Chico & Rita, the Oscar-nominated animated film by the Spanish team comprising Academy winner director Fernando Trueba, illustrator Javier Mariscal, and director Tono Errando, is being released in a Limited Edition Collector’s Set including Blu-ray and DVD discs, an audio CD and a 16-page excerpt from the graphic novel based on the film. (A DVD single is also available.) …
Chucho Valdés. Photo by Alejandro Pérez It’s tempting to hear Chucho’s Steps, the most recent album by Cuban pianist, composer, and bandleader Jesus “Chucho” Valdés, like a memoir of sorts. After all, Valdés turned 69 on October and the image on the cover, not to read too much into it, shows him approaching a crossroads. …
On a cold late winter afternoon, sitting at a table in an enclosed patio in his Buenos Aires home, Argentine pianist, composer, and bandleader Guillermo Klein takes another drag of his cigarette as he considers a question from his visitor. In his responses, like in his music, there seem to be no rote formulas, no …
Guillermo Klein, Latin American Folklore and the Nuevo Jazz Latino (JazzTimes) Read More »
As singer Claudia Acuña launched into her first song at her concert at Festival Miami at the University of Miami, in Coral Gables, FL, a few weeks ago, her group´s swing, her own ease at coiling and releasing the melody, even her body language, all said jazz. But the words were in Spanish, and the …
How about The Great Latin American Songbook? (JazzTimes column) Read More »