Jazz Articles
Our daily articles are carefully curated by the All About Jazz staff. You can find more articles by searching our website, see what's trending on our popular articles page or read articles ahead of their published dates on our Coming Soon page. Read our daily album reviews.
Sign in to customize your My Articles page —or— Filter Article Results
Maraca y Otra Visi:
by Javier AQ Ortiz
Orlando Valle's first production for Ahí-Namá followed the trek of his previous ones: “Ballsy Going Where No One Had Gone Before.” Of course, his musical trek did not obviate who and what made it possible as he is as familiar with the past, as he is eager to mark the future.
Maraca has proven his mettle wearing many pants, performer, producer, band member, arranger, resuscitator and preserver of living aged stalwarts of Cuban music. This recorded collage endears itself to ...
Continue ReadingLos Naranjos: Respeta mi tamb
by Javier AQ Ortiz
After more than 70 years, this group continues to engage the traditional Cuban Son with elegance, taste, fun, and respect. The most important points of origin and development of Cuban music lie around Oriente de Cuba, and Havana. Los Naranjos, from Cienfuegos, are a salient and rare point in between.
In this recording we find yet another group of elders that constitute a distinguished fragment of the lush history of Cuban regional groups. Voices that honor the tradition are well ...
Continue ReadingLa: Sonaron los ca
by Javier AQ Ortiz
This recording is a worthy representative of the Cuban Sonora groups. Such bands are trumpet led ensembles that arose from the stringed Cuban Son traditions, which several figures such as Arsenio Rodríguez, transformed forever. Herein you will find three veteran singers, two trumpets and a rare tasty paila led rhythm section, which is a miniature timbale drum with a similar function to bongos, within a production by one of the vocalists: José de Jesús Hernández Boza (Laíto, Jr.).
The group's ...
Continue ReadingBamboleo: Yo no me parezco a nadie
by Javier AQ Ortiz
Listen to its entreaty... Camina pá la pista que la pista no tiene espinas... (Walk to the dancing floor ‘cause it doesn’t have thorns). That's what Bamboleo is all about: contempo-Cuban-orgasmic-tantric- despelote -causing-music that will land you in the chiropractor's office in a hurry, baked and tilted by the good times had dancing under its charisma.
This is a well engineered and mixed recording of a vocal quartet, backed by a fiery Cuban group that epitomizes what can only be ...
Continue Reading
