Archives for 2004

Any year that begins with Cuba’s incomparable jazz pianist Chucho Valdes at the Village Vanguard has to be an auspicious one. When Chucho also surrounds himself with three hand-picked New York musicians (especially the sensational Cuban drummer Dafnis Prieto) and then invites Mexican-American trombone great Steve Turre to sit in on several numbers, it’s more than […]

I see that Sharon Waxman, of The New York Times, and Foxnews.com’s Roger Friedman are feuding over stories they wrote about the influence of the Nation of Islam on Michael Jackson. The New York Post’s Page Six says Friedman is howling that Waxman ripped him off. She in turn accuses him of being inaccurate. What […]

Jazz critic Ben Ratliff made my day on New Year’s with a gorgeous, appreciative review of Chucho Valdes and his New York-based quartet at Manhattan’s Village Vanguard. “You can start to take the virtuosity of Cuban musicians for granted sometimes, especially when they’re playing material that binds itself in technique,” he began. “One example is […]