Afro-Cuban culture, Blog, Cuba, The Cuba-US connection, Video and audio
Big news: You can catch Jane and her band in an intimate setting at the Falcon on the Hudson Valley this Sunday, September 15, 2019.
Jane Bunnett and and her husband Larry Kramer have provided the gateway to the larger world for countless young Cuban musicians.
Being from Canada helps. Unlike those of us from the “Land of the No-So-Free”, they’ve been able to travel back and forth to Cuba providing support to the musicians there uninterrupted for over 25 years.
This is Jane’s latest band that includes at least two super stars from the new generation: Daymé Arocena, vocals and Yissy García, drums and super stars to be, some of whom received their introduction to the jazz idiom from Jane: Melvis Santa, vocals & percussion; Mary Paz, congas & vocals. Danae Olana, piano: and Tailin Marrero, acoustic & electric bass.
Big news: You can catch Jane and her band in an intimate setting at the Falcon on the Hudson Valley this Sunday, September 15, 2019.
Other locations on their 2019 Northeast US tour
See them while you can. The jackasses in Washington are making it brutally difficult for Cuban musicians to tour in the US.
– 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.
Go to Cuba with Jazz on the Tube as your guide:
Click here for details
Afro-Cuban culture, Blog, Cuba, Cuban Jazz, Video and audio
A beautiful singer, a beautiful band, and beautiful footage of the beautiful people of Cuba.
The tune is “La Rumba Me Llamo Yo”
The singer and leader is Daymé Arocena, one of the great artists of the new generation of Cuba.
A comment from a YouTube viewer:
“I’m not Cuban or have any Hispanic descendant but I watched her on tiny desk here on YouTube and ever since I’ve been listening to her music. I don’t even understand half of what she’s singing about. Her voice is just so powerful and magnetic.”
That’s the magic of the music.
A little about Daymé:
Born and raised in Havana, her conservatoire training was combined with an upbringing grounded in Cuba’s own musical foundations. Accepted age 9 into one of the country’s prestigious music schools, she studied a choir directing course rooted in Western classical tradition. Meanwhile, she grew up with the day-to-day schooling in folkloric music that’s common to most Cuban households. At regular, intimate get-togethers, celebrating the island’s Santería religion, dancing and singing are the gatherings’ mainstays – a combination that’s meant she sees its deep-rooted traditions in a wider musical context.
Winning the prestigious Marti y el Arte award in 2007, her talent was spotted at a young age. Becoming principal singer with big band Los Primos at age 14, nods of approval followed from Wynton Marsalis, the Lincoln Centre’s teacher and trumpet player, and much-lauded saxophonist Jane Bunnett
Click here for more about Daymé and her music.
Great news!
You can now watch this video – and all Spanish language videos – with English subtitles. It’s free!
Click here for instructions on how to turn on English subtitles.
– 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.
Go to Cuba with Jazz on the Tube as your guide:
Click here for details
Afro-Cuban culture, Blog, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Video and audio
It’s no mystery why Ray was such a beloved figure
That’s “Little” Ray Romero on bongo.
The follows appears to be outtakes from the same program.
A beautiful bio of Ray Romero here from https://worldmusiccentral.org/2006/08/19/master-rumbero-little-ray-romero-dies-in-florida/
“During the 40s, Little Ray performed with the legendary Xavier Cugat Ochestra before joining the U.S. Army. After his army tour, he played with Noro Morales, Joe Locco, José Curbelo, and Miguelito Valdés. By the 50s, he was performing in Puerto Rico and composed part of the percussion section for Cortijo y su Combo when the great Puerto Rican percussionist Rafael Cortijo organized his first band in the early ’50s.
He went on to become an essential part of the legendary percussion section organized and fronted by Tito Rodríguez. However, he was noticed by Eartha Kitt and recruited to play with her orchestra from 1952 to 1956.
Little Ray Romero went on to back up Sammy Davis, Jr. and Dean Martin. By the late 60s and early 70s, Little Ray could be heard with the orchestras of Eddie Palmieri (on the Recorded Live at Sing Singrecording), Frankie Dante and Orchesta Flamboyan, Ray Barretto(on the LPs: Indestructible, Guarare, Other Road, & Barretto Live Tomorrow where he plays the batá drums), and Machito just to name a few.
The 80s saw Little Ray give back to the younger generation through education. He taught at the Drummer’s Collective, the Johnny Colón Music School and Boy’s & Girls Harbor Conservatory for the performing Arts.
An exemplary family man, a good musician and a great percussionist are the three things Little Ray Romero embraced in his long road through life.
He was the recipient of the first Living Legends tribute at The Point CDC in the Bronx under the direction of Angel Rodriguez in New York in 1997. On Thursday, October 2nd, 2003 the community in East Harlem that saw Little Ray grow up honored him with a tribute at the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center that was formerly P.S. 107 where Ray went to elementary school. Ray Barretto, René López, Jimmy Delgado and many others were present. Little Ray was presented with a proclamation from the City of New York that recognized “the many important contributions made to the cultural soul of this nation through the music of Little Ray Romero.”
Ray Romero is survived by his wife Lucía Romero, his sister Irma Rosen, his four children Stephanie Soffi, Elaine Romero, Little Ray Romero, Jr., and Isabel Santiago, eight grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.”
Source: https://worldmusiccentral.org/2006/08/19/master-rumbero-little-ray-romero-dies-in-florida/
– 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.
Go to Cuba with Jazz on the Tube as your guide:
Click here for details
Blog, Cuba, Cuban Jazz, The Cuba-US connection
ENA is Cuba’s secondary school conservatory.
Thanks to the dedication of Camilo Moriera, a new generation of Cuban musicians is being introduced to jazz.
The tune arranged and conducted by Camilo is a Cuban classic “Son de la Loma.” It translates “They’re from the hills”
Makes me homesick.
We’ve featured Camilo’s work on these pages.
Camilo’s Jazz on the Tube sponsored trip to New York City
jazzonthetube.com/camilo-moreira-in-the-bronx/
Jazz on the Tube visits Camilo in Havana
jazzonthetube.com/visiting-with-camilo/
Camilo Moreira -Jazz Educator in Havana
jazzonthetube.com/camilo-moreira-jazz-educator-havana/
– 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.
Go to Cuba with Jazz on the Tube as your guide:
Click here for details
Afro-Cuban culture, Blog, Cuba
We talk about Afro-Cuban music so we thought for a change of pace we’d play some music from the continent of Africa itself.
The artist is Mamady Keïta (b. 1950) who is from the West African nation of Guinea which is southeast of Senegal and Gambia and southwest of Mali, a real cultural sweet spot on the earth. He’s a direct descendant of the king Sundiata Keita who united the Mali Empire.
Keïta is from the Mandinka people (aka Malinke, Manding, Mandingo) which numbers 32 million people who are descendants of the Mali Empire.
Keïta started his musical training on the djembe at the age of seven under Karinkadjan Kondé. His current home, interestingly enough, is Monterrey, Mexico.
I’d be shocked in there’s an Afro-Cuban percussionist who could not go to school on this video for a long, long time.
In Cuba, the term “mandinga” refers to people kidnapped and transported to Cuba from the Senegambia region of West Africa.
– 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.
Go to Cuba with Jazz on the Tube as your guide:
Click here for details
Afro-Cuban culture, Blog, Cuba, Latin Jazz, Puerto Rico
In case you ever wondered, Tito Puente can dance!
Tito at the at Latin NY Music Awards at the Beacon Theater in the 1970s.
The video is a little rough in places and the audio gets very low half way through, but the dancing just gets better!
And the music is smoking hot.
– 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.
Go to Cuba with Jazz on the Tube as your guide:
Click here for details
