Albums
Salsa de la Bahia Vol. 1 – A Collection of SF Bay Area Salsa and Latin Jazz
There is a staggering array of exquisite music on Salsa de la Bahia Vol. 1, which is unlike other compilations featuring various artists. There is something of a golden thread that runs through the entire 2-CD collection. And this makes it unique. This ground breaking anthology of Afro-Cuban music reveals the hidden history of tropical heat from the San Francisco Bay Area, in the forthcoming documentary entitled The Last Mambo. The film is directed by the well-known film-maker, Rita Hargrave and the music has been produced by the leading-light of the Bay Area Latin Jazz scene: trombonist, producer and founder of Patois Records, Wayne Wallace. The DVD is due out in the spring of 2014, but volume one of the music track has already been released and this was a wise move on the part of the producers, for it surely stands out on its own. The high-spirited collection of charts shows the uniqueness of the heritage of Bay Area Latin Jazz. The roots of Afro-Cuban music have been translated in a unique manner by the musicians of San Francisco in an osmosis that has created a saucy mix closer to the Afro-Cuban son, mambo, rumba and guaracha. For the mixed communities of the West Coast in Bay Area in the 1950s and 1960s, that music was inspiration. But Latin Jazz really blossomed—this time explosively—in the 1980s and Wayne Wallace was in the vanguard of that movement. So it should come as no surprise that Mr. Wallace should be in the producer’s chair of Salsa de la Bahia.
Despite conventional wisdom it is believed that historically the Latin “tinge” came before Jelly Roll Morton, at a time when the Spanish Habanera—the Cuban Contradanza—became popular throughout the world, around the turn of the century, which makes it probably as old as the jazz idiom itself. It was probably the legendary Buddy Bolden who was the first to use the habanera-based “big-four” pattern to flavour the jazz marches through the streets of New Orleans and in Congo Square—there may even be evidence to suggest that he used that pattern to create the first syncopated bass drum pattern to deviate from the standard on-the-beat march. Later, in 1914 “St. Louis Blues” by W.C. Handy incorporated habanera/tresillo as part of its bass line. But Mr. Morton did compose one of the first complete Latin Jazz charts in 1910, called “The Crave” (Ironically this was released in 1938). The Puerto-Rican-born Juan Tizol wrote “Caravan” for the Duke Ellington Orchestra in 1936, long before Mario Bauzá started making waves with “Tanga” (1943). But it was Mario Bauzá—trumpeter and musical director of Machito’s Orchestra—who “invented” the use of 3/2 and 2/3 clave and when he directed members of Machito’s band to begin on either side of the clave. “Tanga” was born that fateful night. Later, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker even joined in the fray and “Cu-Bop City” became a hit. Then Mr. Gillespie composed “Manteca” with Chano Pozo and another legend came to life. Many compositions from brilliant musicians from Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic later, the final chapter in Latin Jazz proto-history came when the great timbalero, Tito Puente, then a nascent member of Machito’s orchestra was invited to bring his drums and flamboyant style into the front of the ensemble and the lights on the marquee were lit forever.
Now that the noise has died down, so to speak, it appears that this music played in the San Francisco Bay Area has remained a more pure interpretation of Afro-Cuban rhythm and voicing. This seems to be the state of the art as evidenced by the music of Salsa de la Bahia. The Estrellas de la Bahia is the first to suggest that aspect of the music. The rich colours and tones painted by the brass and reeds and woodwinds against the backbeat of the clave of the rhythm kings of such as Pete Escovedo, Benny Velarde and the younger generation of percussionists such as John Santos, Jesús Díaz and Karl Perazzo make for a thick tasty and soulful stew. Edgardo Gambón tells the fabled story of the Bay Area scene in the early years with great swaggering flair. This chart, “Canto, Clave y Candela” is a masterful herald for the music that is to follow. CD1 also boasts some fabulous charts, such as the roistering Benny Velarde classic “Tranquilizate” and the maniacally passion of “Virgen de la Caridad”. “Lou’s Afro-Cuban Blues” might easily have been the high point of the record, if it were not for John Calloway’s “Velero Sin Timon” followed by John Santos’ “Ponme a Gozar”. It bears mention that breathtaking soli by Camilo Landau on tres, in “Canto, Clave y Candela” and the soaring forays of Anthony Blea’s violin are among the finest moments of CD 1.
CD 2 has more of the same with superb music from Wayne Wallace (“El Espiritu Del Mambo”) which features heart-stopping soli from Karl Perazzo on güiro and Louie Romero on timbales. And then there is the fabulous music and timbales work of Orestes Vilató (“Toca Vilató”) that creates a wonderful ocean of sound. Here too, the music reaches its maximum velocity with the sensual narrative and throbbing rhythms on “Café Con Leche”. And lest that be considered the highest point of the disc, more brilliance is to follow when John Calloway literally explodes with a breathtaking display of virtuosity on flute, both with his reed-work as well as his mouth percussion on the flute in “Montuno Pa La Flauta”. This is probably one of the finest charts on the entire package, not only because of John Calloway but also the svelte arrangement of the piece. And then there follows one superb chart after the next. From “”Yolanda Pachanga” this shines not only because of the colourful and tasty percussion by Benny Velarde and his team of percussionists, but also because of the outstanding vocals by Sal Nuñez until the close of the disc with a rousing couple of charts: “Tumba Randy” Anthony Blea y Su Charanga and “Rumba Para Paul” by the ever-outstanding “Estrellas de la Bahia”.
With so much fine music on volume one of this packages and with the film to come in the spring of 2014, as well as hopefully volume two of this package, it is proper to marvel at what is at hand and await future surprises with bated breath.
Track List: CD1: Canto, Clave y Candela; Tranquilizate; Virgen de la Caridad; A Bailar con Avance; Lou’s Afro-Cuban Blues; Soy Matancero; Mira a Elena; Yo Vine a Bailar la Salsa; Dormido; Velero Sin Timón; Ponme a Gozar.
Personnel: CD1: Estrellas de la Bahia featuring Carlos Caro: conga, Benny Velarde: timbales; Pete Escovedo: bongo; John Calloway: flute; Tregar Otton: violin; Camilo Landau: tres; Benny Velarde y Su Super Combo featuring Anthony Blea: violin; Sal Nuñez: lead vocals, coro, percussion; Anthony Blea y Su Charanga featuring Edgardo Herrera: vocal, Orlando Torriente: lead vocal; Avance; Louie Romero y Su Grupo Mazacote; Orquesta la Moderna Tradición; Visión Latina; Edgardo y Su Candela; Jesús Díaz y Su Oba; John Calloway; The John Santos Sextet.
Track List: CD2: El Espiritu Del Mambo; Toca Vilató; Jardinero; Madre Rumba Padre Son; Café Con Leche; Montuno Pa’ La Flauta; Yolanda Pachanga; En El Tiempo De La Colonia; La Loca; Tumba Randy; Rumba Para Paul.
Personnel: CD2: Estrellas de la Bahia featuring John Santos: bongo; Jesús Díaz: conga; Louie Romero: timbales; Karl Perazzo: güiro, maracas; David Belove: bass; Murray Low: piano; Roger Glenn: vibraphone; Mike Olmos: trumpet; Wayne Wallace: trombone; Orestes Vilató; Jesús Díaz y Su QBA; Edgardo y Su Candela; John Santos and The Machete Ensemble; John Calloway; Benny Velarde y Su Super Combo; Orquesta la Moderna Tradición; Avance; Anthony Blea y Su Charanga featuring Anthony Blea: violin; Estrellas de la Bahia.
Patois Records on the web: patoisrecords.com
Label: Patois Records | Release date: August 2013
Reviewed by: Raul da Gama
For Claudia Acuña, home has never been a fixed destination. It is something carried—in the body, in memory, in language, and in sound.
On Ave de Luz, the Chilean vocalist brings those fragments together with unusual clarity. After three decades in New York, Acuña no longer treats her roots as something to weave quietly into jazz. She places them at the center. Her striking declaration—“I’m coming in with my crown, my poncho, my everything”—captures the album’s spirit perfectly.
Raised in Concepción during Chile’s dictatorship years and later transformed by New York’s jazz scene, Acuña has spent much of her career moving between worlds. Ave de Luz feels like the moment when those worlds stop competing with one another.
A Specifically Chilean Jazz
Acuña has resisted the idea that “Latin jazz” can be reduced to a single vocabulary. Afro-Cuban and Brazilian traditions may dominate the popular understanding of the term, but Latin America contains countless rhythmic, folkloric and indigenous languages.
Her own metaphor is simple: noodles and spaghetti may look related, but they are not the same thing.
That idea shapes Ave de Luz. The album is not merely jazz with Chilean colour added to it. It is music whose identity emerges from cueca, Andean traditions, indigenous sonorities, poetry, migration and improvisation.
The trutruka, charango, zampoña, tormento and Chilean pandero become part of the album’s grammar. They interact with Manu Koch’s piano and keyboards, Carlos Henderson’s bass and Yayo Serka’s drums and percussion without sounding ornamental or exoticized.
Poetry, Memory and Resistance
“Chinga La Ka Chinga” captures one of the album’s most expansive ideas. Festive on the surface, the piece also acknowledges Afro-Chilean and northern Chilean currents, suggesting how celebration can carry history, resistance and cultural memory within its pulse.
Elsewhere, the music turns inward. “Piececitos de Niño,” inspired by Gabriela Mistral, brings poetry and childhood into the album’s emotional landscape, while “Rezo” feels almost elemental: voice, charango, atmosphere and silence shaping a meditation on nature, distance and belonging.
Acuña’s reading of Violeta Parra’s “La Jardinera” is equally significant. Its imagery of planting, tending and healing becomes an apt metaphor for tradition itself. Culture survives not by remaining untouched, but by being replanted. Acuña does precisely that.
The Wind From the South
“Viento del Sur” also carries special resonance, recalling the title of Acuña’s 2000 debut, Wind from the South. Then, the image suggested a Chilean artist arriving in the international jazz world. Here, the meaning has changed.
The south is no longer where she came from. It is something she continues to carry.
That idea finds its fullest expression in the title track. The “bird of light” becomes an image of migration without erasure—a figure moving forward while remaining connected to its place of origin. The metaphor fits Acuña herself.
Her longtime musical relationship with Koch, Henderson and Serka gives Ave de Luz much of its freedom. Years of trust let the ensemble move naturally between folk memory, jazz improvisation and contemporary textures without forcing boundaries between them.
Ave de Luz may be Claudia Acuña’s most complete artistic statement because it no longer asks her identities to compromise.
The crown is experience.
The poncho is memory.
Jazz is the road between them.
And Claudia Acuña travels that road carrying Chile fully into the light.
Album Information
- Artist: Claudia Acuña
- Album: Ave de Luz: Chilean Jazz & Soul
- Label: Delfin Records
- Release date: July 10, 2026
- Genre: Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Chilean jazz
- Format: Digital/streaming
- Final digital release: 7 tracks, approximately 36 minutes
Tracklist
- Chinga La Ka Chinga – (Claudia Acuña, Coch, Hernandez & Serka) – 4:43
- Ave de Luz– (Mario Rojas) – 5:48
- Viento del Sur– (Claudia Acuña & Jason Lindner) – 6:01
- Rezo– (Claudia Acuña) – 3:49
- Piececitos de Niño– (Based on a poem of Gabriela Mistral / Music by Claudia Acuña) – 6:10
- Un Gorro de Lana– (Víctor Acosta) – 4:18
- La Jardinera– (Violeta Parra) – 6:01
Personnel
- Claudia Acuña – vocals, percussion/claps, tormento; producer
- Manu Koch – piano and keyboards (tracks 1, 2, 3, 5)
- Carlos Henderson – bass
- Yayo Serka – drums and percussion
- Pablo Vergara – piano (tracks 6, 8)
- Andrés Pollak – piano, organ; producer (track 7) | organ (track 1)
- Pablo Zárate – accordion, Chilean pandero (track 2)
- Fredy Torralba – traditional Chilean/Andean instruments including charango, trutruka and zampoña
- Paulina García – spoken word (track 6)
- Daniel Kelley-Acuña – vocals (track 6)
Production Credits
Produced by Claudia Acuña and Andrés Pollak. Most of the sessions were recorded at East Side Sound in New York in November 2025, with “Ave de Luz” recorded at TOC Música in Santiago in October 2025 and additional recording completed at Banduria Studio in Santiago. Andrés Pollak handled engineering on the principal New York sessions; Rafael Chaparro engineered the Santiago title-track session with Javier Lizana assisting. Marc Urselli mixed and mastered the project.
With La Malinche, Eva Cortés delivers one of the most ambitious recordings of her career—a project in which history, identity, migration and music converge around one of the most contested figures in the Americas.
Malintzin, also known as Doña Marina or La Malinche, has long been portrayed through conflicting narratives: interpreter, intermediary, mother of mestizaje, victim, survivor and, in later nationalist mythology, traitor. Cortés does not try to settle that debate. Instead, she uses Malintzin as a symbol of cultural transition, displacement and survival.
That choice makes particular sense for an artist whose own life has unfolded across borders. Born in Honduras (Central America), shaped culturally in Seville (Spain) and later immersed in New York’s jazz community, Cortés has always made music from the space between traditions. On La Malinche, that in-between space becomes the heart of the album.
A Music of Crossings
The album brings together flamenco, Latin jazz, contemporary jazz and Indigenous-inspired imagery without turning the result into a forced fusion.
Rather than attempting to recreate pre-Columbian Mexican music literally, Cortés evokes Indigenous memory through percussion, communal voices, repetition and themes of ancestry, earth and maize. Flamenco enters through Spanish guitar, vocal inflection and the expressive grit associated with cante. Jazz supplies the harmonic freedom and improvisational space that allow those elements to interact.
The musicians surrounding Cortés are crucial to that balance. Pianists Pepe Rivero, Jon Cowherd and Zaccai Curtis, bassists Christian McBride, Luques Curtis and Reinier Elizarde “Negrón,” and drummers Antonio Sánchez, Adam Cruz and Georvis Pico give the album both rhythmic strength and harmonic flexibility. Roman Filiú, Paco Heredia, Marvin Sewell, Bandolero and others expand the palette further. The result is music that never feels boxed into one category.
The Voice at the Center
Cortés’ singing remains the album’s most powerful instrument. Her phrasing can be loose and conversational, then suddenly sharpen into something more urgent and flamenco-inflected. She moves between reflection, mourning, protest and defiance without sacrificing musical control.
Most importantly, she refuses to define Malintzin through betrayal. Her interpretation focuses instead on endurance and complexity.
The opening “Abuelita Malinche” immediately makes that clear. By calling her “Abuelita,” Cortés transforms Malinche from a figure of accusation into an ancestral presence. The arrangement blends Latin-jazz movement with flamenco coloration, while her wordless vocal passages move naturally between scat and cante.
“Hij@s del Maíz” extends that idea of cultural mixture. Paco Heredia’s guitar, Pepe Rivero’s piano, Antonio Sánchez’s drums and the accordion create a sound that travels across regions rather than belonging to one. Maize becomes a symbol of Indigenous continuity, while the music reflects the constantly changing character of mestizaje itself.
From History to the Present
The album becomes even more powerful when it connects the past to contemporary realities.
“Letters to Heaven” and “Remember Me” introduce themes of Indigenous loss and the disappearance of women from both historical memory and present-day communities. “Sur Global” shifts toward resistance, combining rhythmic drive with a broader reflection on colonialism, migration and inequality.
Then “Spanish Harlem” brings the journey firmly into the present. Horns, flute, tumbao and call-and-response place Cortés within New York’s Latin-jazz tradition, completing a musical path that stretches from ancestral memory to the modern city.
A Major Statement
La Malinche is more than an album built around a historical figure. It is a meditation on who controls history, who gets remembered and how identity continues to change across generations and borders.
Cortés turns her own musical hybridity into the album’s central idea. Jazz, flamenco and Latin American traditions do not simply coexist here—they help tell the story.
The result is one of her strongest and most focused recordings to date: emotionally direct, musically sophisticated and deeply rooted in the ongoing conversation between memory and transformation. La Malinche is not about recovering a pure past. It is about reclaiming the right to reinterpret it.
Album Information
- Artist: Eva Cortés
- Album: La Malinche
- Label: Truth Revolution Records / TRRcollective
- Release: June 2026
- Official press release date: June 5, 2026
- TRRcollective Bandcamp release date: June 19, 2026
- Format: CD / Digital
- Number of tracks: 11
- Total running time: 51:53
- Genre: Jazz / Latin Jazz / Flamenco / Afro-Latin
- Recorded in: Madrid, Spain, and Little Falls, New Jersey, USA
Tracklist
- Abuelita Malinche — 4:35
- A Tribo do Vento — 5:46
- Soy el Aire — 5:31
- Light and Sorrow — 3:59
- Hij@s del Maíz — 4:24
- Letters to Heaven — 5:04
- Remember Me — 3:28
- Sur Global — 5:43
- No Me Limites — 4:33
- Indians of All Tribes — 3:53
- Spanish Harlem — 4:57
Personnel
- Eva Cortés — vocals, composer, lyricist, backing vocals
- Pepe Rivero — piano, keyboards, arrangements
- Jon Cowherd — piano
- Zaccai Curtis — piano, keyboards
- Christian McBride — bass
- Luques Curtis — bass
- Reinier Elizarde “Negrón” — bass
- Paco Heredia — Spanish guitar, guitar, arrangements
- Marvin Sewell — guitar
- Roman Filiú — saxophone, flute, backing vocals
- Bobby Martínez — saxophone
- Manuel Machado — trumpet
- Antonio Serrano — harmonica
- Javier Colina — accordion
- Bandolero — percussion
- Roland Guerrero — percussion
- Antonio Sánchez — drums
- Adam Cruz — drums
- Georvis Pico — drums, vocal solo, backing vocals
Production Credits
- Produced by: Eva Cortés, Roman Filiú and Pepe Rivero
- Label: Truth Revolution Records / TRRcollective
- Session One: Camaleón Music Studio, Madrid, Spain
- Recording Engineer, Madrid: Diego Román
- Session Two: Studio Mozart, Little Falls, New Jersey, USA
- Recording Engineer, New Jersey: Kostadin Kamcev
- Mixing: David Darlington
- Mastering: David Darlington
- Mixing and Mastering Studio: Bass Hit Studios, New York, NY
- Photography: Noah Shaye
The title Abriendo Puertas—“Opening Doors”—captures the spirit of guitarist Roni Ben-Hur’s latest recording with unusual precision. Recorded in Havana with an accomplished group of Cuban musicians, the album is built not around the novelty of a visiting jazz guitarist encountering Cuban music, but around something more meaningful: musicians listening closely enough to find a common language.
Ben-Hur has spent much of his career moving naturally between musical worlds. Born in Israel to a Tunisian family and shaped professionally by New York’s jazz community, his playing draws from bebop, Brazilian music, Mediterranean traditions and Latin rhythms without sounding like a collection of influences. His years with pianist and mentor Barry Harris helped establish the melodic clarity, swing and understated sophistication that remain central to his guitar style. On Abriendo Puertas, those qualities fit remarkably well within a Cuban setting.
The key creative partner is pianist Alejandro Falcón, who contributes four of the seven compositions: the title track, “Gua’ One Blues Pal Bobby,” “Lo que es del César” and “El Teide.” Rather than treating Ben-Hur as a soloist placed in front of a Cuban rhythm section, Falcón helps create an ensemble language in which guitar and piano continuously exchange roles. Their compatibility is evident from the opening title track, where rhythmic momentum and lyrical improvisation develop patiently rather than through display.
“Gua’ One Blues Pal Bobby” pushes the conversation toward the blues while retaining a strong Cuban rhythmic identity. It is one of the album’s most spirited performances, illustrating how readily the vocabulary of jazz can coexist with the rhythmic imagination surrounding Ben-Hur in Havana. By the time the ensemble reaches “Lo que es del César” and “El Teide,” the distinction between guest and host has largely disappeared. What remains is a cohesive band responding to one another in real time.
The album’s romantic center comes through three classic Latin American songs. José Antonio Méndez’s “Mi Mejor Canción” brings the intimacy of the Cuban filin tradition into the program, while Osdalgia Lesmes appears on Isolina Carrillo’s “Dos Gardenias” and Armando Manzanero’s “Esta tarde vi llover.”
Lesmes brings warmth and emotional directness to both performances, and Ben-Hur proves once again what a sensitive accompanist he can be. His guitar surrounds the voice rather than competing with it, reflecting an approach he has developed through years of working with singers, including the late Brazilian vocalist Leny Andrade. Ben-Hur has spoken of the importance of leaving space for vocalists and allowing melody and lyric to remain at the center of an arrangement.
That same sense of space benefits the entire recording. Pedro Pablo Gutiérrez on acoustic bass, Ruy López-Nussa on drums and Octavio Rodríguez Rivera on percussion provide a foundation that is rhythmically rich without becoming overcrowded. Tenor saxophonist Emir Santa Cruz, featured on four tracks, adds another expressive voice and gives several performances a broader jazz-ensemble character.
Recorded at DBega Studios in Havana in November 2025, Abriendo Puertas is part of the Cuban Notes recording series co-produced by Ben-Hur and Dot Time Records founder Johanan “Jo” Bickhardt. Yet the album succeeds beyond the concept behind the series.
Its strength is ultimately found in the musicians themselves. Nobody appears interested in proving how effortlessly jazz and Cuban music can be combined. They simply play together until those distinctions become secondary.
For listeners who appreciate expressive jazz guitar, Cuban music and recordings where collaboration matters more than spectacle, Abriendo Puertas is easy to recommend. Warm, sophisticated and deeply conversational, it finds Roni Ben-Hur opening another musical door—and discovering an ensemble waiting on the other side.
Album Information
Artist: Roni Ben-Hur
Album: Abriendo Puertas
Label: Dot Time Records
Catalog: DT9192
Genre: Jazz / Latin Jazz
Release Date: June 26, 2026
Recorded: November 2025
Studio: DBega Studios, Havana, Cuba
Format: CD / Digital
Program: 7 tracks, approximately 49 minutes.
The project is part of Cuban Notes, co-produced by Johanan “Jo” Bickhardt and Roni Ben-Hur. It follows Alejandro Falcón’s Falcón in Blue as the second album in the series.
Tracklist
1. Abriendo Puertas – Alejandro Falcón – 8:12
2. Mi Mejor Canción – José Antonio Méndez – 6:32
3. Dos Gardenias – Isolina Carrillo – 5:23
4. Gua’ One Blues Pal Bobby – Alejandro Falcón – 9:23
5. Esta tarde vi llover – Armando Manzanero – 5:56
6. Lo que es del César – Alejandro Falcón – 6:17
7. El Teide – Alejandro Falcón – 7:49
Personnel Credits
Roni Ben-Hur — guitar
Alejandro Falcón — piano
Pedro Pablo Gutiérrez — acoustic bass
Ruy López-Nussa — drums
Octavio Rodríguez Rivera — percussion
Emir Santa Cruz — tenor saxophone, tracks 1, 4, 5 and 7
Osdalgia Lesmes — vocals, tracks 3 and 5
Production Credits
Executive Producer: Johanan “Jo” Bickhardt
Co-Producer: Roni Ben-Hur
Recorded at: DBega Studios, Havana
Recording date: November 2025
Sound Engineer: Carlos D’Bega
Label: Dot Time Records
-
25 Most Read Posts13 years agoJuan García-Herreros “Snow Owl” – Normas
-
25 Most Read Posts14 years agoEdy Martínez, the Music Architect Behind the Piano
-
25 Most Read Posts16 years agoRaphael Cruz Reaffirms His Commitment To Latin Jazz!
-
25 Most Read Posts11 years agoRubén Blades con Roberto Delgado & Orquesta: Son de Panamá