Jazz & Blues Lounge » latin_jazz

Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble Performance

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 04:00:55 +0000

Jazz in Chicago (JIC) is an organization I was busy raving about just yesterday. It’s an organization dedicated to promoting jazz and jazz music in and around Chicago. They sponsors and put together and promote all kinds of jazz performances and jazz education programs. They are a very cool organization and they do good work for a form of music that far too many people don’t know enough about. Too many people find jazz intimidating or off-putting and that’s too bad.

One of the up-coming events is the performance of the Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble. What’s the Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble? Well, according to the JIC website:

“Caribbean music and jazz have had close connections from the beginning of the last century. Composers and soloists from Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington to Chick Corea have been inspired by Juan Tizol, Chano Pozo and Mongo Santamaria. Gillespie widened the scope in the 90s with his United Nations Orchestra and in Chicago, the Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble (CALJE) continues the multinational quest by incorporating Afro-Cuban Jazz, Brazilian Jazz, Flamenco, Central American and Peruvian folkloric rhythms into their compositions while staying true to Latin Jazz traditions. Founded by Mexican born trumpeter/composer, Victor Garcia and Nicaraguan born pianist/composer, Darwin Alejandro Noguera tonight’s concert features Chicago’s finest Latin jazz performers, with guests Steve Turre (trombone, shells); Paoli Mejias (percussion); Howard Levy (piano/harmonica) and Brian Lynch (trumpet).”

They have a performance coming up right at the end of July. You will definitely want to add this to your list of things to do if you happen to live in Chicago or you are planning on being in Chicago on July 31.

WHEN? Thursday July 31, 2008

WHAT TIME? 6:30 p.m.

WHERE? Millenium Park Michigan & Washington Chicago, IL

Millenium Park is an awesome place to see a show. It is right downtown, in the heart of Chicago. The Pritzker Pavillion is a Ghery-designed stage and lawn. You really need to see it o believe it. You can watch great performers and listen to great music beneath the stars, with the lights of the city of Chicago winking all around you. What more could you want?

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Chicago’s JazzCity Latin Jazz Festival

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:22:17 +0000

I am still trying to keep an eye out for various festivals and things in and around the Chicago area. Thankfully, there are a lot of those, especially when you consider the suburbs as well. Of course, many of them are still a long ways off, but it never hurts to plan ahead. Thanks to WDCB for the information below about the JazzCit Latin Jazz Festival.

JIC’s JazzCity Series: Latin Jazz Festival

General Event Information

Price: free

Dates and Times: Friday, July 11; 7 p.m.
Artist/Group: Carlos Garcia’s Cuatrissimo, vocalist Nythia Rivera, and Jose Papo Santiago’s Infraverde
Description

Produced in cooperation with the Chicago Park District, and sponsored by WDCB Public Radio, the Jazz Institute of Chicago’s JazzCity 2008 free concert series connects people of all ethnicities and generations to the legacy of jazz in Chicago. The free concerts are presented in ten Chicago parks located throughout the City.

Venue Information

Venue: Humboldt Park Boathouse
Address: 1359 N. Sacramento Avenue
City: Chicago
State: IL
Zip Code: 60622

Presenting Organization

Jazz Institute of Chicago and Chicago Park District
Telephone: (312) 427-1676

Other JazzCity 2008 Concerts

Friday, February 8 – 7:00pm
“Guitar Summit”
An array of guitar-slingers who each represent an aspect of the jazz guitar legacy: Curtis Robinson, John Moulder, Jeff Parker, and Buddy Fambro.

Friday, March 7 – 7:00pm
“Big Band/Big Dance”
Rob Parton’s JazzTech Big Band features the many styles of big band jazz music ranging from Count Basie to Buddy Rich.

Friday, March 28 – 7:00pm
“The Awakening Reunion”
Featuring Ari Brown, T.S. Galloway, Ken Chaney and Corey Wilkes. The Awakening was at its peak in the 70s, comprised of Chicago musicians who scattered far and wide after that.

Friday, April 18 – 7:00pm
“Celebrating New Orleans: Lucky 7s”
Jason Adasiewicz, Jeff Albert, Josh Berman, Jeb Bishop, Matthew Golombisky, Keefe Jackson and Quin Kirchner.

Friday, May 9 – 7:00pm
“Jazz Cabaret”
Vocalist Saalik Ziyad’s 5 After 7 Project features some of the best rising star musicians in the city.

Friday, June 13 – 7:00pm
“Nicole Mitchell’s Black Earth Strings”
Flutist Nicole Mitchell has created a chamber jazz group that has mesmerized audiences across the country. Featuring Renee Baker, violin; Josh Abrams, bass; and Tomeka Reid on cello.

Friday, July 11 – 7:00pm
“Latin Jazz Festival”
Three bands taking the stage include the Carlos Garcia’s Cuatrissimo, vocalist Nythia Rivera, and Jose Papo Santiago’s Infraverde.

Friday, October 3 – 7:00pm
“Piano Masters”
Master of blues and boogie, Erwin Helfer is our featured soloist, after which a two-piano duel between Willie Pickens and Stu Katz will have everyone leaving a winner!

Friday, November 7 – 7:00pm
“Bebop Brass”
As always, a look to the past and the future: Orbert Davis, David Young and Pharez Whitted on trumpets, Tom Garling, Tracy Kirk and Norman Palm on trombones, and Ken Chaney piano.

Friday, December 5 – 7:00pm
“Tribute to Art Blakey”
Winard Harper is featured as pianist Robert Irving III pays tribute to Art Blakey’s contribution to jazz as a discoverer of young talent and to his very considerable innovations on the drums.

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Saying Good-Bye to the Mambo King

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 23:02:04 +0000

A man by the name of Israel “Cachao” López has passed away. He often just went by the name of Cachao (Ka-chow) and he was a bassist. However, that would be like saying John Lennon was just a singer or Mozart was just a guy who can play piano. Cachao was the man who pretty much invented the style of music we know today as “mambo.”

Now, technically speaking, mambo may not be jazz, but the way Cachao played, it was very close. According to the WIKIPEDIA entry for Cachao:

“A possibly more important move took place in 1957, when Cachao gathered a group of musicians in the early hours of the morning, pumped from playing gigs at Havana’s popular nightclubs, to jam in front of the mikes of a recording studio. The resulting descargas, known to music aficionados worldwide as Cuban jam sessions, revolutionized Afro-Cuban popular music. Under Cachao’s direction, these masters improvised freely in the manner of jazz, but their vocabulary was Cuba’s popular music. This was the model that wold make live performances of Afro-Cuban based genres, from salsa to Latin jazz, so incredibly hot.”

Cachao worked primarily in those days with his brother Orestes Lopez. They composed thousands of pieces of music at that time. From the 1930s through the 1950s they helped shape the very sound and nature of Cuban music. Without them, the latin jazz and Cuban jazz music that so many of us have come to know and love just wouldn’t have existed.

Again, from the Wikipedia entry:

“Lopez has won several Grammy Awards for both his own work and his contributions on albums by Latin music stars, including Gloria Estefan. In 1995, he won a Grammy for Master Sessions Volume 1. In 2003, he won a Latin Grammy for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album together with Bebo and Patato Valdés for El Arte Del Sabor.

“His nephew, Orlando “Cachaíto” López became one of the mainstays of the famed Buena Vista Social Club group.”

See, right there, you know the influence he had on latin jazz with the Buena Vista Social Club. He as 89 years old and passed away due to kidney failure. He was too young and the world is a bit sadder without him.

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