Nuestros Primos Musicales

See our Events &  Reviews Section for an extensive Calendar of Events that shows what's happening in the Chicago area and within driving distance for Chicagoans.  
In late 2011, we mentioned that we would be expanding our local coverage of Latin music other than Cuban music in the Chicago area without neglecting our primary mission.  This new section will carry listings of Salsa groups of merit (those playing some Cuban material will still be carried in the main section), miscellaneous Latin Jazz and occasionally other things that are worth sharing with you but don't quite fit in our main section.  
(All photos used in this section that are marked with the "Timba.com" logo  are by Bill Tilford unless otherwise specified, all rights reserved.)

13 May 2012:

See the Calendar of Events in our Events and Reviews section for this week's items.  A few of our best local bands are playing various places. 
Although the number of days has been reduced from six to four, Fiestas Puertorriquenas,  which is now in its 30th year (congratulations!)  will be taking place in Humboldt Park from June 14-June 17, and there will still be a lot of bands. Stay tuned for more details as the date approaches.  

One of Puerto Rico's most progressive bands in the 1980s was Zaperoko. You may know them today as Truco y Zaperoko,  still an excellent band but with more folkloric touches after the merger between the two groups. The original Zaperoko, which included Giovanni Hidalgo on percussion and William Cepeda on trombone, mixed liberal doses of Songo into their music and pulled no punches when it came to tempos, rhythm changes or lyrics. Their first two albums, Cosa de Locos and Still Crazy, continue to hold up well today, and Still Crazy has just been reissued on CD.   If you had the vinyl, you'll already know why this is news.   If you've never heard their first two albums and like your music on the wild side, check this out.  Ahead of their time in some ways.   The band that best matches that energy today in Puerto Rico may be Orquesta El Macabeo, which we'll be saying more about soon.    

6 May 2012:

Papo Santiago is at the Alhambra Palace on Tuesday, May 8 at 10PM. Papo's CD, Infraverde, is great, and if you haven't seen them live yet, you should definitely check them out.  The live performances take things up a few notches.   The rhythm section is tight, the brass section wails, and the group does a nice cross section of Puerto Rican and Cuban styles.   

A few weeks ago, we noted the passing of Richie Pillot, long-time leader of the group Havana.  The survivors are carrying on at Cafe Bolero with Richie's Jam;  see out Calendar of Events for details.  

29 April 2012:  We missed the Eddie Palmieri concerts due to out of town obligations - if you saw them, please write us and tell us what you thought.   Also, fans of Nabori should note that they are in town twice this week - check our Calendar of Events for details. 

22 April 2012:  The Eddie Palmieri concerts are tonight - see our listing from last week immediately below

15 April 2012: 

This Week: 

AN IMTIMATE EVENING WITH THE EDDIE PALMIERI QUARTET, Mayne Stage ,  Chicago, IL, Sunday, April 22, 7:00pm and 9:30pm 
This event is to celebrate Eddie's 75 birthday as well as his more than 50 years in music.  He has left quite a body of work over the years in both Salsa and Latin Jazz.   This will be a Latin Jazz performance with his quartet, and our people in the Bay Area loved his appearance there a few months ago -- he still has it.  Say whatever else  you want to about Eddie, he has been willing to take some risks over the years including (along with his late brother Charlie) having his dance band play Mozambiques back when that rhythm was practically taboo in the US, and his Jazz chops helped him be part of the progressive wing of the Salsa genre as well. 

Check out our Calendar of Events for this week's dance dates including two by local bands on either side of recording projects - Rica Obsesion at the Cubby Bear on Sunday, April 15 and Papo Santiago at the Old Town School of Folk Music on Friday April 20.  Papo released his CD  Infraverde a few months ago,  and Rica Obsesion is weeks away from releasing their own project.  Which brings us to this week's editorial:  we are in a period in which a lot of our best local bands are putting out recording projects - CALJE, Papo Santiago and Angel d'Cuba have already released discs, and Rica Obsesion and Afinca'o are about to do so. Other local groups are coming down the pike as well.  None of these projects is backed by a major label - in most if not all of these (we think it's all, but we aren't 100% positive), the musicians are out of pocket on production costs (studio time and the production process aren't free)  and will either make or lose money depending on whether or not their CDs sell.. SO,  if you dig what you are hearing from these bands,  please do the right thing:  buy a copy of their stuff, don't file-share or worry them to death about a freebie because you're dating their second cousin or something. Freebies aren't "sticking it to the man"; you're just sticking it to the performers.     And, successful recordings lead to more recordings.   Everybody wins, especially us, when that happens.  

8 April 2012:

See our April 1 listing about Fela!   which is scheduled to end April 15 unless extended.   
Two of Chicago's finest Salsa bands, Afinca'o and Rica Obsesion, are weeks away from new CD releases.  You can hear Afinca'o live tonight at the Cubby Bear, and Rica Obesion will be there as well on Sunday the 15th.  

1 April 2012:

A battle of the bands series is starting at the Bottom Lounge this week - see our Events & Reviews calendar for more information.    This week sees Papo Santiago face off against Angel Melendez. 

Fela!  is an highly-acclaimed musical about the late Fela Kuti, among many other things one of the progenitors of what many Americans call Afrobeat (but that is also  a gross oversimplification of his career)  and an influence on many musicians globally for better and worse.   If you listen to some of the Cuban charanga Maravilla de Florida's  songs like Son Wambari and Fela Kuti's Lady side by side, you'll notice some interesting similarities.  Fela!  is playing at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago, Illinois through April 15.  

(For earlier posts, see the NPM Blog Archive)