Jazz lovers in London know that from back in the 1990's the Barbican has always been programming the finest jazz sourced worldwide, with a particularly trained eye for fresh talent. And this summer will not be an exception, because Blaze brings to London not only world music but also jazz legends and jazz stars of tomorrow.
Harold Lopez Nussa and his band started building a bridge of sound last Saturday - and these are not the kind of weekend workings which imply tube closures or pneumatic drills-induced Saturday morning wake-ups - linking the first part of our world music programme - the one mainly dedicated to Cuba, in the 50th anniversary of its revolution - to the Barbican Summer Jazz series opening this Thursday with saxophone legend David Sanborn, accompanied by Sam Moore and introduced by a performance by MOBO Award winner YolanDa Brown.
One of the most instantly-recognisable saxophonists in the history of jazz, David Sanborn returns to the Barbican with the live version of his acclaimed recording from last year, Here and Gone. Conceived as a tribute to the soul–drenched feel that defined the music of Ray Charles in the 60s – and especially his two saxophonists Hank Crawford and David ‘Fathead’ Newman, both of whom died recently, this concert will both evoke the spirit of a clutch of Sanborn’s key inspirations. Joining Sanborn on stage will be a true soul legend, vocalist Sam Moore (of ‘Sam and Dave’).
David William Sanborn was born in1945 in Tampa, Florida. Having contracted polio when he was only three years old, he was introduced to the saxophone as part of his cure; later, growing up in St. Louis, he became inspired by the rich legacy of great Chicago blues artists who would play there on tour. In 1965 the Butterfield Blues Band invited him to Los Angeles to sit-in on recording sessions with the band. ‘I sat in and I did okay’, Sanborn has recalled, ‘and I was with Butterfield for almost five years.’ After leaving he became a key sideman to many touring artists, and eventually reached a world-wide audience through a famous alto sax solo on Bowie’s 1975 recording Young Americans. It was also in 1975 that Sanborn released his first solo album, Taking Off. 1981’s Voyeur won a Grammy, as did 1986’s Double Vision. Sanborn has continued to release hard-hitting albums of his own patented brew of jazz, funk and blues; his own sound is a beacon for soulful jazz at its most seductive, and this concert marks a long overdue return to the London concert stage, with a typically high-powered and downright funky band in tow. Mobo Jazz Award winner, saxophonist YolanDa Brown plays the opening set.
JD73 is the alterego of Leeds based musician/producer Dan Goldman. A regular face on the UK/International music scene for over 10 years, Dan has played live and in the studio, collobarated remixed and produced tracks for artists such as Morcheeba and some of the most progressive and talented profile and underground artists and acts across the globe.
Check out the rest of the Barbican Summer Jazz programme 2-24 July by clicking here.
Many thanks to the thousands of people who joined us this weekend in Gillett Square and at the Barbican for two amazing days of Cuban music and dance! That was some real fun!
All the photos of this incredible Cuba50 weekend will be uploaded very soon on our Flickr Blaze Group. If Pablo Milanes, Harold Lopez Nussa, Oscar d'Leon, Changui de Guantanamo, Son del Tropico, Yoruba Andabo, the mojitos and the hot sun made you feel like you were only a few feet away from the white sand of the Cuban coast (yes, that can happen in Dalston), and the dance workshops in the Britten Room together with the FreeStage performances throughout the afternoon inebriated you and your hips with the best salsa flavours Cuba has to offer - well, come back for more! Next weekend we are still speaking Spanish - though from this side of the Atlantic Ocean - with Carmen Linares and her passionate flamenco.
We are currently looking for images, videos and article posted on the blogosphere by the people who participated in these events. We will be posting some of these contributions on this blog very soon. Please, help us finding you tagging your photos, videos or articles "blaze" and "barbican". Many thanks again!
El Sonero Mayor (‘the Great Son Singer’) Oscar d’Leon brings his world-beating Venezuelan Salsa Orchestra to the Barbican this Sunday to replace Los Van Van, who have had to withdraw from performing through illness. D’Leon will be performing his show of classic Cuban repertoire, ‘Canta la Musica Cubana’. The concert’s supporting act and all the day’s free and family events remain the same.
Sunday 28 June 7.30pm Oscar d’Leon + Yoruba Andabo Barbican Hall, £10/15/20 Produced in association with Cuba50. Part of Dance Nations: Roots, Rhythms & Rituals
Singer, bassist composer and bandleader Oscar d’Leon is one of the greatest personalities in the world of Latin dance music and fronts one of the hottest salsa bands of all time. Born in the Caracas neighbourhood of Etamin, D'Leon was influenced early on by Cuban musicians such as Beny More and La Sonora Mantacera and by New York-based Latin performers including Eddie Palmieri and Willie Colon. He taught himself to play bass by listening and playing along to records; in his early career he worked full-time as a taxi driver and factory worker, while singing in the evenings. Forming a band, La Dimension Latina, in 1973, he recorded his first hit, Pensando en Ti, shortly afterwards. Three years later, he formed a second group, Salsa Mayor. D'Leon is frequently called El Sonero Mayor (‘the Great Son Singer’) or El Leon de La Salsa (‘The Lion of Salsa’), and has made his reputation as a thrilling live performer, touring with large bands. His latest CD, Tranquilamente was release by Sony in 2008.
‘The great salsa all-rounder, capable of constantly switching between different styles, or from a croon to a falsetto’ – The Guardian
Yoruba Andabo is a company of singers, percussionists and dancers performing original West African music styles preserved since the 16th and 17th centuries. The group’s name can be loosely translated as ‘Friends and followers of Yoruba lands and culture’. Born out of spontaneous musical get-togethers held at the Havana harbour in 1961 by a group of dock workers, Yoruba Andabo acquired professional status in the 1980s and began recording for EGREM with renowned singer Mercedita Valdes. The group preserves and celebrates the irresistible power of Cuba’s African rhythms, the source and backbone of the countless dance styles which Cuba has given the world. The group won a Grammy in 2001 for the album Rumba All Stars (La Rumba Soy Yo).
Original (Los Van Van) tickets are valid for this concert on Sunday evening. If you have any queries, please call the Barbican Box Office on 020 7638 8891.
1.30pm – 2.30pm Salsa workshop: An introduction to Salsa (age 8+) Freestage concerts 2pm: Tumbao Tivoli 3.15pm: Charanga del Norte
4.30pm Osvaldo Chacon y su Timba 3pm – 4pm Timba workshop: An introduction to Timba, (age 8+) A popular contemporary Cuban dance with many diverse influences aimed at beginners
5pm – 6pm Cuban dance workshop: An introduction to Cuban (age 8+): popular dance including the mambo, cha cha cha and son. Followed by Son del Tropico on the FreeStage (6.30pm)
Friday is really close and here at the Barbican we are all really excited about welcoming the legendary Café de los Maestros at their UK debut.
Café de los Maestros is a loving showcase for the remaining stars of Argentinean tango from the 1940s and 1950s, just before the dramatic reinventions of Astor Piazzolla.
Their contribution to the glorious history of Argentinean tango has been immense through the decades, and also our friend Arlene recommends this event in her London Tango Pages, which is basically the bible for any tangueros in London.
Come to the Barbican for a mesmerizing night of authentic tango, and keep checking Arlene's blog for future tango events all over London.
26th June, Friday - Café De Los Maestros Live at The Barbican
You can see Café de los Maestros live in June. This what the Barbican say:
“UK debut of this twenty piece orchestra from Buenos Aires, assembled by Gustavo Santaolalla (leader of Bajofondo Tango Club) and Gustavo Mozzi, performing a repertoire of tango from the 1940s and 1950s.”
Also, don’t miss Tanguarda performing on the freestage from 7pm… This quartet is a new arrival on the European tango scene and having already played extensively throughout the Netherlands, they are quickly gaining an impressive reputation as a sought after group.
Here is a preview from our friend Ms Hedgehog about our highly anticipated event Cafe De Los Maestros at The Barbican on Friday 26th June.
There are 20 of them, they're playing at the Barbican next Friday, a little trailer from the film about them is below, and they've got Alberto Podestá (yes).
'Welcome to Paradise read the banner over Hackney’s Paradise Gardens, and for aficionados of Cuban music it was. The inaugural event in the Barbican’s Dance Nations series kicked off with cha-cha-cha lessons in the Spiegel Tent, then went outside to strut its stuff.'
Cuba 50: Celebrating Cuba’s musical riches 50 years on from the revolution.
Fidel Castro’s revolution has reached in to every aspect of Cuban life, but nowhere more than in its musical culture. A combination of official support for folk forms and musical training, isolation from the rest of the world and a resourcefulness born of hardship and shortages has made the island a musical treasure trove, rich in classic forms and new innovations, powerful roots and free imagination.
We started yesterday with Cuba 50 in Paradise Gardens, Victoria Park (Orquesta Aragon + Changüi de Guantanamo + Charanga del Norte) - an open-air Cuban dance spectacular, featuring two of the greatest exponents of the island’s traditional music and dance styles.
DON'T BE SHY! TAG YOUR PHOTOS AND VIDEOS TAKEN AT THESE EVENTS "barbicanblaze" SO THAT WE CAN FIND YOUR MATERIALS AND POST THEM ON THE BLAZE BLOG!!!
Now marking their 70th birthday, Orquesta Aragon were founded by bassist Oreste Aragon in Cienfuegos and became international stars during the cha-cha-cha boom of the 1950s; they have come to exemplify the charanga tradition of the island – riffing strings and flutes giving a lighter, folkier and more rural sound than the brass sections of salsa. In the 1990s, the band regrouped under the leadership of Rafeal Lay Junior, returning to its roots and the recording studio to create a rich series of new albums, one of which, 2001’s En Route, received a Grammy nomination. Changüi de Guantanamo's home town may have acquired wretched associations in recent years, but it was the birthplace of the changüi at the beginning of the 20th century, generally seen as the first contemporary music to merge the Spanish guitar sound with African rhythm. Dancing is integral to changüi and is demonstrated by Changüi de Guantanamo's own dancers whose intricate slides, steps and hip movements uncannily follow the suggestions of the tres and the bongos. Changüi de Guantanamo have been performing the changüi repertoire for most of the century and are still based in Guantanamo, under the direction of bongosero Andrés Fisto Cobas.
Inspired by the flute playing of Richard Egües from Orquesta Aragon, the thrilling Charanga del Norte (‘Charanga from the North’) was set up by Leeds-based flautist Sue Miller in 1998. ‘The only 100 percent genuine Charanga and Pachanga band in the land’ – Dave Hucker, The Beat
Also Sunday 21 June @ Spiegel Tent in Paradise Gardens we witnessed the first of the dance workshops for beginners that will accompany all our latin concerts throughout Blaze - an Introduction to Cuban Popular Dance including mambo, cha cha cha and son, of which you can find some interesting pictures on our Flickr page!
A night of steaming Cuban dance music which showcase the African and rural roots of contemporary styles. Yoruba Andabo is a company of singers, percussionists and dancers performing original West African music styles preserved since the 16th and 17th centuries. The group’s name can be loosely translated as ‘Friends and followers of Yoruba lands and culture’. Born out of spontaneous musical get-togethers held at the Havana harbour in 1961 by a group of dock workers, Yoruba Andabo acquired professional status in the 1980s and began recording for EGREM with renowned singer Mercedita Valdes. The group preserves and celebrates the irresistible power of Cuba’s African rhythms, the source and backbone of the countless dance styles which Cuba has given the world. The group won a Grammy in 2001 for the album Rumba All Stars (La Rumba Soy Yo). For Orquesta Aragon see info above.
Hackney Empire, 291 Mare Street, London E8 1EJ Box Office: 020 8985 2424 www.hackneyempire.co.uk/
A chance to hear these masters of Cuban rhythm again – and learn some of their dance moves - in the open-air, in Dalston’s hippest square, home of the Vortex jazz club. There will be a road closure on neighbouring Bradbury Street with a range of food and music stalls, and DJs spinning tunes from Eldica Vinyl & Retro’s extensive funk, soul and jazz collection. African, Caribbean and vegetarian food will be available and the Dalston Jazz Bar will be open for Cuban cocktails. This activity is being co-ordinated by Hackney Co-operative Development's Dalston4London project with support from Hackney Council.
Gillett Square, Dalston, London N16 8JH
Saturday 27 June 2pm – 7pm Cuba 50 moves to the Barbican Centre for a day of concerts, free music, workshops and family events.
See the programme of dance workshops by clicking HERE!
Singer-songwriter Pablo Milanés remains one of the undisputed giants of Cuban music. A major figure in the 1960s nueva trova song movement, he was strongly identified with the progressive aspirations of the government of Fidel Castro. Milanés gained renown for his highly poetic lyrics and gentle but emotional singing, and is now one of the most popular and respected Cuban musicians and songwriters alive. Pianist Harold Lopez Nussa was born in a family of musicians in Cuba, the son of the drummer Ruy Lopez Nussa and uncle famous pianist Ernan Lopez Nussa. The winner of many classical piano contests, Harold opened up to Cuba’s jazz, traditional and popular music and in 2005 was declared the laureate of the Montreux Jazz Piano competition. His piano work reveals the development of another Cuban piano giant in the great tradition of Bebo and Chucho Valdes, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Roberto Fonseca. The nine members of Son del Tropico, from Havana and Santiago, are masters of the Son style, the predecessor of Salsa and so many contemporary Latin styles.
FreeStage pre-show 2pm: Changui de Guantanamo, Omar Puente, London Lucumi Choir & Yoruba Andabo.
Juan Formell, bassist and founder of Los Van Van, is quite possibly the most important figure in the history of post-revolutionary Cuban music. In the late 1960s, when Cuban traditional music was at a low ebb and fascination with rock and soul was high, Formell broke away from Orquesta Revé to form Van Van and develop a whole new rhythmic approach for Cuban music. With drummer José Luis ‘Changuito’ Quintana, Formell created the Songo rhythm which incorporated some of the power and drama of rock and funk into Cuban music in a way which made Van Van the premier dance group on the island for the following three decades – and influenced all the Cuban dance acts who followed. With stars like dazzling pianist Cesar ‘Pupy’ Pedroso and larger-than-life vocalist Pedro Calvo, Van Van combined raw power – and a multi-trombone brass section - with clever musicianship and a quite unrelenting groove. Formell’s songs, full of wry observations and street slang, have repeatedly captured the Cuban zeitgeist as seen from the streets of Havana and earned the band dozens of hits. This is their 40th anniversary tour, and though many of the personnel have now changed, the band remains at the top of the Cuban music scene and one of the greatest dance bands in the world. ‘Los Van Van has held its place as Cuba's top band for decades’ - The New York Times
For Yoruba Andabo see June 25 above.
FreeStage pre-show 2pm: Son del Tropico + Osvaldo Chacon y su Timba + Charanga del Norte + Leo Duany & Tumbao Tivoli.
DON'T BE SHY! TAG YOUR PHOTOS AND VIDEOS TAKEN AT THESE EVENTS "barbicanblaze" SO THAT WE CAN FIND YOUR MATERIALS AND POST THEM ON THE BLAZE BLOG!!!
Don't forget that tomorrow (Fri 19) the greatest living tabla player Zakir Hussain will perform in the Barbican Hall! This is the fourth event part of the Blaze festival, before we kick off with the Cubans this Sunday in Paradise Gardens @ Victoria Park.
Don't miss this free day of outdoor concerts and performances in Victoria Park, E3. Check it out on the blaze microsite by clicking here.
As you can see, we are all excited about Blaze!! :)
Rodriguez' show was so mesmerizing last Saturday 6th June that we keep receiving great reviews about it!Here is the impression of our friend at Put Me On It , a great blog about culture and music in London. And we couldn't not be on it, of course!
Do you know about Rodriguez? Well to be honest, I don’t know much about him. I know a couple of his tracks. He’s an old school (born 1942) Detroit resident. He's a psyche rock /acoustic, synthed out badman! His album 'Cold Fact' was recorded and pretty much forgotten about in 1969. Rodriguez kinda disappeared after his second album, recorded in London in 1970, but over the years he has acquired a cult status. Especially in SA where he has become a hero.
He is an amazing lyricist:
Sugar man, won't you hurry 'Cos I'm tired of these scenes For a blue coin won't you bring back All those colors to my dreams
There couldn't have been a better way to inaugurate Blaze!
Fujiya & Miyagi, the once-duo now full 4-piece electro rock outfit has performed an amazing show, getting everyone to dance at their catchy tunes, from the elderly lady sit in the front row to the young hippie just here see Rodriguez, and well, to me (but that's not that difficult!) As in the Barbican standards, the sound was perfect and the lighting games mindblowing! I was tempted to jump on my seat and start dancing on top of everyone's head HA! I had never seen them live before, but now I understand why Mojo called them "the perfect union between man and machine".
And then...ladies and gentlemen, Sixto Rodriguez!! Personally I didn't really get why he had to be walked to the middle of the stage by not even one, but two people, as he turned out to be in great shape (especially when he took his jacket off, huh!). After introducing all the ladies in his family/crew, he finally started playing! And OMG, what a performance! Despite the age, Mr Sugarman's voice is still clear as it was 30 years ago and the way he plays his guitar is still impeccable. And who knew he was also such a smart entertainer? With his jokes he made us laugh and with his songs he made us dance and cry. And when he played Rich Folks Hoax I almost burst into tears indeed. The rest of the band was great, too, with a special mention to the organist, that was just INCREDIBLE!!
And in the Clubstage post show, fantastic DJ set by Matthew Herbert, who is a genius in himself so doesn't even need any explanation. He played a mix of funk, old skool disco and his usual 'weird sounds' (basically, really good experimental electronic music) and made a bunch of 40-something ladies and gents dance like crazy!
We are all extremely pleased and excited to welcome you to the official blog of Blaze, the brand new Summer festival of The Barbican, a scintillating new series of music and dance, focusing on flamenco, tango, salsa, swing and rumba, in addition to the eclectic Barbican Summer Jazz and a celebration of Joe Boyd's Witchseason record label. All this inside and outside the Barbican, in 5 different magic locations around trendy East London - Gillette Square, Cargo, Victoria Park, Shoreditch Park and the Hackney Empire.
It's going to be a loooong interesting Summer then! And we hope you'll want to join us in our indoor and outdoor frolics and dances! David Byrne, An All-Star Fairport Convention and more are sold out already! Hurry up and get your ticket for a trip to a world of dance, music and sun!
Hey, we love you so much, we even have multi-buy promotions on the purchase of 2 or more tickets. Now you don't have any more excuses.
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