How are Camilo’s kids doing? You tell me. Here they are with “Perdido.”
There’s good news and bad news here. The good news is the music itself.
This is a high school band (ENA) and these are mostly underclassmen, new to the band and I presume jazz itself.
The band has only been working together since October of 2017 and this was recorded in late January 2018.
The bad news is that, thanks to US politics, this group will not be performing in the Essentially Ellington competition at Jazz at Lincoln Center this spring, something many of us had been eagerly anticipating.
Here’s the band playing a Cuban classic “Son de Loma,” a composition by Miguel Matamoros that pays tribute to the island’s musical fertility…”Mom, I want to know where those singers are from. I find them very gallant.”
The next piece was a surprise.
The audience clamored for the Philharmonic Orchestra of ISA (Instituto Superior de Arte) to play an encore after a performance of a series of pieces by Ray Lerna of the Republic of the Congo at Havana’s Jazz Fest.
They’d run through all of Mr. Lerna’s pieces – so they played one by their beloved theory and composition teacher, our man in Havana Camilo Moreira!
Next, Camilo’s nephew, age 5, tries his hands at the tambores (drums.)
Surprisingly, drums are hard for the young to get their hands on in Cuba (as are trumpets in New Orleans), so I believe Camilo when he says this was his nephew’s first try at them. Not bad.
A parting picture…
Swedish trumpeter and composer Stefan Johnsson, Camilo and his nephew who is clearly ready for show business.
Johnsson collaborated with Camilo and the ENA Jazz Band as part of Havana’s Jazz Fest 2018. (Note: Sweden is one of 188 counties NOT participating in the US economic blockade against Cuba.)
People who buy the Jazz on the Tube Insiders Guide to Cuba are helping support these efforts and more. All profits go to the cause, the cause being helping jazz musicians in Cuba develop their art and pass it on to the next generation.
Great news!
You can now watch this video – and all Spanish language videos – with English subtitles. It’s free!
Jazz on the Tube’s Ken McCarthy interviews Louis Marks of Ropeadope Records, an artist-friendly, jazz-friendly label in “East Philly” that’s blazing new trails in the art and science of connecting musicians with audiences via recorded music.
Louis and Ken discuss one of the label’s recent projects, a self-produced masterpiece by Eddie Palmieri called “Sabiduría” (“Wisdom.”)
They follow that with the story of the label’s participation in the musician-led movement to save and rebuild New Orleans after the 2005 levee failures and flood when so many TV talking heads and politicians were advocating that the city be bulldozed.
Finally, Louis shares his vision of how labels can adapt to the new business and distribution realities of the 21st century while simultaneously strengthening artists and giving fans more choice.
Music credit: The Jazz on the Tube podcast theme song is “Mambo Inferno” performed by The Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra conducted by Bobby Sanabria from the CD ¡Que Viva Harlem!
Bad news: The performance series referred to in this interview has come and gone.
Good news: Brian Pace does a great job capturing what you missed and weaves the music together with illuminating conversation with the maestro.
If you don’t already know the music of Eddie Palmieri, now’s the time to get acquainted with him.
If you do know him, this interview will remind you how deep he is.
Enjoy!
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
Thanks.
Electricity has been largely restored in San Juan. Schools, hotels, restuarants and many arts and music venues have reopened. (The rest of the island is another story.)
In this call with Jorge Andrés Ferreras, guitarist with the Puerto Rico-based band “Sr. Langosta”, Jazz on the Tube gets an update on conditions in the capital and what you can do to help (cutting to the chase: visit!)
This week, we’ll be paying special attention to Eddie Palmieri who is entering his 80th year this year.
An ardent student of Afro-Cuban music, his career in music extends over 60 years.
Here’s the story of one of his many masterpieces – Harlem River Drive.
Harlem River Drive Revisited – Live in New York (2016)
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
Thanks.
Bomplé and an orchestra of Bard students led by Andres Rivas will be performing at a benefit for Puerto Rico at Bard College’s Olin Hall, Sunday, February 25 at 4 PM.
Andres is a graduate of Venezuela’s legendary El Sistema orchestra-for-youth program which he joined at the age of 3 playing the violin. He’ll be debuting a new orchestra, Viva Puerto Rico, made up of players from the Bard Conservatory, the Bard College Orchestra and from Orchestra Now.
Bomplé founder Alberto Pagan-Ramirez hails from Ponce, Puerto Rico, where he studied classical and band music with a concentration in percussion. He moved to Trenton, N.J. in 1997 and relocated to Philadelphia two years later to become involved in Philadelphia’s vibrant Latino communities. He became involved in Fairhill’s Puerto Rican community by volunteering at Taller Puertorriqueno, and was later named to the board of directors.
In the early 2000s, Ramirez began teaching plena and bomba in various churches and after-school programs. In 2003 he formed the drum ensemble Tambueno, and in 2008 he created Bomple, a traveling bomba and plena group. (Source: Jessica Herring and R. Chase Grier, Philadelphianeighborhoods.com.)
Update: Bard College’s Viva Puerto Rico Orchestra performs “Preciosa” by the Puerto Rican composer Rafael Hernández Marín
