATIN

1. Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Cuba: The Conversation Continues (Motema). 41 votes

2. Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet, 10 (Zoho). 7

3. Dafnis Prieto Sextet, Triangles and Circles (Dafnison Music). 5

4. Samuel Torres Group, Forced Displacement (Zoho). 4

I vote in that poll, but I admit I didn't vote for a Latin jazz title. Didn't hear enough to offer an honest choice.

I listened to a bit of the O'Farrill and the Prieto releases listed, and was not wowed by either. They're ok

From J Shep's contribution to the Slate critics roundtable on the year in music 2015

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/the_music_club/features/2015/music_club_2015/kendrick_lamar_s_to_pimp_a_butterfly_captured_2015_better_than_any_other.html

Major Lazer’s reverse-crossover from the mainstream into the Latin charts was one of the year’s most interesting developments, precisely because it remains so difficult for Spanish-language artists to break into the American mainstream. Balvin was ubiquitous this year on the Latin charts, but outside of Latin publications we heard barely a peep about Dale, Pitbull’s latest Spanish-language album and arguably one of his best, or of Natalia Lafourcade’s typically gorgeous Hasta la Raíz, whose title track won not only Song of the Year but Record of the Year at the Latin Grammys.

I'm wrapping this playlist for the year. It has been updated with a few new adds (Arturo O'Farrill, Grupo Fantasma, CocoBlue, Ivy Queen) and includes every track mentioned on thread that is available via Spotify's US catalogue as of EOY 2015. If I missed something or if a track comes available sometime in the future, bump here to let me know and I'll add.

Rolling Latin and Afro-Latin 2015 Thread Spotify Playlist

Cool, thanks

Forks, we are just gonna keep using this thread I think, because there are not usually enough postings. But you can go ahead and just change the year for a new Spotify playlist if you have the time. I appreciate your efforts on this...

Meanwhile, just saw this review in the Washington Post of the 2016 DC appearance of band Chicano Batman

My question--
Is multi-culti Los Angeles band Chicano Batman really better than mainstream Latin pop, or just different from it?

The band members, whose families hail from different parts of Latin America, have been playing together since 2008. It’s no surprise that a parade of multicultural rhythms filled their childhood homes. They’ve said in interviews that there was some Carlos Santana, some Cream, some pop-rock ballads from Los Angeles Negros. Chicano Batman’s namesake debut, as well as its most recent album, “Cycles of Existential Rhyme,” draws from all of these influences and pick up where their parents’ generation left off.

Onstage, these guys are as weird and idiosyncratic as their songs (in a good way). Martinez is a tangle of hair and energy as he alternates between flopping over his keyboard and bending over his guitar. The band members are rock stars when it comes to jamming out on groovier songs, but they keep it cool and relaxed for tracks such as the mopey, ­cantina-style “Itotiani.”

At one point, Martinez took a step back and gave the mic to bassist Eduardo Arenas, who provided lead vocals on “La Manzanita.” The song is everything good about cumbia: bouncy, buoyant and a little rickety.

Add the magical touch of Chicano Batman’s whining guitars, and it elicits the feeling you get when you spin around on the dance floor until the figures around you blur. With a sound like that, it could very well be that these four unassuming heroes can save the world from the monotony of mainstream Latin pop.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/chicano-batman-wins-over-crowds-with-unique-psychedelic-sound/2016/01/03/505f514e-b23f-11e5-8abc-d09392edc612_story.html

ILM's Rolling Latin & Afro-Latin Thread 2016 Spotify Playlist
^ will start updating around February

Someone needs to start new thread.

RIP Chocolate

One last thing: there was I guess a huge reggaeton song by Nicky Jam called "El Perdon" which was kind of a huge earworm for me despite my unfamiliarity with the genre. I'm really pussed at myself for nominating for the EOY thread, but I just learned the names of the song and the singer within the last 24 hours

Can I wish for more reggaeton itt? Trying to navigate the genre as something of a noob is quite hard.

Someone needs to start new thread.

RIP Chocolate

― Green Dolphin Street Hassle (James Redd and the Blecchs),

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/latin/6835403/chocolate-armenteros-dies-trumpet

RIP

As for a new thread, my inclination was to just go with Rudy's suggestion that we just keep using this thread because there are not enough people here into Afro-Latin musics to justify doing new ones every year. But if a number of people choose to differ and outvote us, I guess we can.

As for reggaeton, some of us here were more into it years ago and then got bored with it. But now post-bachata it is back, with some slight changes-- more auto-tuned vocals, some bachata sappiness at times, plenty of Euro and Diplo club influences. Anyone who is into it, is of course free to chime in...

Can we keep the thread but modify the title slightly to "2015+" or something?

Sure, how do we get a mod to do that...?

Go to Mod Request Borad and ask, including link to this thread.

If it's causing confusion maybe there should be a distinct 2016 thread. (Sorry, starting to change my mind about that.) I personally don't feel like I am interested enough in current Afro-Latin music (at least the part of it I find out about) to try to keep a thread like this alive any more, but this thread did get a fair number of posts last year.

I haven't watched this, but Wayne Marshall seems good for reggaeton orientation. Maybe more academic than you're asking for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLOXfSQ5Zao

But anyway, 240+ posts might be respectable enough to keep doing this as an annual thing.

IMHO, for the purposes of searching for information, unique threads is really the way to go. It's not a question of "not enough posts", it's for indexing reasons.

But whatever's clever

Chocolate was responsible for many great trumpet solos.

Thanks, _Rudipherous_! I definitely need something academic, but I also v much need some help sifting through the heap of wearying dross to find the nuggets of gold.

I'm also in favour of a new thread btw.

Mi gente: Vamanos pal hilo Rolling Afro-Latin Music 2016: Salsa, Bomba, Merengue,Reggaeton, Bachata, Latin-Jazz and more

Nice!