Boricua Jazz Pioneer Joseph Estevez Jr. aka Joe Loco (1921-1988) How did the pianist JOE LOCO (Crazy Joe) acquire the nickname? Theories abound. According to Jose...
2016 marked the Bronx Conexión Latin Jazz Big Band’s highly acclaimed debut titled TRUE FLIGHT. After a five-year hiatus, the dynamic 20-piece ensemble, ably led by the percussionist, composer,...
Remembering The Giant of the Keyboards Charlie Palmieri (1927-1988) was a pianist, organist, composer, arranger, bandleader, educator, and Eddie Palmieri’s elder brother. In 1926, Isabel and...
When producer, innovator, and self-described “extrovert of manic proportions and overachiever,” Al Santiago heard Panart’s Cuban Jam Sessions (1959) he flipped. “Wow! How loose, groovy, funky and...
Today, Cortijo & His Time Machine y su Máquina del Tiempo (Coco Records, 1974) is considered a classic and (misleadingly) one of the top-ten salsa recordings...
Henry Cole & Villa Locura release a new song featuring Alex López ‘El Callejero’ – “Si Va’ Llover” – and a new form of making and...
Omar Sosa knows how to make an entrance. Wearing a white kaftan, matching skull cap, and adorned with a Santeria collare (collar) and bracelets on his...
“The finest work to date is, without question, El Sonido Nuevo. Vocal music is jettisoned, thus revealing, once and for all, the depth of Palmieri’s instrumental...
Puerto Rico’s Four Time Grammy Award Nominee, Plena Libre Present “Amores En El Camino” (Love’s Journey) Release date: January 12, 2018 (GN Música, Indie) In the...
William Cepeda On Sunday, November 19, 2017, Afro-Rican musician, composer, educator, cultural icon and advocate William Cepeda spoke with Marysol Cerdeira, host of the popular radio...
CD Release At Roulette (Brooklyn, NY) Saturday October 21, Sunday October 22, 2017 For over a decade, trumpeter, composer, bandleader Gabriel Alegria and the Afro-Peruvian Sextet...
Interview: In Conversation with Percussionist, Composer, Arranger, Educator Victor Rendón Based out of Lehman College in the Bronx and led by percussionist, composer, and arranger, educator...
Essential Albums: Mark Weinstein’s Cuban Roots and Cuban Roots Revisited The following is an excerpt from an interview I conducted with Mark Weinstein in 2006. I...
Basilio Serrano is the Author of Puerto Rican Pioneers in Jazz – 1900-1939 – Bomba Beats to Latin Jazz Jazzdelapena: According to your book, many Puerto...
Chombo Silva performed in the legendary Cuban Jam Sessions and shared the stage with Machito, Ray Barretto, Johnny Pacheco, the Alegre-All Stars, Charlie Palmieri, the Tropical...
