DLB - OCTOBER 2009
REDWOOD CITY SALSA FESTIVAL: On Sat. Sept. 26, the quaint Peninsula town of Redwood City came alive with the sounds and flavors of Salsa. Nestled between San Francisco and San Jose, the 2nd Annual Salsa Festival attracted thousands of people to the historic downtown district. The music was Salsa, Latin Jazz and Latino Alternative and complimented a Salsa making competition sponsored by the city.
The weather was a muggy 92 degrees but the music and the food made it feel like a Caribe paradise. The performing bands were caliber acts that played for the people and delivered no nonsense Salsa Dura. Salsero and Orquesta Saboricua opened the Salsa stage and were on point with Boricua classics that quickly got the dance area fired up.
The Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble of San Francisco has some new faces and great to see them evolving and continuing to turn out great young musicians. Dr. John Calloway is the musical director with Arturo and Sylvia Ariera, the mom-and-pop team that started and administers the group. Equally as impressive was the San Jose Jazz Latin Youth Ensemble who closed out the Family Stage.
Lo Cura and Cuban Cowboys played great Latin Alternative rock with originality and flair but it was the Latin Rhythm Boys who stole the show. The group out of Hayward, CA. got extra time because of a schedule change that bumped out Orquesta Borinquen. They took advantage and played Bomba and Jibaro classics with cuatro guitars and roaring trombones that rampaged with driving energy.
The group's trajectory goes back to 1963 when Cuatro-player, Junior Miranda, founded them as Jr. Miranda's Latin Rhythm Boys. Now his sons, Henry and Earl, maintain the family musical tradition and with the help of great musicians like lead cuatrista, Johnny Rodrigues, and trombonist, ?, they keep the people dancing and happy! They recently opened for La Sonora Ponceña in SF and lit Roccapulco up!
CESAR RIDES AGAIN! New Salsa Venue! After turning over the keys to his longtime Cesar's Latin Palace in San Francisco, promoter/pianist/bandleader Cesar Ascarrunz is at it again. This time he will be opening a new Salsa venue in downtown Oakland. The spot is the Historic Sweet's Ballroom which during the 1960s was called Sand's Ballroom and presented greats like Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez and many other icons of Salsa, Latin pop and Mexican music. The Sand's was run by Maria and Chico Ochoa. Maestro Chico ran a great band that included Pete Escovedo on vocals and brother Coke on Timbales.
Located at 1933 Broadway in Downtown Oakland, the opening night is Friday Oct. 16
and will feature Cesar's All Stars with special guests Francisco Aguabella, Armando Peraza, Roger Glenn, Gibby Ross, Ana Daisy and others. From there on, Cesatr will present Salsa dancing every Fri. & Sat. For info: 415-821-1156
VIVA ORESTES! Congrats to Bay Area legend Orestes Vilato for his Latin Grammy nomination for best Traditional Tropical Album! "It's About Time" was produced by Rebeca Mauleon and features a great cast of Los Angeles - based Cuban musicians. The tunes are a superb showcase for the technical wizardry of Orestes who is clean, precise and musical hip with his beats. The resume he has built is stellar and we are truly blessed to have him in our midst.
John Santos will be honoring Orestes Vilato at Yoshi's Oakland on Sunday, Nov. 1, with a party they call: "Si No Tiene Swing...A rhythmic celebration of Orestes Vilato's 50 years on Latin Music's cutting edge, and John Santos' birthday, featuring The John Santos Sextet with special guest el maestro Orestes Vilató. You don't want to miss this! Yoshis.com for more info.
