Bonde do Role's New Dynamic Was Anything But In MIA

Photos by Liliam Dominguez
http://www.liliamdominguez.com/

OK before I rip into Bonde do Role's concert in Miami last Thursday night, I just want to say how much I really dig their deft fusions of funk carioca, heavy metal, and electro-dance music. But since this is my blog, I'm gonna tell it like it is, or at least like it is in my mind. It might have been that my expectations were unrealistically high. It happens sometimes. Bonde do Role's show in Miami was one of those times and definitely not what I had imagined it would be. En route to Coachella, the baile funkeros hit downtown's Studio A with new members Ana Bernardino and Laura Taylor in tow. The two were hand-picked by DJ Gorky and Pedro D'eyrot via MTV Brasil when MC Marina Vello ditched the band late last year. Yin - Yang personified, Ana was the prison guard holding down the fort, I mean stage, with her ferocious mic in throat screaming and braid-lashing head-whips, while Laura mostly stuck to her role as bubbly bunny cheerleader, prancing around the peripheries of Ana's sometimes scary and frankly annoying volcanic eruptions. When Laura did take the lead it was a welcome respite from boot camp. Kudos to Gorky for doing what he does best, which is pounding out the bass and sampling crunching thrash guitar and 80s electro-pop. Pedro D'eyrot was memorable for oscillating between his snooty Brit accent and Argentine Spanish when interacting with the audience. Not once did he address Miami's rare hipster breed in Portuguese. Testament to the fact that unfiltered baile funk is still only found in Rio's favelas.

Bonde do Role's New Dynamic Was Anything But In MIA

Photos by Liliam Dominguez
http://www.liliamdominguez.com/

OK before I rip into Bonde do Role's concert in Miami last Thursday night, I just want to say how much I really dig their deft fusions of funk carioca, heavy metal, and electro-dance music. But since this is my blog, I'm gonna tell it like it is, or at least like it is in my mind. It might have been that my expectations were unrealistically high. It happens sometimes. Bonde do Role's show in Miami was one of those times and definitely not what I had imagined it would be. En route to Coachella, the baile funkeros hit downtown's Studio A with new members Ana Bernardino and Laura Taylor in tow. The two were hand-picked by DJ Gorky and Pedro D'eyrot via MTV Brasil when MC Marina Vello ditched the band late last year. Yin - Yang personified, Ana was the prison guard holding down the fort, I mean stage, with her ferocious mic in throat screaming and braid-lashing head-whips, while Laura mostly stuck to her role as bubbly bunny cheerleader, prancing around the peripheries of Ana's sometimes scary and frankly annoying volcanic eruptions. When Laura did take the lead it was a welcome respite from boot camp. Kudos to Gorky for doing what he does best, which is pounding out the bass and sampling crunching thrash guitar and 80s electro-pop. Pedro D'eyrot was memorable for oscillating between his snooty Brit accent and Argentine Spanish when interacting with the audience. Not once did he address Miami's rare hipster breed in Portuguese. Testament to the fact that unfiltered baile funk is still only found in Rio's favelas.

Arturo O'Farrill and The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra Reinvents The Big Band Sound

Half tribute album, half forward looking vision of big band Latin music’s place in contemporary jazz, Song for Chico makes a strong case for why its worth preserving and updating a sound that not long ago seemed destined for the nostalgic ears of crate diggers. Late last year bandleader and pianist Arturo O’Farrill and his 18-piece ensemble amicably parted ways with NYC's Jazz at Lincoln Center and found a new home at Symphony Space. Their sophomore release shines with the optimism of an evolving band. Latin jazz standards aren’t just polished for the sake of recorded history, they’re retooled and elevated within new arrangements, while newly minted pieces offer a glimpse at the limitless realm of possibilities. The opener “Caravan,” written by Puerto Rican valve trombonist Juan Tizol and made famous by Duke Ellington, has a sultry, cabaret-era feel, with dirty horn interjections, a steadily percolating percussion section, and big band crescendos goading a midsection “controversia” in which tenor sax, trumpet and trombone interact and then coalesce in single improvisational lines. “Such Love” is Arturo O’Farrill’s own composition in memory of sax player Sam Furnace. It starts out somber and surprises the listener as it metamorphoses into a mid-tempo number with enough swing to uplift in joyous remembrance. O’Farrill, the son of pioneering Latin jazz composer Chico O’Farrill, pays homage to other masters of the past, as evidenced by “Picadillo,” one of the anthems in the Latin jazz vault of classics. Written by Tito Puente, The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra’s take contains one of the last recorded solos by the late tenor Mario Rivera. “Starry Nights” tips its hat off to another giant, the father of mambo, Israel “Cachao” Lopez, who passed away in March. In honoring the legends of yore, O’Farrill paves the way for Latin big band’s relevance and prominence as a groundbreaking idiom. The album breaks the mold with its centerpiece title cut “Song for Chico.” Penned by avant-garde drummer Dafnis Prieto, it’s a bold, postmodern declaration that signals a new era for big band Latin Jazz beyond its status as a cultural mainstay.

For tour dates go to http://www.arturoofarrill.com/ and http://www.zohomusic.com/

Arturo O'Farrill and The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra Reinvents The Big Band Sound

Half tribute album, half forward looking vision of big band Latin music’s place in contemporary jazz, Song for Chico makes a strong case for why its worth preserving and updating a sound that not long ago seemed destined for the nostalgic ears of crate diggers. Late last year bandleader and pianist Arturo O’Farrill and his 18-piece ensemble amicably parted ways with NYC's Jazz at Lincoln Center and found a new home at Symphony Space. Their sophomore release shines with the optimism of an evolving band. Latin jazz standards aren’t just polished for the sake of recorded history, they’re retooled and elevated within new arrangements, while newly minted pieces offer a glimpse at the limitless realm of possibilities. The opener “Caravan,” written by Puerto Rican valve trombonist Juan Tizol and made famous by Duke Ellington, has a sultry, cabaret-era feel, with dirty horn interjections, a steadily percolating percussion section, and big band crescendos goading a midsection “controversia” in which tenor sax, trumpet and trombone interact and then coalesce in single improvisational lines. “Such Love” is Arturo O’Farrill’s own composition in memory of sax player Sam Furnace. It starts out somber and surprises the listener as it metamorphoses into a mid-tempo number with enough swing to uplift in joyous remembrance. O’Farrill, the son of pioneering Latin jazz composer Chico O’Farrill, pays homage to other masters of the past, as evidenced by “Picadillo,” one of the anthems in the Latin jazz vault of classics. Written by Tito Puente, The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra’s take contains one of the last recorded solos by the late tenor Mario Rivera. “Starry Nights” tips its hat off to another giant, the father of mambo, Israel “Cachao” Lopez, who passed away in March. In honoring the legends of yore, O’Farrill paves the way for Latin big band’s relevance and prominence as a groundbreaking idiom. The album breaks the mold with its centerpiece title cut “Song for Chico.” Penned by avant-garde drummer Dafnis Prieto, it’s a bold, postmodern declaration that signals a new era for big band Latin Jazz beyond its status as a cultural mainstay.

For tour dates go to http://www.arturoofarrill.com/ and http://www.zohomusic.com/

Babylon Circus Tours the U.S. On the Heels of a New Album

You'd have to be out of touch with reality not to recognize ska and reggae as universal styles of music in the same way hip-hop has shaped urban culture on a global scale. Even the French have tackled the genre, spinning it on its head in an attempt to register maximum authenticity. The incredulous naysayer in me was skeptical and then I popped in Babylon Circus's latest disc, Dances of Resistance (Mr. Bongo Records). The 10-piece posse cooks up a rousing ska/reggae hybrid that is balkanized and gypsified, and oh so socially conscious. As a whole the album is loose and not as seamless as the ensemble's intentions portend but there are plenty of oompah, fist-pumping moments driven by totally post-punk aspirations and politically-charged lyrics. The Lyon-based big band opens with samples from a massive anti-Iraq war protest march recorded in Spain then segues into the ska-fuelled title track "Dances of Resistance." Gotta hand it to Babylon Circus, the singing in patois is pretty damn convincing. But I was more impressed by the jousting horn line and Eastern European infusions on "De La Musique Et Du Bruit" and the catchy chorus anchoring "Mr Clown." The sprawling, 17-track full-length also offers some whimsical instrumental forays. "J'Aurais Bien Voulu," "Parade Acoustique," and "Petite Caravane Barbare," are nimble, accordion-laced bal-mussettes and Gallic chanson flourishes that carry you along the way, making the listening experience completely worthwhile. For tour dates go to: http://www.rockpaperscissors.biz/index.cfm/fuseaction/current.tour/project_id/358.cfm

Babylon Circus Tours the U.S. On the Heels of a New Album

You'd have to be out of touch with reality not to recognize ska and reggae as universal styles of music in the same way hip-hop has shaped urban culture on a global scale. Even the French have tackled the genre, spinning it on its head in an attempt to register maximum authenticity. The incredulous naysayer in me was skeptical and then I popped in Babylon Circus's latest disc, Dances of Resistance (Mr. Bongo Records). The 10-piece posse cooks up a rousing ska/reggae hybrid that is balkanized and gypsified, and oh so socially conscious. As a whole the album is loose and not as seamless as the ensemble's intentions portend but there are plenty of oompah, fist-pumping moments driven by totally post-punk aspirations and politically-charged lyrics. The Lyon-based big band opens with samples from a massive anti-Iraq war protest march recorded in Spain then segues into the ska-fuelled title track "Dances of Resistance." Gotta hand it to Babylon Circus, the singing in patois is pretty damn convincing. But I was more impressed by the jousting horn line and Eastern European infusions on "De La Musique Et Du Bruit" and the catchy chorus anchoring "Mr Clown." The sprawling, 17-track full-length also offers some whimsical instrumental forays. "J'Aurais Bien Voulu," "Parade Acoustique," and "Petite Caravane Barbare," are nimble, accordion-laced bal-mussettes and Gallic chanson flourishes that carry you along the way, making the listening experience completely worthwhile. For tour dates go to: http://www.rockpaperscissors.biz/index.cfm/fuseaction/current.tour/project_id/358.cfm

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs Cranks Up the Engine Once More

I hate to say I saw it coming... but, I saw it coming. When Señor Flavio, co-founder of the iconic Argentine ska-punk fusion outfit Los Fabulosos Cadillacs announced he would be releasing an album with his new band The Flavio Mandinga Project earlier this year under the Nacional Records imprint, I suspected it might be the start of a full-scale comeback. Turns out Los Fabulosos Cadillacs has reunited. Already the band is rehearsing and crafting a new album to be released sometime in October. Talk of a world tour is also in the works with Los Cadillacs planning to perform throughout Latin America, the United States and Europe. According to a statement released by Sony BMG over the weekend, the U.S. leg of the tour will begin in early 2009. The tour will be organized by Pop Art, the same promoters behind Soda Stereo's hugely successful reunion tour in 2007.

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs Cranks Up the Engine Once More

I hate to say I saw it coming... but, I saw it coming. When Señor Flavio, co-founder of the iconic Argentine ska-punk fusion outfit Los Fabulosos Cadillacs announced he would be releasing an album with his new band The Flavio Mandinga Project earlier this year under the Nacional Records imprint, I suspected it might be the start of a full-scale comeback. Turns out Los Fabulosos Cadillacs has reunited. Already the band is rehearsing and crafting a new album to be released sometime in October. Talk of a world tour is also in the works with Los Cadillacs planning to perform throughout Latin America, the United States and Europe. According to a statement released by Sony BMG over the weekend, the U.S. leg of the tour will begin in early 2009. The tour will be organized by Pop Art, the same promoters behind Soda Stereo's hugely successful reunion tour in 2007.

In Lust With 3 Na Massa

Rio has traditionally been Brazil's musical epicenter, but lately the tides of history have turned in Sao Paulo's favor, thanks in large part to a surge in creativity driven by a network of likeminded artists. Sao Paulo is home to young, tech-savvy cool kids who soak up cross-cultural currents over the Internet and mix and match them with traditional Brazilian rhythms. One of the most prominent players in the scene is Rica Amabis. Officially he's the producer extraordinaire behind the hip-hop collective Instituto. But Amabis spins a labyrinthine-like web of projects and side projects as well. In fact some of those have already been picked up by stateside indie labels such as New York's Nublu and San Francisco-based Six Degrees. The latest is 3 Na Massa, a trio that is one part Amabis, two parts Pupillo and Dengue, members of the seminal Recife rock outfit Naçao Zumbi. They drop their cinematically inspired, self-titled debut on April 29. Imagine a movie montage culled from the frames of Federico Fellini’s La Strada and Roger Vadim’s kitschy 1968 sci-fi fantasy Barbarella set to the lush musings of a smoky-voiced Brazilian siren cooing in Portuguese. Now picture the scene unraveling at Coney Island’s Astroland park starring an actress on a Freudian carousel ride of her innermost salacious desires. It may sound contrived, but for 3 Na Massa (3 In the Dough), the idea to penetrate the female libido through music stemmed from such visual mash-ups. The troupe began sampling sonic driftscapes on a computer in their shared quarters before finally making it seamless in the studio. The result is a record fashioned as a kind of confessional soundtrack to the erotic comic book frames of Italian artist Milo Manara. Piled with layers of references that range from Brazilian filmmaker Hugo Khouri to the voluptuous sonic contours of Serge Gainsbourg, the record shows the threesome’s close attention to detail. For instance, the intimate dialogues of amorous encounters were penned in the feminine voice by various songwriters -- among them Rodrigo Amarante, Recife composer Juno Barreto and Mamelo Sound System singer Rodrigo Brandao. 3 Na Massa then enlisted female singers and actresses, including friend and newcomer chanteuse CéU, Orquestra Imperial’s Thalma de Freitas, Brazilian soap opera star Karine Carvalho and City of God’s Alice Braga, to create vocal personas for each of the album’s thirteen-track storylines. Post-retro, B-movie lasciviousness, and mood simulation are the sonic aphrodisiacs of choice for these Sao Paulo hipsters.

In Lust With 3 Na Massa

Rio has traditionally been Brazil's musical epicenter, but lately the tides of history have turned in Sao Paulo's favor, thanks in large part to a surge in creativity driven by a network of likeminded artists. Sao Paulo is home to young, tech-savvy cool kids who soak up cross-cultural currents over the Internet and mix and match them with traditional Brazilian rhythms. One of the most prominent players in the scene is Rica Amabis. Officially he's the producer extraordinaire behind the hip-hop collective Instituto. But Amabis spins a labyrinthine-like web of projects and side projects as well. In fact some of those have already been picked up by stateside indie labels such as New York's Nublu and San Francisco-based Six Degrees. The latest is 3 Na Massa, a trio that is one part Amabis, two parts Pupillo and Dengue, members of the seminal Recife rock outfit Naçao Zumbi. They drop their cinematically inspired, self-titled debut on April 29. Imagine a movie montage culled from the frames of Federico Fellini’s La Strada and Roger Vadim’s kitschy 1968 sci-fi fantasy Barbarella set to the lush musings of a smoky-voiced Brazilian siren cooing in Portuguese. Now picture the scene unraveling at Coney Island’s Astroland park starring an actress on a Freudian carousel ride of her innermost salacious desires. It may sound contrived, but for 3 Na Massa (3 In the Dough), the idea to penetrate the female libido through music stemmed from such visual mash-ups. The troupe began sampling sonic driftscapes on a computer in their shared quarters before finally making it seamless in the studio. The result is a record fashioned as a kind of confessional soundtrack to the erotic comic book frames of Italian artist Milo Manara. Piled with layers of references that range from Brazilian filmmaker Hugo Khouri to the voluptuous sonic contours of Serge Gainsbourg, the record shows the threesome’s close attention to detail. For instance, the intimate dialogues of amorous encounters were penned in the feminine voice by various songwriters -- among them Rodrigo Amarante, Recife composer Juno Barreto and Mamelo Sound System singer Rodrigo Brandao. 3 Na Massa then enlisted female singers and actresses, including friend and newcomer chanteuse CéU, Orquestra Imperial’s Thalma de Freitas, Brazilian soap opera star Karine Carvalho and City of God’s Alice Braga, to create vocal personas for each of the album’s thirteen-track storylines. Post-retro, B-movie lasciviousness, and mood simulation are the sonic aphrodisiacs of choice for these Sao Paulo hipsters.

Bossa Nova Turns 50

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Bossa Nova. No other place but Brazil could have spawned the dreamy, syncopated genre. If you want to get specific blame it on Rio. Ipanema to be precise. You know as in "The Girl From Ipanema" Ipanema. That Ipanema. The one that is worlds away from say Rocinha, Rio's largest favela -- a shantytown that suffers from a kind of suburban sprawl syndrome minus the unimaginative assembly-line aesthetic that plagues its first-world counterpart. Back when Ipanema was bohemian chic in the mid 50s to early 60s, cool cats like Tom Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, Joao Gilberto, Roberto Menescal, Joao Donato, Baden Powell, Nara Leao, and Carlos Lyra, amongst others, waxed poetic on the vicissitudes of those poor blacks up on the hills who dared to dream and invented samba. In the process the young trailblazers concocted an altogether different cocktail that blended just the right kind of musical ingredients -- harmonies influenced by jazz and classical music, sophisticated lyrics, and a quietly-tempered understatement all anchored in what would become bossa nova's trademark, rhythmic-guitar shuffle. Whereas, domestically, samba was held in high esteem as Brazil's musical patrimony, bossa nova was the nation's trendsetting sonic ambassador abroad. It was probably a sign of the times that it took the rejiggering of samba by a bunch of middle-class, white kids from Ipanema -- because, let's face it, without samba there would be no bossa nova -- who, by the way, were really diggin' Bird, for Brazil to become synonymous with poolside chill in the U.S. Somewhere in that equation American jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd was instrumental in paving the way for bossa's globalization and for a fleeting moment in history the wave turned into a tsunami. Of course bossa nova survived its short-lived lounge phase and it's since become one of the most influential sounds in music. Brazilian artists around the world will be celebrating the milestone onstage throughout the year. Just this past March in Ipanema there was a free concert right on the beach. In May London's Barbican Hall is hosting a special night of performances curated by Brazilian jazz singer Joyce, featuring three generations of bossa nova artists. For more info on the event go to http://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?ID=7389
I'll be doing my part, posting reviews on some Brazilian upstarts who are taking the genre to a whole new level.

Bossa Nova Turns 50

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Bossa Nova. No other place but Brazil could have spawned the dreamy, syncopated genre. If you want to get specific blame it on Rio. Ipanema to be precise. You know as in "The Girl From Ipanema" Ipanema. That Ipanema. The one that is worlds away from say Rocinha, Rio's largest favela -- a shantytown that suffers from a kind of suburban sprawl syndrome minus the unimaginative assembly-line aesthetic that plagues its first-world counterpart. Back when Ipanema was bohemian chic in the mid 50s to early 60s, cool cats like Tom Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, Joao Gilberto, Roberto Menescal, Joao Donato, Baden Powell, Nara Leao, and Carlos Lyra, amongst others, waxed poetic on the vicissitudes of those poor blacks up on the hills who dared to dream and invented samba. In the process the young trailblazers concocted an altogether different cocktail that blended just the right kind of musical ingredients -- harmonies influenced by jazz and classical music, sophisticated lyrics, and a quietly-tempered understatement all anchored in what would become bossa nova's trademark, rhythmic-guitar shuffle. Whereas, domestically, samba was held in high esteem as Brazil's musical patrimony, bossa nova was the nation's trendsetting sonic ambassador abroad. It was probably a sign of the times that it took the rejiggering of samba by a bunch of middle-class, white kids from Ipanema -- because, let's face it, without samba there would be no bossa nova -- who, by the way, were really diggin' Bird, for Brazil to become synonymous with poolside chill in the U.S. Somewhere in that equation American jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd was instrumental in paving the way for bossa's globalization and for a fleeting moment in history the wave turned into a tsunami. Of course bossa nova survived its short-lived lounge phase and it's since become one of the most influential sounds in music. Brazilian artists around the world will be celebrating the milestone onstage throughout the year. Just this past March in Ipanema there was a free concert right on the beach. In May London's Barbican Hall is hosting a special night of performances curated by Brazilian jazz singer Joyce, featuring three generations of bossa nova artists. For more info on the event go to http://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?ID=7389
I'll be doing my part, posting reviews on some Brazilian upstarts who are taking the genre to a whole new level.

Emusica Rekindles Fania's Fire

Emusica has just announced its first Fania Records remix collection. I Like It Like That: Fania Remixed, is slated to drop in May. Back in 2006 the Miami-based company bought Fania's entire catalogue from the label's co-founder Jerry Masucci and a massive reissue project has since been launched. Albums are being remastered, in-depth liner notes are being commissioned, and the repackaged music is lighting up the embers of Fania's past glory.

In an attempt to turn up the heat on the classics, Emusica has now tapped heavyweight producers for what promises to be a sizzling summer record. Italian jazz-dance composer Nicola Conte, soulful breaks master DJ Format, house legend Louie Vega, and globetrotting producer Gilles Peterson all faithfully update classic Latin sounds from Hector Lavoe, Wllie Colon, Ray Baretto, and others.

Fania Records was at the forefront of the U.S. Latin music explosion in the 1970s, churning out hit salsa records with machine-like speed and never compromising the quality of the music. With a roster that boasted every luminary in the genre -- including the Fania All-Stars, a kind of superpower salsa group that exported NYC's rhythmic assault to the rest of the world -- it's no wonder Fania wielded the kind of power it did in the industry.

The label's artists mixed a cornucopia of styles that were rooted in Afro-Cuban music and birthed commercially viable genres like salsa, boogaloo, Latin R&B, and Latin jazz. Heavyweight singers, percussionists, and musicians, including Johnny Pacheco, Ray Barretto, Joe Cuba, Joe Bataan, Larry Harlow, Willie Colón, Héctor Lavoe, Rubén Blades, and Celia Cruz created memorable solo albums and collaborative projects during the label’s heyday.
On I Like It Like That a new generation of dance music producers attempt to take on the greats.

Emusica Rekindles Fania's Fire

Emusica has just announced its first Fania Records remix collection. I Like It Like That: Fania Remixed, is slated to drop in May. Back in 2006 the Miami-based company bought Fania's entire catalogue from the label's co-founder Jerry Masucci and a massive reissue project has since been launched. Albums are being remastered, in-depth liner notes are being commissioned, and the repackaged music is lighting up the embers of Fania's past glory.

In an attempt to turn up the heat on the classics, Emusica has now tapped heavyweight producers for what promises to be a sizzling summer record. Italian jazz-dance composer Nicola Conte, soulful breaks master DJ Format, house legend Louie Vega, and globetrotting producer Gilles Peterson all faithfully update classic Latin sounds from Hector Lavoe, Wllie Colon, Ray Baretto, and others.

Fania Records was at the forefront of the U.S. Latin music explosion in the 1970s, churning out hit salsa records with machine-like speed and never compromising the quality of the music. With a roster that boasted every luminary in the genre -- including the Fania All-Stars, a kind of superpower salsa group that exported NYC's rhythmic assault to the rest of the world -- it's no wonder Fania wielded the kind of power it did in the industry.

The label's artists mixed a cornucopia of styles that were rooted in Afro-Cuban music and birthed commercially viable genres like salsa, boogaloo, Latin R&B, and Latin jazz. Heavyweight singers, percussionists, and musicians, including Johnny Pacheco, Ray Barretto, Joe Cuba, Joe Bataan, Larry Harlow, Willie Colón, Héctor Lavoe, Rubén Blades, and Celia Cruz created memorable solo albums and collaborative projects during the label’s heyday.
On I Like It Like That a new generation of dance music producers attempt to take on the greats.

Brazilian Legend Gilberto Gil Tours Again... and Again

Any time a living legend goes on tour there's always a looming possibility it could be his/her last. So when Brazilian icon Gilberto Gil included my city on his 2007 itinerary I wasted no time in getting tickets. To this day it's been one of the most memorable concerts I've ever been to. Watching Gil take the stage solo, sitting on a chair under the spotlight, and reaching for the propped-up acoustic guitar as he prepared to strum the first notes made my heart skip a beat. It was a historical moment -- for me anyway. His barebones performance was raw and riveting and I thought hypothetically 'what a dignified way to end a musical career that's spanned more than 40 years.'

Luckily the Tropicalia pioneer turned Brazilian minister of culture is launching another U.S. tour beginning June 18 and lasting throughout July. Named the Broadband Tour, this summer's eleven-city run will be in stark contrast to last year's stripped-down performances. Gil turns his one-man, visceral communion with the audience into an interactive experience supported by a full-band. In keeping with the digital revolution, and his own fascination with technology -- a theme he frequently explores in his music-- the Grammy Award-winner is encouraging concert goers to record the gig on their digi cams and cell phones. Eventually a resulting pastiche of shows, will be cut and pasted along with additional backstage and on the road footage, all to be disseminated on the net. Refraction and multiplication of sound and image replace introspection and the single figure of an artist baring his soul. And here I thought Gil was on the road to retirement.

Brazilian Legend Gilberto Gil Tours Again... and Again

Any time a living legend goes on tour there's always a looming possibility it could be his/her last. So when Brazilian icon Gilberto Gil included my city on his 2007 itinerary I wasted no time in getting tickets. To this day it's been one of the most memorable concerts I've ever been to. Watching Gil take the stage solo, sitting on a chair under the spotlight, and reaching for the propped-up acoustic guitar as he prepared to strum the first notes made my heart skip a beat. It was a historical moment -- for me anyway. His barebones performance was raw and riveting and I thought hypothetically 'what a dignified way to end a musical career that's spanned more than 40 years.'

Luckily the Tropicalia pioneer turned Brazilian minister of culture is launching another U.S. tour beginning June 18 and lasting throughout July. Named the Broadband Tour, this summer's eleven-city run will be in stark contrast to last year's stripped-down performances. Gil turns his one-man, visceral communion with the audience into an interactive experience supported by a full-band. In keeping with the digital revolution, and his own fascination with technology -- a theme he frequently explores in his music-- the Grammy Award-winner is encouraging concert goers to record the gig on their digi cams and cell phones. Eventually a resulting pastiche of shows, will be cut and pasted along with additional backstage and on the road footage, all to be disseminated on the net. Refraction and multiplication of sound and image replace introspection and the single figure of an artist baring his soul. And here I thought Gil was on the road to retirement.

Omar Sosa Returns to Yoshi's

Cuban pianist Omar Sosa will be playing at Yoshi's Oakland, April 10-13. Celebrating the release of his new CD, Afreecanos, Sosa returns to the renowned jazz club with his new quartet, featuring Senegalese vocalist Mola Sylla, Mozambican electric bassist Childo Tomas, and American drummer Marque Gilmore. Shows are 8:00 PM and 10:00 PM Thursday through Saturday (April 10-12), and 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM Sunday (April 13). For tickets please call 510-238-9200 or visit http://www.yoshis.com/. For more information and complete tour schedule, please visit http://www.melodia.com/. Afreecanos dropped back in February. Below is an album review I wrote, originally published in Jazziz magazine.

Cuban pianist Omar Sosa is known for eschewing musical platitudes in favor of imaginative forays of transatlantic proportions. On Afreecanos (Otá Records) he frees-up Afro-Cuban forms by creating arrangements easily adapted by African musicians and folkloric instruments such as the ngoni, kora, and talking drum. Although Sosa’s detour from Cuban music cliches is really a continuum that maps out a bigger picture, much of the journey is rooted in his own Afro-Cuban spirituality, a search that begins from within and one that is at the core of his musical evolution. Featuring 20 musicians from Cuba, Brazil, France, and various African nations, Afreecanos captures the totality of what Sosa has been, up until now, alluding to in his body of work and that is that the mother of all mothers is Africa. The eleven-track album is his complete vision, a cornucopia of elements announced right away in the Prologue, with Yoruba ritual chants and playful vibraphone and marimba bouncing off of Afro-Cuban percussion. Sosa deftly threads any loose ends together through modern jazz idioms that bridge the ancestral with the contemporary. “Lyade” opens translucent, hymn-like, with Sosa’s sparse, elegant piano filling in the spaces where needed, before a crescendo swells and fluidly shifts from the motherland to one of her many musical off-springs, in this case Cuba. Anchored in the rhythmic tempo of the timbales, a mellifluous flute, courtesy of Cuban Leandro Saint-Hill, weaves in and out of the percussive drive. While bamboo woodwinds inspire breezy ruminations on “Light in the Sky” the mood on “Tres Negros” is optimistic and reminiscent of the cosmopolitan bustle of Old World streets. Sosa’s phrasings are set against the backdrop of pitter-pattering batá drums and Julio Barreto’s trap set, while interspersed, spirited stabs of brass add a sense of urgency. Afreecanos is dedicated to the late Cuban percussion masters, Miguel Angá Diaz and Pancho Quinto. Diaz, who had frequently toured with Sosa, died suddenly of heart failure in 2006 at a relatively young age. On the mournful “Why Angá?” Sosa ends his journey on a melancholic note as Barreto heightens the heart’s agitation with stampeding drum rolls that taper off, lamenting a question that can never be answered.

Omar Sosa Returns to Yoshi's

Cuban pianist Omar Sosa will be playing at Yoshi's Oakland, April 10-13. Celebrating the release of his new CD, Afreecanos, Sosa returns to the renowned jazz club with his new quartet, featuring Senegalese vocalist Mola Sylla, Mozambican electric bassist Childo Tomas, and American drummer Marque Gilmore. Shows are 8:00 PM and 10:00 PM Thursday through Saturday (April 10-12), and 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM Sunday (April 13). For tickets please call 510-238-9200 or visit http://www.yoshis.com/. For more information and complete tour schedule, please visit http://www.melodia.com/. Afreecanos dropped back in February. Below is an album review I wrote, originally published in Jazziz magazine.

Cuban pianist Omar Sosa is known for eschewing musical platitudes in favor of imaginative forays of transatlantic proportions. On Afreecanos (Otá Records) he frees-up Afro-Cuban forms by creating arrangements easily adapted by African musicians and folkloric instruments such as the ngoni, kora, and talking drum. Although Sosa’s detour from Cuban music cliches is really a continuum that maps out a bigger picture, much of the journey is rooted in his own Afro-Cuban spirituality, a search that begins from within and one that is at the core of his musical evolution. Featuring 20 musicians from Cuba, Brazil, France, and various African nations, Afreecanos captures the totality of what Sosa has been, up until now, alluding to in his body of work and that is that the mother of all mothers is Africa. The eleven-track album is his complete vision, a cornucopia of elements announced right away in the Prologue, with Yoruba ritual chants and playful vibraphone and marimba bouncing off of Afro-Cuban percussion. Sosa deftly threads any loose ends together through modern jazz idioms that bridge the ancestral with the contemporary. “Lyade” opens translucent, hymn-like, with Sosa’s sparse, elegant piano filling in the spaces where needed, before a crescendo swells and fluidly shifts from the motherland to one of her many musical off-springs, in this case Cuba. Anchored in the rhythmic tempo of the timbales, a mellifluous flute, courtesy of Cuban Leandro Saint-Hill, weaves in and out of the percussive drive. While bamboo woodwinds inspire breezy ruminations on “Light in the Sky” the mood on “Tres Negros” is optimistic and reminiscent of the cosmopolitan bustle of Old World streets. Sosa’s phrasings are set against the backdrop of pitter-pattering batá drums and Julio Barreto’s trap set, while interspersed, spirited stabs of brass add a sense of urgency. Afreecanos is dedicated to the late Cuban percussion masters, Miguel Angá Diaz and Pancho Quinto. Diaz, who had frequently toured with Sosa, died suddenly of heart failure in 2006 at a relatively young age. On the mournful “Why Angá?” Sosa ends his journey on a melancholic note as Barreto heightens the heart’s agitation with stampeding drum rolls that taper off, lamenting a question that can never be answered.

Tal Para Cual -- A Pair of Infectious Salsa Albums Hit the Streets April 22

The Think Global and Rough Guide series are getting ready to drop some serious Latin dance music assaults featuring artists from the Caribbean, Colombia, and New York. From the polyrhythmic pyrotechnics of Cuban timba to the retro Latin soul of bugalú, the two discs compliment each other in their diasporic display of the genre's wide range of styles and hard-driving party music aesthetic. Together the albums have about 30 acts between them. Each song is like a hand picked gem expertly placed so that the next track shines just as bright. On Cuban Street Party venerable and contemporary orquestas such as Adalberto Alvarez Y Su Son, Bamboleo, Sierra Maestra, and Maraca are just a few bands that exemplify the explosive cross-section of Cuba's lean, dance music machines. Fiesta Latina - which I must mention is being produced in collaboration with, and raising funds for Amnesty International - offers a different take on salsa, filtered through such greats as the late Ray Barretto, more obscure acts like Colombiafrica, and New York's swinging Spanish Harlem Orchestra, a relatively new outfit that has helped usher in the salsa dura renaissance. My main criticism of the album relates to the garishly stereotypical cover. Whereas Cuban Street Party beckons with a spontaneous, carefree shot of a street carnaval reveler clad in typical rumbera attire, Fiesta Latina's lip-puckering cha-cha girl dressed in loud primary colors and cascading fruit on her head does the music contained in the album a great disservice. But don't judge a book by its cover. Anyway back to Cuban Street Party. I gotta say La Lupe is my absolute favorite here. I may not agree with the selection of "Sin Maíz," given so many other more memorable songs, but I take solace in the fact that the dynamic Cuban diva always owned her performances. Coming from La Yiyiyi, you can be sure it's raw expression, even if she's singing about corn. La Lupe was one of a kind. Volatile and unpredictable, she unleashed her histrionic fury on stage, famously beating up on her accompanying pianist Homero Balboa during her live sets in Havana. That was before she left the island in 1962 for the Big Apple, eventually becoming another star in Fania's hitmaking machine. She didn't let up on her onstage antics and was even fired by Tito Puento when she became too hard to handle. Tragically, La Lupe lived out her remaining days practically destitute and forgotten. In recent years she's been reclaimed as an icon. Plenty late for her, but never late for Latin music fans to discover her legacy.

Tal Para Cual -- A Pair of Infectious Salsa Albums Hit the Streets April 22

The Think Global and Rough Guide series are getting ready to drop some serious Latin dance music assaults featuring artists from the Caribbean, Colombia, and New York. From the polyrhythmic pyrotechnics of Cuban timba to the retro Latin soul of bugalú, the two discs compliment each other in their diasporic display of the genre's wide range of styles and hard-driving party music aesthetic. Together the albums have about 30 acts between them. Each song is like a hand picked gem expertly placed so that the next track shines just as bright. On Cuban Street Party venerable and contemporary orquestas such as Adalberto Alvarez Y Su Son, Bamboleo, Sierra Maestra, and Maraca are just a few bands that exemplify the explosive cross-section of Cuba's lean, dance music machines. Fiesta Latina - which I must mention is being produced in collaboration with, and raising funds for Amnesty International - offers a different take on salsa, filtered through such greats as the late Ray Barretto, more obscure acts like Colombiafrica, and New York's swinging Spanish Harlem Orchestra, a relatively new outfit that has helped usher in the salsa dura renaissance. My main criticism of the album relates to the garishly stereotypical cover. Whereas Cuban Street Party beckons with a spontaneous, carefree shot of a street carnaval reveler clad in typical rumbera attire, Fiesta Latina's lip-puckering cha-cha girl dressed in loud primary colors and cascading fruit on her head does the music contained in the album a great disservice. But don't judge a book by its cover. Anyway back to Cuban Street Party. I gotta say La Lupe is my absolute favorite here. I may not agree with the selection of "Sin Maíz," given so many other more memorable songs, but I take solace in the fact that the dynamic Cuban diva always owned her performances. Coming from La Yiyiyi, you can be sure it's raw expression, even if she's singing about corn. La Lupe was one of a kind. Volatile and unpredictable, she unleashed her histrionic fury on stage, famously beating up on her accompanying pianist Homero Balboa during her live sets in Havana. That was before she left the island in 1962 for the Big Apple, eventually becoming another star in Fania's hitmaking machine. She didn't let up on her onstage antics and was even fired by Tito Puento when she became too hard to handle. Tragically, La Lupe lived out her remaining days practically destitute and forgotten. In recent years she's been reclaimed as an icon. Plenty late for her, but never late for Latin music fans to discover her legacy.

Cuban Jazz Drummer Dafnis Prieto Declares His Independence

In the short time innovative drummer Dafnis Prieto has lived in the U.S., his indomitable spirit behind the trap set has elevated his instrument to sonic realms few ever thought possible. Now he's seizing control of his music career by launching his own label, Dafnison Music. Striking out on his own translates into more freedom to experiment and Prieto's wasted no time.

On his indie label debut, Taking the Soul for a Walk, Prieto proclaims his self-liberation and expands his vision from his previous quintet formation to a sextet ensemble that includes saxophonists Yosvany Terry and Peter Apfelbaum, trumpeter Avishai Cohen, pianist Manuel Valera, and bassist Yunior Terry. While the new format opens up the playing field for Prieto, the resulting album is anything but loose. Prieto's compositions are precise, tightly-crafted, and edgy --but he doesn't sacrifice the music's fluidity, demonstrating a knack for constructing complex narrative lines inhabited by polyrhythms and counterpoint melodies.

A native of Santa Clara, Cuba, Prieto has played with an array of different groups since his arrival in New York in 1999 -- a Who's Who list that includes some of the most relevant jazz players in the U.S. One of his first jobs was with Henry Threadgill's band Zooid. It was a match made in heaven: Threadgill, one of the most recognized names of the jazz avant-garde, writes meticulously accented music. Since then, Prieto has worked with Claudia Acuña's band, melding straight-ahead jazz and traditional South American rhythms like the Venezuelan joropo and the Argentine chacarera. He's also played in Eddie Palmieri's Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Chico O' Farrill's Afro-Cuban Jazz Project, with pianists Andrew Hill and D. D. Jackson, bassist John Benítez, trumpeters Brian Lynch, Roy Hargrove, and Arturo Sandoval, saxophonist Steve Coleman, and vibraphonist Dave Samuels.

Prieto is known for his pliable, hyperkinetic drumming, energetic sense of groove, and impeccable timing. His synthesis of jazz and indigenous forms are informed by a collation of various Afro-Cuban hand percussion traditions, post-bop idioms, and the avant-garde. Prieto's last two discs, About the Monks and Dafnis Prieto Absolute Quintet were released by Zoho Music; his new disc can be purchased on cdbaby.com.

Cuban Jazz Drummer Dafnis Prieto Declares His Independence

In the short time innovative drummer Dafnis Prieto has lived in the U.S., his indomitable spirit behind the trap set has elevated his instrument to sonic realms few ever thought possible. Now he's seizing control of his music career by launching his own label, Dafnison Music. Striking out on his own translates into more freedom to experiment and Prieto's wasted no time.

On his indie label debut, Taking the Soul for a Walk, Prieto proclaims his self-liberation and expands his vision from his previous quintet formation to a sextet ensemble that includes saxophonists Yosvany Terry and Peter Apfelbaum, trumpeter Avishai Cohen, pianist Manuel Valera, and bassist Yunior Terry. While the new format opens up the playing field for Prieto, the resulting album is anything but loose. Prieto's compositions are precise, tightly-crafted, and edgy --but he doesn't sacrifice the music's fluidity, demonstrating a knack for constructing complex narrative lines inhabited by polyrhythms and counterpoint melodies.

A native of Santa Clara, Cuba, Prieto has played with an array of different groups since his arrival in New York in 1999 -- a Who's Who list that includes some of the most relevant jazz players in the U.S. One of his first jobs was with Henry Threadgill's band Zooid. It was a match made in heaven: Threadgill, one of the most recognized names of the jazz avant-garde, writes meticulously accented music. Since then, Prieto has worked with Claudia Acuña's band, melding straight-ahead jazz and traditional South American rhythms like the Venezuelan joropo and the Argentine chacarera. He's also played in Eddie Palmieri's Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Chico O' Farrill's Afro-Cuban Jazz Project, with pianists Andrew Hill and D. D. Jackson, bassist John Benítez, trumpeters Brian Lynch, Roy Hargrove, and Arturo Sandoval, saxophonist Steve Coleman, and vibraphonist Dave Samuels.

Prieto is known for his pliable, hyperkinetic drumming, energetic sense of groove, and impeccable timing. His synthesis of jazz and indigenous forms are informed by a collation of various Afro-Cuban hand percussion traditions, post-bop idioms, and the avant-garde. Prieto's last two discs, About the Monks and Dafnis Prieto Absolute Quintet were released by Zoho Music; his new disc can be purchased on cdbaby.com.