Live Rumba Tonight at Rumba 54

Tambor Vivo will play a special Mambo Dinamico holiday party, 6-9 pm Sunday (12/21) at Rumba 54 (formerly Montas Lounge). Children are welcome, and guests are asked to RSVP and check the evite for what they might bring to this potluck-style event.

Lately, Betto Herrera (director of Mambo Dinamico) has been a regular at the newly installed Cuban nights at Mosaic Lounge, where he may be heard singing rumba guaguanco at the mic with Tambor Vivo.

Tonight's holiday party will feature live percussion and dance lessons in this folkloric Cuban dance style, as well as Dominican bachata, at 6pm.

For details, please see the website.

Man With A Horn

And now, it's time to pay tribute to one of our local musicians on the eve (literally) of his departure for greener pastures. Jay Kaufman has been a professor of epidemiology at the UNC School of Public Health, but many of you know him better as trumpeter in many local jazz and Latin bands during the past decade. Jay is moving to Montreal to take up an endowed chair in Population Health at McGill University.



Jay says he's looking forward to having greater flexibility in his academic research, and to splitting his time between Montreal and Santiago, Chile, where he also holds a teaching post at La Universidad de Chile. (Nice work if you can get it!)

"Eventually, I'll try to time it so I am down in the southern hemisphere for the Canadian winter, which would mean perpetual summer. But I don't quite have that worked out yet!" says Jay.

"Of course I'll continue playing music," he adds. Helping Jay to forge some Montreal connections is Ramon Ortiz, his bandmate in Orquesta GarDel. Ramon moved here 2 years ago from Montreal, where he was very active in the salsa and merengue scenes. Thanks to Ramon, Jay will arrive there with a long list of contacts in hand.


Some background on Jay: He moved to the Triangle in 1999 from Charlotte, and before that has lived in Chicago, Ann Arbor, Nigeria, Baltimore and Puerto Rico.

On the jazz side, his resumé includes John Brown, the Raleigh Jazz Orchestra, Kevin Van Sant, Ben Palmer and Russell Lacy.

On the Latin side, you know him from Charanga Carolina, Samecumba, Orquesta GarDel, West End Mambo, and Sajaso.

"I'll really miss all these great musicians in this area, and especially their really positive attitude and sense of camaraderie," Jay says.

Jay Kaufman, many blessings in your transition, we wish you all the best! Thanks for all the music.

Cubanismo @ Mosaic Tonight (12/18)

Mosaic has decided to make the unofficial rumba night "official" - they are calling it Cubanismo, one Thursday a month, featuring Cuban rumba and other drum rhythms by Tambor Vivo "featuring Robert Cantrell".

So, tonight is your night, people!

Live sets are 10:30 and 11:30, DJ'ed salsa etc. in between. Cuba freaks, expect your people to be here, all the rumba guaguanco classes from Paso, and other folks crazy for rhythm.

Quoth Eduardito, in Paso's newsletter:

"Though Mosaic is quite refined in its presentation, I can still taste the dirt of Cuba within the sounds of Tambor Vivo."

A Morroccan wine cellar with blues trains rolling by on Jones St., Mosaic is bohemian with worn, stone floors, low light and comfy enclaves. It does feel like a solar when the Cuban dancers get going. Their staff is exceptional, polite and welcoming.

Oh, and it's FREE, there's NO COVER. So rumba on down.

Mosaic Wine Lounge, 517 W. Jones St (near Glenwood corner), Raleigh. See calendar!

'Black & White' Photos

I was glad to see so many people having a good time at George's Garage last Saturday. The dance floor was packed with mambo dancers busting moves.




Orquesta GarDel played, and have added another Eddie Palmieri chart to their book. "Nunca Contigo" from the Sun of Latin Music. They still play "Nada de Ti," and ended the night with "Adoración." Ray Barretto's "Al ver sus campos" still plays nicely.

The sound wasn't as pleasingly balanced as the August show, when GarDel pianist Eric Hirsh brought his own mixer and Latin musician Jerry Leon was the soundman. I am not a technician so I don't want to harsh on anybody's efforts this time around. The difficulties in mixing and amplifying salsa bands are well known. But for the record, I thought the NC Salsa Fest in August had some of the best sound I've heard at a Latin show in NC.

Nataki and I were discussing future repertoire we'd like to hear from GarDel, and Nataki suggested that songs by one of her favorite soneros, Victor Manuelle, might really suit the timbre of Nelson Delgado's voice. I can hear it.

Another direction to go, and my suggestion, would be to reach beyond the well-known albums of well-known artists, and begin to find some more out-of-the-way artists and gems to cover. This is not only a process of self-discovery, but conveys different messages to the savvy audience and casual listener alike. Now that you've established that you can do the Fania thing, I want to know, what else can you do? The Eddie Palmieri Monster Groove is seductive and undeniable, but be mindful of the fact that every salsa band from here to eternity wants to sound like Eddie Palmieri. There comes a time when one should set oneself apart from every other salsa band, and continue to calibrate your sound via your repertoire.



The Cobo Brothers Dance Company did a short mambo performance in between sets. The Cobo's student team led, followed by a few out of town guests. The Cobo's semi-pro team, 3 synchronized pairs, were looking really good, in my non-pro opinion, to cap off the show. (No pictures, sorry, it was hard to get a clear shot through the huddled crowd of onlookers. If anyone out there has good ones we can post, I will be happy to give you photographer credit and appropriate links.)




All photos courtesy of Nataki Kambon - you can see many more by joining her Salsa, Merengue and Bachata Meetup.

Party Fight: GarDel VS. Sajaso

The battle of the bands is on tonight, Saturday (12/13), with two live salsa groups competing for your inner clave:

Sajaso lists a Carmen's gig tonight on their myspace.

Carmen's PR has been a little lax on this. Their web calendar says "Puerto Rican Night," but management confirmed today by phone that a live "salsa band" is booked.

On the other foot, Orquesta GarDel is presumably ready for the big Cobo Brothers "Black and White" Latin soiree at George's Garage.

The policy seems to have shifted a bit on ticket prices for the GarDel event. In my inbox this morning, the Cobo Brothers have announced that they have extended the deadline to get discounted online tickets for $15 until 6 pm TONIGHT ("no exceptions").

However, only the first 25 people dressed in "all black and/or white" will get in for $15 at the door. After that, it looks like the door price is going to be $20 for everybody.

The Black and White party at George's will start at 11, and will go an hour later than usual, until 3 am. GarDel plays two sets. In between, the Cobo Brothers Dance Company and guests will put on a mambo show. If this equals the style and atmosphere of the GarDel performance there in August as part of the NC Salsa Festival, it will be a night to remember.

Rock & Shop - This Saturday

12.12.08

Some photos from the procession. More pictures by clicking on...

La Maldita Vecindad

This was my first visit to "la maldita vecindad." The directions were not very good, but I saw red, green and white lights from the highway and recognized the buildings from the documentary.



This beautiful shrine was set up in a alcove constructed out of plywood at one end of the large event tent. As you poked your head in, the smell of roses and perfumed candles hit you. The dance formations were oriented toward it, so it seemed like the matachines were offering their dances to her. I heard one person approach the shrine and speak to her. So the shrine seemed to function like a living presence or participant, a guest of honor.



This "handsome" diablo greeted me in the parking lot. I asked why the devils had babydolls, and he said, "because we're devils" and devils carry away babies. Then he said something fresh, and the girl next to me started laughing. The devils also carried whips.

A couple more pictures are at my flickr stream--click on either photo to go there.

SCHEDULE - GUADALUPAN Events in Durham

Here is your OFFICIAL SCHEDULE for Thursday and Friday activities in Durham:

THURSDAY 12/11
6:30-11 pm: Matachine dancers will be dancing at "La Maldita Vecindad," address Savone Court, Durham 27703, which is a right turn off Hwy 98, just after the 70/98 split. Outdoors; rain or shine.

THURSDAY Midnight through FRIDAY MORNING 3 am:
Various local groups will be singing songs to the Virgin at the Immaculate Conception church, Chapel Hill St. in Durham. Indoors, sanctuary.

FRIDAY MORNING 12/12
3 am: Mariachis will sing songs for the Virgin and the official "Las Mañanitas" to greet her arrival. Indoors, sanctuary.
4 am: Mass. Indoors, sanctuary.
5 am: Breakfast of tamales and hot chocolate. Outside, church parking lot. There will be matachine dancers.

FRIDAY EVENING 12/12
5:30 pm: Procession. Outdoors, staging area in church parking lot. The procession will go through the surrounding neighborhood (probably kicking off in earnest around 6 pm). Expect traffic in the area to be blocked off!
7:00 pm: Mass. Indoors, sanctuary. This will probably be followed with some dancing outside around 8.

Heavy, Again: Machito!

There is some dispute about the exact date of his birth, but in all likelihood 2008 is the 100th birth year of Machito.

Frank "Machito" Raúl Gutíerrez Grillo came to New York from Havana in 1937 and founded the Afro-Cubans in 1940. He was a talented maraca player as well as a great sonero (as is his sister Graciela, who is still kicking today in her 90s). Mario Bauzá soon became his musical director and together they crafted the early New York mambo sound, which combined Cuban rhythm section and dance music with jazz arrangements and horn section (trumpets and saxes) modelled after the top American bands.

This is the first Latin band to use the term "Afro-Cuban" or any allusion to African descent in its name. Notably it was not only mentioned, it was emphasized: Machito and His Afro-Cubans. The term "Afro-Cuban" is of course, now in standard use to mean any and all styles of music with Afro-Cuban roots.



Machito was one of the three top bandleaders who dominated the mambo dancehalls such as the Palladium, and who therefore were referred to as the "Mambo Kings" or "The Big 3": Machito, Tito Puente and Tito Rodriguez. Today, children of all three bandleaders perform together in a big band called The Big 3 Palladium Orchestra.

Machito died on April 15, 1984 after collapsing during a stage performance in London. He did some very tasty albums in the 80s with his "Salsa Big Band" (no longer called mambo, but essentially still an Afro-Cuban big band) and won a Grammy in 1982 for Live at the North Sea.

Here's a little more information as told by his son, Mario Grillo. The video was made by LP (Latin Percussion) founder and music documentarian Martin Cohen. Mario demonstrates a bit of timbale at the end.



How Afro-Cuban Is It?

You be the judge. This brief piece of video from a concert (not sure where or when, I'm guessing sometime in the late 70s or early 80s) features Candido, Ray Barretto, Tito Puente, Dizzy Gillespie AND Machito (whew!). Machito comes in at the end, singing orisha songs to Yemaya and Ochun:



After 40 years living outside Cuba, Machito still greets the African gods in their native tongue. Now THAT'S Afro-Cuban culture with deep roots.

Traigan sus flores!

UPDATED 12/11, 5:30pm:

Here is your OFFICIAL SCHEDULE for Thursday and Friday activities in Durham:

THURSDAY 12/11
6:30-11 pm: Matachine dancers will be dancing at "La Maldita Vecindad," address Savone Court, Durham 27703, which is a right turn off Hwy 98, just after the 70/98 split. Outdoors; rain or shine.

THURSDAY Midnight through FRIDAY MORNING 3 am:
Various local groups will be singing songs to the Virgin at the Immaculate Conception church, Chapel Hill St. in Durham. Indoors, sanctuary.

FRIDAY MORNING 12/12
3 am: Mariachis will sing songs for the Virgin and the official "Las Mañanitas" to greet her arrival. Indoors, sanctuary.
4 am: Mass. Indoors, sanctuary.
5 am: Breakfast of tamales and hot chocolate. Outside, church parking lot. There will be matachine dancers.


FRIDAY EVENING 12/12
5:30 pm: Procession. Outdoors, staging area in church parking lot. The procession will go through the surrounding neighborhood (probably kicking off in earnest around 6 pm). Expect traffic in the area to be blocked off!
7:00 pm: Mass. Indoors, sanctuary. This will probably be followed with some dancing outside around 8.

I have this info on good authority from youth organizer Ivan who has been working on these events at the Immaculate Conception Church for years.

This is the first year that the sanctuary will be open from midnight on, rather than just starting at 3 am when the mariachis arrive. He says anyone who wants to witness the dancing and celebrations is welcome, although for media/press they like to have advance notice. So, feel welcome! This is a once-a-year event and worth checking out.


*******(original post starts here)

Ok, here's your scoop for celebrating the Virgin of Guadalupe's feast day in Durham, which is THIS FRIDAY (12/12).

The thing to remember, however, is that people start celebrating at Midnight Thursday (TONIGHT).



My tipster, Ramona, says that at the Immaculate Conception Church, there will be songs and dances starting at midnight; at 3 am there will be mariachis, singing of Las Mañanitas and other songs for the Virgin, and at 4 am, early morning mass. Following the mass, there will be hot chocolate and tamales. Ramona is a reporter on Radio Kilombo and she issued a general invitation over the show last night, so if you are interested, the public is invited.

A lot of people bring roses to place at the Virgin's shrine, because of her legend. According to the story, she appeared as an indigenous girl to a poor peasant, Juan Diego, on December 12, 1531, and caused roses to bloom on Tepeyac Hill.



On Friday evening, there will be a full procession through the neighborhood. My past experience says 6 pm, but I haven't vetted that information this year. Will update if I hear more. This is a cool thing to see if you can't do the all night mariachi mass.

Backstory: Read about past processions and a recent documentary about them which was filmed in Durham.

updates

Posted a few party photos from the Arbolito de Esperanza celebration, see "Jíbaro Hoedown" post below.

RADIO ALERT: Odetta Tribute, and a Very Jíbaro Christmas Special (12/8)

I'm hosting WXDU's one-hour folk music show today: The Golden Vanity airs 6-7 pm ET.

I intend to pay homage to the recently passed Odetta with a set of songs, and to play some Puerto Rican aguinaldos and other musica jíbara played especially around the holidays. Artists in the lineup include Ramito, Maso Rivera, Felipe "La Voz" Rodriguez and El Indio de Bayamon. Y'all tune in!

WHAT: The Golden Vanity (folk specialty show) Odetta/Puerto Rican Christmas edition
WHEN: TODAY, Monday 12/8, 6:00-7:00 pm Eastern Time
WHERE: WXDU 88.7 FM-Durham, live streaming with iTunes at www.wxdu.org

Some bad news, and some holiday cheer

First the bad news: UNC performing ensemble Charanga Carolina will be taking a break until Fall 2009, while Director David F. Garcia takes a semester of sabbatical leave. We (charanga fans) will greatly miss them, but I wish David well in his research and writing. They went out with a bang on 12/2 with the Salsa/Swing Dance in the new Kenan Music Building. The UNC Jazz Band led by Jim Ketch opened with a lot of refined swing, animating a large turnout of swing dancers. Jim later sat in with Charanga and took a trumpet solo, cued by his former student Alberto Carrasquillo.

In the meantime, I plan to console my sorrow with as much Orquesta GarDel as I can get, starting with the big holiday dance this Saturday (12/13) at George's Garage. The "Black & White Latin Night" will feature two sets of live salsa, bookending mambo performances by the Cobo Brothers Dance Company, Annie Zendejas & Natalia Weedy, and Jose “Bernardo” De la Vega.

Copa Night regulars, be advised that admission is $20 at the door, $15 if you follow the party theme and wear "all black" or "all white."[Note: see revision below.] A limited number of advanced tickets will be sold for $10 at the NCSalsa.com website until Wednesday, 12/10, at the latest.

UPDATED Saturday 12/13: Be advised that door policy has changed for this event. See latest posting here.

Jíbaro Hoedown

Now that you've whetted your appetite for música jíbara, you can get a taste of a real Puerto Rican-style parranda (a musical Christmas party) this Friday (12/5) at Diamante's Arbolito de Esperanza celebration in Cary. Local musicians Ricardo Granillo, Pako Santiago and Luis Rivera are slated to accompany the singing of traditional Puerto Rican Christmas songs at the casual potluck dinner and treelighting ceremony. Kids age 8-12 will also be chosen to be "prince" and "princess" in the upcoming Dia de Los Reyes parade.

Guests who wish to donate to Diamante's Estrella de Esperanza campaign, which provides aid to low-income Latino families at the holidays, are asked to bring an unwrapped toy or non-perishable food item. Last year, the drive raised enough food for 37 familes and provided gifts for 107 children. This year, Diamante Executive Director Lizette Watko plans to top that, since they have identified over 300 kids and 105 families in need of assistance.

WHAT: Arbolito de Esperanza - potluck, treelighting & food drive

WHEN: Friday (12/5) 6:30-8:00 pm

WHERE: Herb Young Community Center, Room B, 101 Wilkinson Avenue, Downtown Cary (Chapel Hill Rd. & North Academy St.)

Lookee here: The Raleigh-Cary Spanish Language Meetup has made this an official meetup event.



Adults dressed as the Three Kings give candy to kids at last year's Dia de Los Reyes (Epiphany, Jan. 6) parade in Cary.


UPDATED Thursday:


Photos from the party. Click on the world's best guiro to see more.

Ricardo Granillo, Pako Santiago, Billy Marrero did some musical accompaniment for the singing of traditional Latin American Christmas songs. Except for Feliz Navidad, I hadn't heard any of these before, but a little girl just arrived from Cuba with her parents was singing along. "El Burrito Sabanero" was cute. I finally figured out as I was listening to this that "Belén" equates to "Bethlehem." From the other songs I've heard (like Celia Cruz), I always thought it was a Havana neighborhood! (I guess it's both.)

Heavy: Chano

Today is a heavy anniversary: 60 years to the day of the murder of Chano Pozo, the Cuban conguero who molded Dizzy Gillespie's Afro-Cuban jazz style with landmark tunes like "Manteca." Chano was shot down over a drug dispute in a New York bar, El Rio, on Dec. 2, 1948. He was 33, and dancing to music on the jukebox at the time.

Local factoid: Chano's drums were once stolen on a tour stopover in Raleigh, NC! As a Cuban poet friend of mine once commented, maybe they are still echoing around here somewhere...



Above: clip from the 1991 documentary Routes of Rhythm, narrated by Harry Belafonte, that features Dizzy telling how he met up with Chano, and some background on Chano's biography.

More Backstory: Chano Pozo entry with biographical facts and discography at AllAboutJazz.com.

Thanks for the history tip to DJ Arturo "Marcané" Gomez at KUVO-Denver, where you can hear him regularly host jazz and Latin jazz programming, and yes, even dish up his favorite paella recipes.

Burritos con Salsa (12/2)

Just added to the calendar: Saludos Compay is playing a Burrito Bash Benefit at the Pittsboro General Store tonight. $15 at the door gets you a burrito dinner, salsa lesson at 6 pm, and live dance music at 7pm. You can also take part in live and silent auctions later in the evening.

Proceeds benefit two Chatham County non-profits: El Vínculo Hispano/Hispanic Liason, and Shakori Hills.

See OC calendar for details!

Backstory: Read about Saludos Compay at the Carrboro Music Fest.

Salsa/Swing Dance (12/2)

WHAT: UNC Jazz Band and Charanga Carolina
WHEN: 8-10:30 pm TUESDAY (12/2)
WHERE: Rehearsal Room, Kenan Music Building, UNC-Chapel Hill

COST: $5, proceeds benefit Jazz Band's Habitat for Humanity service project/performance tour to New Orleans.

This will be the last chance to dance this semester with the Charanga, and the farewell performance for flutist Christina Smith. The Jazz Band opens, Charanga Carolina plays around 9:15 pm.

The Rehearsal Room in the Kenan Music Building, located on South Columbia St. between Franklin and Cameron, has a new hardwood floor. Swing and salsa dancers are encouraged to break it in!

Backstory: See pics and read about past Charanga performances.

de la vieja escuela

I love to watch elders dance.



So much is said in the position of a hand...