After producing, recording and manufacturing three productions on my BKS label and funding all three with my own money, I need backers to finish this great project I’ve already begun. I have 12 incredible tunes, 9 of which are original compositions, and all arranged by the best arrangers you can find anywhere.

I have veteran musicians, like Eddie Montalvo, Elias Lopes, Reynaldo Jorge, Eddie Martinez and a host of others, who I’ve shared stages with for over 40 years. The funding will go towards the recording, mixing, mastering and ultimately the manufacturing of the CD. Any extra funds will go towards promoting the CD worldwide.

The concept behind the CD is to showcase and emphasize the continued level of excellence and experience achieved throughout the years by these veteran musicians. Their contributions have laid the foundation for younger generations who follow in their footsteps. Short of needing oxygen tanks, wheelchairs and canes – we promise to deliver – and guess what, like aging wine… we’re better than ever!

I’ve seen so many trends come and go; and what I want to achieve with Los Viejos de la Salsa is to maintain the traditions and roots of what we originally fell in love with when we heard this music. Since record labels are a thing of the past and musicians continue to have the necessity and creative drive to produce recorded material, it would be a true blessing to once again connect with the public and deliver what I believe will be a dynamic project. That’s why for backing this project you’re going to get some pretty cool stuff in return. Viejos pero sabrosos… Please join me!

Full Information at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1397577263/los-viejos-de-la-salsa-cd-viejos-pero-sabrosos?ref=live

En la Cuba de finales de los años cuarenta, Chico y Rita inician una apasionada historia de amor. Chico es un joven pianista enamorado del jazz y Rita sueña con ser una gran cantante. Desde la noche que el destino los junta en un baile en un club de La Habana, la vida va uniéndoles y separándoles, como a los personajes de un bolero.

Her new album, Light My Fire, wields this universal sound to explore the various corners of the human heart — from romance and passion to the shared joy of being alive and embracing everyone into the dance of life. Along with four compositions written or co-written by Elias herself, the album also includes covers of familiar works by songwriters as diverse as Jim Morrison and the Doors, pop icon Stevie Wonder and jazz saxophonist Paul Desmond. Elias weaves it all together into a cohesive whole by injecting each of the twelve songs with distinctly Brazilian grooves that alternate effortlessly between the fiery and passionate to the cool and sophisticated.

“Some of the tunes are cool and laid back, but others are quite rhythmic and joyful,” says Elias. “And they have some different grooves. I tend to gravitate toward romance — beautiful melodies, beautiful harmonies and rhythms with a great feel. But more than anything else, I’m singing about love on this record in its different aspects and dimensions.”

Stefon Harris, David Sanchez and Christian Scott go the distance on collaborative recording “Ninety Miles.”

Special 2-Disc CD/DVD Package, Ninety Miles, unites North American, Puerto Rican and Cuban jazz artists.

Critically acclaimed jazz musicians vibist Stefon Harris, saxophonist David Sánchez and trumpeter Christian Scott have collaborated to create a distinctly unique collection of songs, Ninety Miles. Recorded over the span of a week in Havana, Cuba, the US based trio recruited local Cuban musicians including pianists Rember Duharte and Harold López-Nussa to create the 9 song collection. The result is a true Cuban American musical collaboration that defies political borders. Ninety Miles will be released on Concord Picante on June 21st, 2011.

All distance is relative, especially where geopolitical borders and ideologies are involved. We speak one language, they speak another. We follow our system, they follow theirs. When we focus on the differences, a relatively short stretch of land or water starts to look like a yawning chasm. But when we look at each other as individuals and focus on the similarities, that “chasm” is actually a very short distance. Less than a hundred miles.

Musicians – especially jazz musicians, whose craft is in many ways an improvised form of communication – understand this principle inherently, perhaps better than any politician or diplomat could ever hope to. Vibraphonist Stefon Harris, saxophonist David Sanchez and trumpeter Christian Scott cross that divide in their new recording, Ninety Miles, set for release on Concord Picante on June 21, 2011.

The “Unsung Heroes” project represents a bold step in redefining the relationship between the jazz artist and the audience. “Unsung Heroes” transforms the jazz tradition even as it affirms it, through the breakthrough use of current technology to make the creative process of a classic form aurally transparent. “Unsung Heroes” allows a crucial segment of the jazz audience – the practitioner/listener – to directly enter the music as a participant. “Unsung Heroes” permits the listener, the student, the player access to the music in a way never experienced before off the bandstand.

http://hollisticmusicworks.com/hear/brian-lynch-unsung-heroes-project/

Cuba and New Orleans are more than musical cousins; they are more like twins and equally responsible for much of what we call Jazz. Arturo O’Farrill, together with special guest Donald Harrison, explores the common roots of Jazz as seen in the early music of New Orleans and Havana, with arrangements of early charangas, rags, and contemporary works, plus the world premiere of “CubaNola: More Than a Spanish Tinge.”

Recorded March 28, 2010, at the “Guantanamera” restaurant in New York City

Directed by Gregory McKean
Recorded by Sean McClintock
Cameras Dan Welch & Ian McGrew
Produced by Paul Siegel

2. Danilo Perez – Providencia (Mack Avenue Records)
A truly Pan-American and global masterpiece, Providencia is a beautiful ode to Danilo Perez’s country, to his Panamanian roots, and to his beloved Latin America by extension.

3. Roberto Fonseca – Akokan (Justin Time Records)
Roberto Fonseca belongs to a new generation of Cuban pianists. Incredibly talented, he’s taking the island’s pianistic tradition to new heights. Very spiritual CD. Almost a religious experience.

4. Jovino Santos Neto – Veja o Som/See the Sound (Adventure Music)
This double CD (CD 1 recorded in his adopted country, US and CD 2 recorded in his native Brazil) pairs Jovino Santos Neto with so many incredible artists. A true feast for the senses.

5. Alain Perez – Apetecible (GloboMedia Musica)
On his second recording as a band leader, Alain Perez presents a delightful mix of genres: world, jazz, flamenco, pop, all with a Cuban twist. As a singer, he sounds truly amazing.

6. Paquito D’Rivera with the Pablo Aslan Ensemble – Tango Jazz: Live at the Lincoln Center (Sunnyside Records)
Paquito’s love affair with the music of Gardel and Piazzola goes back in time. This live recording is an excellent homage to the Southern region of the Americas. Great musicianship.

7. Alex Brown – Pianist (Sunnyside Records)
Alex Brown is the youngest talent of the year. Growing under the wings of his Master/Mentor Paquito D’Rivera, Mr. Brown is surely finding his musical voice. An inspired recording.

8. Chicago Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble – Blueprints (Chicago Sessions)
As co-leaders, Nicaraguan pianist, Darwin Noguera and trumpet player Victor Garcia (Chicago native with a mexican heritage) share a common taste for the magnificence of big band compositions. A smoking performance.

9. Samuel Torres – Yaoundé (Self Produced)
The vibrancy and the rhythmic richness of his native Colombia run in Samuel Torres veins. Is the blood of Mother Africa, which nurtures his music, and his artistry.

10. Hector Martignon – Second Chance (Zoho Music)
A remarkable pianist and composer -also hailing from Colombia- Hector Martignon shines on this recording. His arrangements and execution are impecable.