Cuba Havana | Omar Sosa | Descarga Oriental | George Duke | Fra Fra Sound | The Bahama Soul Club. Produced by Cobie Ivens
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Thanks to Ry Cooder and Buena Vista Social Club, Cuban music has enjoyed great popularity. To make it easier for lovers of Cuban music to choose from the wide range, the Cuba Havana 2 CD is a great tool. The CD is a compilation of the most current bands from Cuba, supplemented with a number of old acquaintances including Compay Segundo, Los Van Van and Vieja Trova Santiaguera.
CD. Cuba Havana 2. LABEL: Arcade (1999), code: 110723. Video
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Omar Sosa.
The artistic director of the Barcelona Voll-Damm International Jazz Festival approached pianist Omar Sosa to record a tribute to Miles Davis’ legendary album Kind Of Blue. Although he was initially dismissive of it, he decided to study it anyway. Omar Sosa did not copy Kind Of Blue, but used it as a starting point for his own compositions that radiate the atmosphere of Miles Davis’ masterpiece.
CD. Eggun – Omar Sosa. LABEL: Skip Records (2013), code: SKP 9114-2. Video
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Maurice El Médioni & Roberto Juan Rodriguez.
Although their origins suggest otherwise, the musical influences of the Jewish-Algerian pianist Maurice El Médioni and the Cuban Roberto Rodriquez are not that far apart. During World War II, El Médioni learned to play Latin American rhythms and melodies at the request of American soldiers stationed in Algeria. After fleeing Cuba, Roberto Rodriquez came into contact with traditional music of Jewish refugees in Miami. At Descarga Oriental the musical paths of pianist and percussionist cross, resulting in a dazzling synergy.
CD. Descarga oriental : The New York sessions van Maurice El Médioni & Roberto Juan Rodriguez. LABEL: Piranha (2006), code: CDPIR 2003. Video
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George Duke.
Keyboardist George Duke decided to concentrate entirely on the melody for In A Mellow Tone. The basic idea was to mix traditional standards with our own work that was an extension of these. Duke Ellington’s In A Mellow Tone, Never Will I Marry, I Love You Porgy by George and Ira Gershwin and the song So Many Stars by Sergio Mendes are discussed. He himself provides the CD with a new solo piano version of his eighties hit Sweet Baby.
CD. In a mellow tone – George Duke.
LABEL: BPM BPE, code: 5103 + Dome Records, code: CD 67 (2006). Video
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Fra Fra Sound.
The Surinamese ensemble Fra Fra Sound, founded in 1980 in Amsterdam, has been successfully mixing Caribbean and African influences with music from the United States and Suriname for years. Dya So, which means something like here and now, has cheerful tropical rhythms that form the basis for clearly audible fusion patterns. The chemistry between the musicians who have been playing together for years is especially evident during Dya So’s uptempo pieces. But even on slower, subdued songs like 100% Halal they create a sultry tension that is inherent to life in the tropics.
CD. Dya so – Fra Fra Sound. LABEL: Pramisi (2008), code: PRA CD 0704. Video
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The Bahama Soul Club.
The work on this album was indeed inspired by the images of the most insane films ever made: I Am Cuba, directed in 1964 by Mikhail Kalatozov and presented in the 1990s by Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese.
The rights holders of this film ‘The Cuban Institute Of Cinematography’ fell completely in love with the first songs for this album and also with the idea of combining the images with the music. Then they finally agreed to several scenes for a few videos of the The Cuban Tapes with pure, real Cuban patina.
CD. The Cuban tapes – The Bahama Soul Club. LABEL: BuYu Records (2013), code: BUO 12 CD. Video
Produced by Cobie Ivens
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