Raul Da Gama
Canadian writer. Based in Milton, Ontario, Canada, Raul is a musician and an accomplished writer whose profound analysis is reinforced by his deep understanding of music, technically as well as historically.
Ethiel Faílde: Keeper of the Flame of Danzón
Did Miguel Faílde (1852-1921) create or even “consciously stumble” upon (both better epithet than “invented”) the now-iconic danzón dance form that Cuba gave the...
Jazz Plaza 2020: Embracing the Culture of Jazz
Chapter one of our series: 35th Jazz Plaza International Festival in Havana
Culture - the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation,...
Alfredo Rodríguez | Pedrito Martinez: Duologue
Both Alfredo Rodríguez and Pedrito Martinez are musicians known for great virtuosity on their respective instruments – Mr Rodríguez on the piano and Mr...
Ibrahim Maalouf: S3NS
There is, quite simply, no trumpeter in the world today who sounds like Ibrahim Maalouf. This has everything to do with his instrument, which...
Cuban Sax Quintet: Saxofones Live Sessions
Music played by ensembles comprising exclusively by saxophones became a phenomenon in Jazz with the World Saxophone Quartet. The group was founded in 1977...
Yasser Tejeda & Palotré: Kijombo
In almost all musical systems sacred music is held separate from its secular variant. In the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, for instance, we...
Elio Villafranca: Revealing the Secrets of Slavery
In the newly-crowded world of Afro-Caribbean music, where instrumentalists have always reigned supreme, the singularity of the composer is suddenly in the limelight. We...
Calle Loiza Jazz Project: There Will Never Be Another You
The music on There Will Never Be Another You by the Calle Loíza Jazz Project begins with the thunderous report of the barriles -...
Eduardo Sandoval: Más Trombón Que Nunca
Editor's Pick · Featured Album
Of all of the brass and reed instruments played in music, somehow the trombone can be made to sound most...
Poncho Sánchez: Trane’s Delight
Editor's Pick · Featured Album
Poncho Sánchez continues his long tribute to the ancestors of the music he knows and plays so well with Trane’s...
Daniel García Trio: Travesuras
Frederic Mompou Dencausse (1893-1987) was a Catalan composer and pianist who composed some songs but whose work largely and masterfully explored the technical and...
Loz Speyer’s Time Zone: Clave Sin Embargo
Having spent close to ten years in Oriente, in Eastern Cuba, a province that is made up of Las Tunas, Granma, Holguín, Guantánamo, and...
El Comité: Y Qué!? (So What)
A fantasy of my own making: Truth be told, the Cubans and French have not got together to and create a wonderful musical take...
Alex Cuba: Sublime
If some of you, like me, devour a new recording even before you first play it, turning the package over and over in your...
Daymé Arocena: Voice of a Volcanic Heartbeat
When Jane Bunnett introduced a young Afro-Cuban vocalist Daymé Arocena as the first led singer of her seminal all-woman ensemble Maqueque we knew someone...
Roberto Fonseca: When the Fingers do the Chanting
The pianist Roberto Fonseca stands quite apart from the plethora of impressive young pianists to come out of Cuba since the era between Bebo...
Carlos Sarduy: Luz
Carlos Sarduy is a considerably decorated trumpeter, having won a Grammy, two Latin Grammys and a clutch of other awards for his inventive work...
Emilio Solla Tango Jazz Orchestra: Puertos – Music From International Waters
Editor's Pick · Featured Album
Reviewing music can be a vexing experience. Often recordings that bode well on paper disappoint somewhat in reality. And then...
Chick Corea – The Spanish Heart Band: Antidote
Editor's Pick · Featured Album
For young, aspiring pianists, Chick Corea and his music might easily be considered “essential study”. His breathtaking oeuvre offers so...
Negroni’s Trio Presents: Acústico
Negroni’s Trio is somewhat unique among piano trios. Bring culturally informed ideas not only by Afri-Caribbean music, but also – in its being influenced...