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Posts Tagged ‘cuban music’

Miercoles Morning Musica : Pedro Luis Ferrer — Quién me toca un son

7:40 am By Maegan La Mala · Cuba|Music · Comments Off

30 Mar 2011

Shifting mix is Ferrer’s specialty. Ferrer, once a major figure in Cuba’s nueva trova of the 1960s, has created his own distinctive and dynamic palette of Cuban sounds, which he has dubbed changüisa, a feminine word playing on changüí and a pithy challenge to Latin musical machismo. It became a vehicle to engage tradition without slavishly following what Ferrer dismisses as “the old formula” in Cuban music.

“Changüisa is always changing,” Ferrer explains. “The concept of changüisa presupposes transformation. I created the term to describe the free intention to tackle tradition, the transformative intention. It assumes both closeness to the changui and to creativity, a concept that both unites and reconstructs traditions.”

Perfect meditation con this morning’s cafecito.

Miercoles Morning Musica : Septeto Nacional

6:16 am By Maegan La Mala · Cuba|Music · Comments Off

25 Aug 2010

Aqui in Nueva York, the cool rainy weather is making fall feel too close for Mala’s comfort. Thankfully there is Septeto Nacional’s ¡Sin Rumba no hay Son!, which you can listen to this week only by clicking on the link. The Cuban son group bring my mind and body to Caribbean playas and my soul thanking Oshun/la Caridad del Cobre (as they do in one of their tracks).

You can buy the album, released on World Village’s label, on September 14th and if you are in the NYC area you can catch the septet later this week, August 28, at NYC’s Hostos Center for the Arts, where they launch their tour. El Septeto has several dates at Yoshi’s San Francisco and the Monterey Jazz Festival before heading north to Canada in October and November. They’re back in the states in a big way in March/April 2011 with a string of dates culminating with a concert at Carnegie Hall on April 16th.

Martes Morning Musica : Omara Portuondo Gracias

7:29 am By Maegan La Mala · Cuba|Music|Women · 1 Comment

9 Dec 2008

Today the latest album of legendary Cubana Omara Portuondo is released and it is aptly titled Gracias. The album is a thank you for Portuondo’s 60 year career as a musical artist. Drawing influences and including collaborations from Africa, Uruguay, and Brazil, Gracias is a work of collective inspiration.

The title track from the album, “Gracias”, which was composed especially with Omara in mind, begins with a clear taste of Brazil, one of the Cuban singer’s favourite music styles and a manifest influence in Uruguayan singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler’s productions. Omara is an admirer of the singer-songwriter’s work and has long wanted to sing one of his tunes. Omara’s ability to transform an apparent farewell message into a call of hope re- emerges in “Lo que me queda por vivir”. However, despite the song’s title – the life I have left – one only needs to listen to the first line of the song: “the life I have left will be spent smiling”, to realise that there is no place for sadness in this tune.

Guest artists on the cd included Chucho Valdés, Brazilian maestro Chico Buarque and African artist Richard Bona, as well as previous collaborators pianist Roberto Fonseca, guitarist Swami Jr, and percussionist Andrés Coayo.

It’s Never too Early to Plan for the Weekend : 3 De La Habana First-ever Live NYC Performance at S.O.B’s

10:46 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Music|New York City · Comments Off

31 Mar 2008

What better way to start your Monday than by thinking about Friday. This coming Friday, April 4th, S.O.B.’s presents 3 de la Habana in their first-ever live NYC performance. Having just received political asylum in the U.S. in late 2007, this is the innovative trio’s first ever appearance in NYC and only their third U.S. performance, although the band has made numerous acclaimed appearances throughout Europe, Mexico and Latin America. 3 de la Habana play a mix of their own compositions and outside material in an eclectic fusion of traditional and edgy rhythms that range from traditional timba to alternative to reggaeton. Check them out for yourself after the jump.

Albita : Tonight in NYC

8:52 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Cuba|Music|New York City · 1 Comment

31 Jan 2008

After taking two years off, the Cubana songstress, Albita, performs tonight at the legendary SOB’s in NYC. Albita has recorded eight albums, seven have received Grammy nominations. Finally after she created her own record label “Angel Dawn Records” she won two Grammys for “Best Contemporary Tropical Record of the Year”.

If you’re in the NYC area, she is really not to be missed. I’ve seen her perform and she really shines in these smaller venues!

Ticket Info:$22 Advance/$25 Day of Show; available at ticketmaster and S.O.B.s Box Office: 212-243-4940

Image via / Metroactive Music

Raices : Celia Cruz

11:34 am By Maegan La Mala · Cuba|Features|Music|Women · 1 Comment

17 Mar 2006

Reggaeton may be all the rage but VL recognizes that as Latin music develops and new genres unfold, there are undeniable roots to Latin music that need to be respected and revisted. With that in mind, VL presents Raices, a look at classic artistas of la musica Latina.

With recent word that her husband, Don Pedro Knight, is in grave health, today we look at la reina de la salsa, Celia Cruz.

Celia was born Ursula Hilaria Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso on October 21, 1925 in the Santo Suarez barrio of Havana, Cuba to parents Catalina Alfonso and Simon Cruz.

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