David Virelles Presents: Gnosis
The pianist David Virelles came to New York via Santiago de Cuba and Toronto. Along the way his vocation as a musician has unfolded...
Mark Weinstein – Todo Corazón
Of all the magnificent aspects of The Tango, perhaps the most beguiling is its musicality. For instance, tango dancing has a unique freedom of...
Greg Diamond: Conduit
In his follow-up to Dançando Com Ale a classic 2009 debut Greg Diamond has produced another remarkable record, Conduit. The guitarist displays increasing...
Duduka Da Fonseca Quintet – Samba Jazz – Jazz Samba
Duduka Da Fonseca brings something altogether new and exciting to the art of drumming: a flair for...
Ramón Valle: Take Off
It will not be surprising if you are drawn to Take Off, the 2015 recording by Ramón Valle. The reasons are two-fold. For all...
Eva Cortés: In Bloom
Ms. Cortés is a Spanish language singer but on this album she also steps out as a highly skilled singer of English language songs equal to or even perhaps even better than her performances on the Spanish...
Luis Lascano: Some Trips
This album, Some Trips by Luis Lascano is a short one. This is a pity because the songs—every one of them—is beautifully crafted. They...
Leny Andrade, Roni Ben-Hur: Alegria de Viver
It’s hard to argue with Tony Bennett when he describes Leny Andrade as the “Ella Fitzgerald of Brasil”. Anyone who has heard Ms. Andrade...
Amhed Mitchel and the Breath of Life Project – Path to Heaven
There are few young musicians who embrace their music with as much mysticism as the Cuban-born, Toronto...
Colina Miralta Sambeat: Danza Guaná
The good news for connoisseurs of music that is as surprising as Jazz, mysterious as flamenco and the molten mix of these with every...
Afro Bop Alliance: Angel Eyes
The joi de vivre is palpable, though not unexpected, from the opening notes of Afro Bop Alliance's Angel Eyes. But something is different now....
Ralph Irizarry & Timbalaye: 20th Anniversary
That Ralph Irizarry’s percussion has found numerous champions attests to the timbalero’s ability to play in a well-crafted, idiomatic manner in wide-ranging, accessible and...
Sammy Figueroa & Glaucia Nasser: Talisman
It is not unusual today for the music of any idiom to collide with another and produce a seismic event in both idioms. Music...
Tiempo Libre: Panamericano
The musical and theatrical finery of Panamericano is going to be quite the sensation in the weeks and months to come, and several years...
Manuel Valera Sr.: Recuerdos
This album, by Manuel Valera Sr. Recuerdos ranks—with Charlie Haden’s Nocturne as one of the most beautiful albums of boleros made in recent times....
Ritmos Unidos: Ritmos Unidos
Patois Records is fast becoming the go-to label for things musically superior in the realm of Afro-Caribbean music. It is hard to find fault...
Duduka Da Fonseca Trio: Jive Samba
Not all interpreters have proved to be distinguished interpreters of other composers’ works, but Duduka Da Fonseca has managed to maintain...
Chucho Valdés: Tribute to Irakere
In 2010 the BBC Library released tapes of a 1995 Irakere concert in London. Imprinted on record by the Beeb three years after the...
Sebastian Schunke: Genesis, Mystery and Magic
Among the young musicians of today is a pianist who is known not only for his pianism, but also for his soul-searching intellect and...
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis: Live in Cuba
We hear so much big band music these days that we may be at risk of forgetting where the priceless modern day markers really...
