Raul Da Gama
Based in Milton, Ontario, Canada, Raul is a poet, musician and an accomplished critic whose profound analysis is reinforced by his deep understanding of music, technically as well as historically.
Vanderlei Pereira and Blindfold Test: Vision for Rhythm
Editor's Pick · Featured Album
The drum set, that invention by Black American drummer Baby Dodds – and rooted in the ingenuity of drummers from...
Pacific Mambo Orchestra: The III Side
Editor's Pick · Featured Album
The Pacific Mambo Orchestra takes its name from the form of Cuban dance music pioneered by the charanga group Arcaño...
Carolina Calvache: Vida Profunda
Editor's Pick · Featured Album
After she produced Sotareño, her first Sunnyside recording, Carolina Calvache left no doubt that an artist of the first order...
Jazz Plaza 2020: Speaking in Tongues
Chapter three of our series: 35th Jazz Plaza International Festival in Havana
In 1972, former University of Toronto professor of Anthropology and Linguistics Michael J....
Dan Costa: “Love Dance” with Ivan Lins
The pianist Dan Costa, who has distinguished himself with several recordings including a critically acclaimed album, Skyness (2018) has released what promises to be...
Dafnis Prieto: Rhythmic Synchronicity
A review of the book by Dafnis Prieto, entitled Rhythmic Synchronicity – Individual and Collective Drumming Skills: A rhythmic course for non-drummers
Anyone who has...
Jazz Plaza 2020: The Celebration of Otherness
Chapter two of our series: 35th Jazz Plaza International Festival in Havana
The legendary French philosopher noted for his work in phenomenology Paul Ricœur, wrote...
Hermanos Arango: Bendita Guanabacoa
Guanabacoa, home of the Cuban musical icons – Ernesto Lecuona, Rita Montaner, Bola de Nieve – the legendary composer, writer and actress as well...
Cuban Jazz Report: Eliel Lazo, Yasser Pino, Javier Massó, Raúl Pineda
After the recent formation of the Cuban quintet El Comité you would be tempted to wonder if another Cuban supergroup was possible. Now that...
Santiago Bosch: Galactic Warrior
Cinematic soundtracks – as well as those for other long-form stories on stage, on television and on film – might not always stand alone...
Andrea Brachfeld: Brazilian Whispers
Brazilian Whispers… How appropriate is that as the title for an album by Andrea Brachfeld. Not only does the instrument she plays – the...
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...