{"id":1996,"date":"2016-03-22T01:11:47","date_gmt":"2016-03-22T05:11:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/?p=1996"},"modified":"2019-09-12T14:14:36","modified_gmt":"2019-09-12T18:14:36","slug":"historic-day-for-us-and-cuba-accompanied-by-jazz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2016\/03\/historic-day-for-us-and-cuba-accompanied-by-jazz.html","title":{"rendered":"Historic days for US and Cuba, accompanied by jazz"},"content":{"rendered":"

Congratulations to the U.S. and Cuba for advancing our long overdue reset. It’s about time.\u00c2\u00a0Jazz at its best<\/a>\"imgres-2\"<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0has linked our nations\u00c2\u00a0for\u00c2\u00a0decades, through the tangled history\u00c2\u00a0of corrupt dictatorship and\u00c2\u00a0revolution, missile crisis, failed invasion, bad relations and trade embargo — and in this recent historic moment,\u00c2\u00a0Afro-Cuban-American music is exploding with\u00c2\u00a0exciting new recordings. A hint\u00c2\u00a0of accords and collaborations to come?<\/p>\n

\"imgres-4\"<\/a>

Irakere, circa 1978 – MIFA Festival<\/p><\/div>\n

Disclosure: I attended an amazing\u00c2\u00a0jazz festival in Varadero in December 1980, after having interviewed an early cast of Irakere (Chucho Valdez, Paquito D’Rivera, Arturo Sandoval, Carlos Emilio Morales) in ’78 for DownBeat. Since then I’ve met and listened to Cuban musicians whose political views range over the\u00c2\u00a0broad political spectrum. Without\u00c2\u00a0referencing those views, I point to artists of resounding passion, skill, smarts and lots<\/em> of rhythm —
\n\"51M0tyiDijL._AA160_\"<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0L’\u00c3\u00b3 d\u00c3\u00a1 f\u00c3\u00ban Bat\u00c3\u00a1\u00c2\u00a0<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0Roman Diaz<\/strong> is master of Yoruba ritual rhythms, here grounding fervent Yoruba chants praising ancestors and spirits. The beats are hypnotic, the calls\u00c2\u00a0to\u00c2\u00a0the orishas compelling, the intent absolutely serious. These foundations of Cuban music should not, will not be forgotten — no more than the cry of the blues.<\/p>\n

\"61NJLid4SPL._AA110_\"<\/a>Jane Bunnett and Maqueque<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0— Afro-Cuban for “the spirit of a young girl,” Maqueque<\/strong> is all\u00c2\u00a0that: Four young women from the island having raucous, funky fun playing keyboards, electric bass, drums and singing,\u00c2\u00a0proudly presented by Canadian saxophonist-flutist Bunnett, their indefatigable guide to North America.<\/p>\n

\"71IlvsKs1NL._AA160_\"<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0Cuba: The Conversation Continues<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>Two discs of NYC’s expert large ensemble orchestra with\u00c2\u00a0guest stars taking a variety of dramatic, virtuosic approaches to legacy and modernism, recorded during a\u00c2\u00a02014 trip to Havana. Composer-conductor-chief instigator O’Farrill’s father Chico O’Farrill wrote for Machito and Charlie Parker in 1950, Dizzy later; Arturo extends the glorious\u00c2\u00a0traditions.<\/p>\n

\"61gNnc-CB6L._SS280\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Celebrating John Coltrane (Solo Flute Music)<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0Maestro Bobby Ramirez is a Miami-based\u00c2\u00a0Cuban-American who plays Coltrane’s beautiful blues, ballads and burners all by himself,\u00c2\u00a0with straightforward, sweet and spiritual affects. A devotional album, easy to listen to, deceptive because challenging to have taken on and difficult to have done.<\/p>\n

\"81JeWXG1J2L._SX355_\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hecho En Cuba<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0Dominic Miller and Manolito Simonet The great Manolito, keyboardist-arranger-composer of tight hot Havana timba, unites with Argentine-born, English-chilled guitarist Miller in simmering salsa-nova production numbers. Intriguing, unlikely success!<\/p>\n

Charlie<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0Gonzalo Rubalcaba is t\"41uo4QTU6lL._SX350_PI_PJStripe-Prime-Only-500px,TopLeft,0,0_AA110_\"<\/a>he most\u00c2\u00a0intensely expressive, deeply romantic pianist ever from Cuba, a composer and improviser of international stature, here paying tribute to and with the late great bassist Charle Haden, who loved music with Hispanic inflections as well as Americana and liberty for all. Just out, downloaded, no credits, I can’t tell who’s playing — Metheny? Lovano? Waits? (No, fellow blogger\u00c2\u00a0Ted Panken<\/a> tells me it’s guitarist Adam Rogers, alto saxophonist Will Vinson, bassist Matt Brewer and drummer Marcus Gilmore). Moody, fine.<\/p>\n

howardmandel.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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Congratulations to the U.S. and Cuba for advancing our long overdue reset. It’s about time.\u00c2\u00a0Jazz at its best\u00c2\u00a0has linked our nations\u00c2\u00a0for\u00c2\u00a0decades, through the tangled history\u00c2\u00a0of corrupt dictatorship and\u00c2\u00a0revolution, missile crisis, failed invasion, bad relations and trade embargo — and in this recent historic moment,\u00c2\u00a0Afro-Cuban-American music is exploding with\u00c2\u00a0exciting new recordings. A hint\u00c2\u00a0of accords and collaborations […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[405,1382,1375,1380,250,1378,1355,1263,20,1377,1381,1384,1383,1376,1379],"class_list":{"0":"post-1996","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-main","7":"tag-arturo-ofarrill","8":"tag-bobby-ramirez-flute","9":"tag-cuba","10":"tag-dominic-miller","11":"tag-gonzalo-rubalcaba","12":"tag-hispanic-inflected-music","13":"tag-howard-mandel","14":"tag-jane-bunnett","15":"tag-jazz","16":"tag-latin-jazz","17":"tag-manolito-simonet","18":"tag-maqueque","19":"tag-roman-diaz","20":"tag-u-s","21":"tag-u-s-cuban-relations","22":"entry","23":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1i3CL-wc","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2231,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2017\/05\/whatever-happened-to-international-jazz-day.html","url_meta":{"origin":1996,"position":0},"title":"Whatever happened to International Jazz Day?","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"May 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"April 30 -- yesterday -- was celebrated as the sixth annual International Jazz Day with a global webcast from Havana, hosted by Will Smith, headlined\u00c2\u00a0by pianist Herbie Hancock and including a couple of dozen top notch musicians from the U.S., Russia, Cameroon, France and Korea as well as Cuba. Did\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Esperanza Spalding\"","block_context":{"text":"Esperanza Spalding","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/tag\/esperanza-spalding"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/2017-Jazz-Day-Map-03.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/2017-Jazz-Day-Map-03.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/2017-Jazz-Day-Map-03.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/2017-Jazz-Day-Map-03.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1802,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2015\/04\/doris-duke-performing-artists-and-jja-jazz-heroes-tale-of-two-honor-rolls.html","url_meta":{"origin":1996,"position":1},"title":"Doris Duke Performing Artists and JJA Jazz Heroes: Tale of two honor rolls","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"April 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Six musicians identified with jazz have been named 2015\u00c2\u00a0Doris Duke Performing Artists receiving $275,000 each, and 24 \"Jazz Heroes\"\u00c2\u00a0have been certified by the Jazz Journalists Association after nominations from local jazz communities across the U.S. Are comparisons between these two very different lists of honorees instructive? The Doris Duke Performing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/2015JazzHeroesWITHnumbersver1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3150,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2025\/09\/jazz-activism-organizing-podcast-transcript.html","url_meta":{"origin":1996,"position":2},"title":"Jazz, activism, organizing: Podcast & transcript","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"September 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Terri Lyne Carrington (drummer, Inst. of Jazz & Gender Justice), Orbert Davis (trumpeter, \"Immigrant Stories\") and Marc Ribot (guitarist, Music Workers Alliance) talked with me on The Buzz, podcast of the Jazz Journalists Association about their engagement with social issues. 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Even\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2236,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2017\/06\/great-new-jazz-photography-marc-pokempner-portfolio-from-new-orleans.html","url_meta":{"origin":1996,"position":4},"title":"Great new jazz photography: Marc PoKempner portfolio from New Orleans","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"June 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Photos of musicians making music -- visualizations stirred in the photographers by watching sounds manifest -- are exciting, and as different in style as the photographers and musicians themselves.\u00c2\u00a0Marc PoKempner 's\u00c2\u00a0portfolio from New Orleans of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band with Cuban drummers at the Music Box\u00c2\u00a0Village,\u00c2\u00a0a non-profit community arts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Ben Jaffe\"","block_context":{"text":"Ben Jaffe","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/tag\/ben-jaffe"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSCF5504-e-1-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSCF5504-e-1-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSCF5504-e-1-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSCF5504-e-1-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSCF5504-e-1-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/DSCF5504-e-1-1.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2007\/07\/jazz_beyond_jazz.html","url_meta":{"origin":1996,"position":5},"title":"Jazz Beyond Jazz","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"July 17, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"What if there's more to jazz than you suppose? 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