Santiago de Cuba, May 2 (Prensa Latina) The U.S. solidarity brigade Levántate por Cuba spoke today with students and professors from the Universidad de Oriente, in what was its first visit to the country.
Led by Family Medicine Specialist Howard Ehrman, the brigade members, mostly from Chicago, aim to collaborate in the areas of solar energy, public health, agriculture, and culture, showing particular interest in interacting with key figures in these activities.
The Universidad de Oriente provided a space where young students and recent graduates from several neighboring provinces came together to share life experiences, alongside the image of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz and his Concept of Revolution.
The Americans discussed their struggles for civil rights and an end to the genocide in Palestine, the police brutality and racial segregation suffered by people of African descent, and the pressure exerted by the government to prevent expressions of solidarity with other causes and their own compatriots.
They were also interested in learning how university autonomy works when it comes to addressing their needs and interests, the relationship with the university administration, the relationship between students from different social strata, and how the special needs of some young people are addressed.
The hosts explained the role of the Student Council and the Federation of University Students, the support they receive from the university administration, and the collaborative work between the government, the Union of Young Communists, and the Communist Party of Cuba to ensure the comprehensive training of graduates.
In addition to Dr. Howard Ehrman, the participants include Juan Carlos Vaillant, the delegate of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples in Santiago de Cuba; Diana Sedal, the rector of the Universidad de Oriente; and Amika Tendaji, executive director of the Black Lives Matter movement in Chicago.
Andy Gomez, former director of the University’s Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, taught his first class for the Osher Lifelong Learning Center, on US-Cuba relations, in the fall.
By Amy Ellis 03-07-2025 – University of Miami
On the first day of his inaugural course on U.S.- Cuba relations for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), Andy Gomez said he set a few parameters for his students.
“I want you to leave your political biases at the door,” said Gomez, former senior advisor to the President’s Office on Cuban Affairs. “In this class, we respect different points of view, but we deal in facts.”
Setting aside personal feelings is not easy when the subject is Cuba, he acknowledged.
“When you talk about Cuba, it stirs a lot of passion,” Gomez explained. “I believe you have to study the past to understand the present and prepare for the future.”
The six-week course will also examine the challenges and struggles various waves of Cuban immigrants faced in the U.S.
“There is no question that we created an economic and political powerhouse here in South Florida,” said Gomez. “And, from 1959 on, each wave of refugees faced very different difficulties in how well they adjusted to their new country.”
Gomez said he won’t shy away from challenging topics or perceptions faced by Cuban Americans in Miami.
From the Mariel boat lift in the 1980s to violent images in the movie “Scarface” and the long-running television show “Miami Vice,” the perception of Cubans in Miami was not always positive, he said.
“These things didn’t really paint a pretty picture,” he said. “And at least some of it was based on the reality that was happening at the time. This class will look at the good with the bad and see what we can learn to apply for a better future.”
As a Cuban American who left the island nation when she was 5 years old, Vivian Maza said she knew very little about Cuban history. Though family members often reminisced about the “good old days” in Cuba, they never discussed what happened later in Cuban history, she said.
“My mom passed away three years after arriving in the U.S.,” she said. “How Cuba came to be was not something we discussed. I (wanted) to understand what my parents and relatives lived through and how Cuba became what it is today.”
Maza described Gomez as a “Cuba encyclopedia.” Although the class was supposed to cover 1959 to the present, she said, “he took us way back to the 1900s so we could really understand (how) the revolution started.”
“He took what he normally teaches in a full semester and did a phenomenal job condensing it into six weeks,” she said. “The class really gave me a clearer understanding of the sequence of events which led some of my family members to leave Cuba and why many decided to stay. He also keeps politics out of it, which is refreshing.”
Gomez said the students at OLLI were among the best he has had in more than 30 years teaching master’s and Ph.D. students at the University.
“I’m only as good as my students are,” he explained. “For my first time teaching at OLLI, I found the response from the students re-energized me in preparing for each lecture. I was very pleased.”
Havana, April 30 (ACN) Cuban and US citizens gathered at Havana’s Friendship Center on Wednesday to pay homage to US activist William (Bill) Camp, who tirelessly advocated the normalization of US-Cuba relations and free travel to Cuba for US citizens.
Bill was a unionist in California and leader of the Building Relations with Cuban Labor organization. He built relations with Cuban unions and became a close friend and defender of the island nation.
Cuban Friendship Institute (ICAP) president Fernando Gonzalez said that thanks to Bill’s leadership and commitment US local and state authorities approved important resolutions demanding the end of the US blockade of Cuba and its removal from the arbitrary US list of States Sponsors of Terrorism.
Gonzalez recalled the arrival in Cuba these days of hundreds friends from the US and other nations to join May Day celebrations here. This makes us so proud and proves the unbreakable commitment of the US people to Cuba, he noted.
The ceremony was attended by members of the Building Relations with Cuban Labor and from Los Angeles’ Hands Off Cuba, who will join the Cuban people at the march of International Workers’ Day on Havana’s Revolution Square.
Also at hand were many US activists like Cheryl LaBash, co-president of the US National Network on Cuba (NNOC); ICAP director Leima Martinez, and Foreign Relations official Alexander Valentin.
Thousands of Cubans gathered Thursday in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolucion to commemorate May Day, reviving a tradition that had been put on hold in recent years. (AP Video/Ariel Fernández and Milexsy Durán) Published May 1, 2025
Havana, May 1 (Prensa Latina) President Miguel Díaz-Canel today highlighted the massive mobilization of the Cuban people on International Workers’ Day and emphasized the commitment to the Revolution amid a complex economic situation.
“600,000 Havana residents, millions across #Cuba? No one can say a number with certainty, because any figure seems small compared to the emotion provoked by that sea of people rising from the Malecón into history,” the president highlighted on the social network X.
The head of state emphasized that at the most difficult moment for the country, amid the most brutal pressure and threats ever, from Maisí (Guantánamo) to Mantua (Pinar del Río) and vice versa, the Cuban archipelago shook as a people.
Through the same digital platform, the Secretary of Organization of the Cuban Communist Party, Roberto Morales, confirmed that more than 600,000 people marched in Havana and more than 5.3 million across Cuba.
Numerous Cuban demonstrations, under the slogan “For Cuba Together We Create,” took to the streets of the Caribbean country this Thursday morning in support of socialism and the Revolution.
In the capital, the health sector inaugurated the massive event in recognition of its work protecting the public’s health and denouncing the campaigns orchestrated by the United States government against Cuban medical missions.
On behalf of the Cuban labor movement, the secretary general of the Cuban Workers’ Central Union (CTC), Ulises Guilarte, reaffirmed the Caribbean country’s commitment to a peaceful, prosperous, and just future.
Guilarte emphasized that the sea of people that flooded the squares across the country today confirms the people’s determination to resist the counterrevolutionary attacks, and reaffirmed the will to maintain internal unity and solidarity with other nations.
As a demonstration of global support for Cuba, some 1,000 international delegates from more than 30 countries rallied around the squares alongside the people to condemn the economic, commercial, and financial blockade.
The awards ceremony will be held Saturday, April 26, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
April 24 (OnCuba News) Renowned Cuban pianist and composer Chucho Valdés has been honored with the 2025 Jazz Master Award, the highest honor for a jazz musician in the United States.
This is the first time a foreign Latin American artist has received this distinction, which is presented annually by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
The awards ceremony will be held next Saturday, April 26, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, during the traditional annual concert organized by the NEA, reported Prensa Latina news agency.
Along with Valdés, three other prominent exponents of U.S. jazz will be recognized: saxophonist Marshall Allen, pianist Marilyn Crispell, and music critic Gary Giddins, all honored for their exceptional contributions to the genre.
Chucho Valdés, considered the most influential figure in modern Afro-Cuban jazz, currently resides in the United States, adding yet another recognition to his extensive career.
Chucho Valdés and the 2025 Leonard Bernstein Award
Havana, April 30 (Prensa Latina) Havana’s Acapulco cinema hosted a special day of screenings and discussions today to mark the fifth anniversary of Belly of the Beast, a U.S. media outlet based in Cuba.
Belly of the Beast specializes in the production of documentaries and videos about the impact of US sanctions, Cubacine Icaic highlighted on its Facebook profile, while praising the work of the media with the phrase: “Cinema that denounces, cinema that humanizes: Belly of the Beast celebrates five years in Cuba!”
With the support of institutions such as the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the International Press Center (CPI), and with the presence of international delegations that will participate in tomorrow’s May Day celebrations, two documentaries were screened.
According to Cubacine, these films embody the spirit of committed journalism, and the opening remarks at the Acapulco celebration were given by Reed Lindsay, director of Belly of the Beast and producer of both documentaries.
From Gaza to Cuba, directed by Frank Rojazz, tells the story of Murid Abukhater, a young Palestinian born and raised amid the ravages of war in Gaza, who is currently training as a doctor on the island with the hope of one day returning to serve his people. His story is a testament to resilience, solidarity, and the future.
The premiere of El sueño de Teresita, by Daniel Montero Pupo, took place. It stars Dr. Teresita Rodríguez and the Cneuro team, creators of the drug NeuroEpo (brand name: NeuralCim).
This is a Cuban innovation in the treatment of Alzheimer’s with promising clinical results, with an 84 percent effectiveness rate in clinical trials.
The documentary exposes how the embargo hinders global access to this breakthrough, while also revealing a moving personal story: that of the first woman to try the drug, motivated by her daughter’s love for her mother.
Both screenings opened the way for direct exchange with their protagonists and filmmakers, in a meeting where cinema not only documents but also calls for debate, empathy, and transformation.
From the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC), we celebrate the power of cinema to amplify voices, challenge silences, and remind us that every well-told story can change the way the world looks, concluded the institutional post on social media.
Havana, April 30 (Prensa Latina) Members of the 18th International May Day Brigade of Voluntary Work and Solidarity with Cuba visited several state and social institutions in Cuba today.
Since their arrival in the Caribbean territory, the brigade members from 16 countries have made numerous trips to learn about the consequences of the economic blockade imposed by the White House on the Cuban people.
During this day’s tour, brigade members from the United States and Germany arrived at the Azumat Logistics Company.
This organization was recognized as a National Vanguard for “its favorable results in fulfilling its missions, despite the current situation in the country,” said Ulises Guilarte, secretary general of the Cuban Workers’ Central Union (CTC).
In an exclusive interview with Prensa Latina, José R. Martínez, the company’s Director of Information and Communications, stated that the company aims to improve and advance the implementation of its Strategic Development Programs; therefore, “this distinction is more than an achievement, it represents a commitment and an opportunity.”
The directors of the institution, whose social objective is to market and distribute products and supplies to the entire Cuban sugar industry, participated in another meeting with foreign visitors, where they explained its operation and answered questions on topics such as its internal policies and salary system.
At the event, Guilarte emphasized to the delegation the need for collaboration and support among countries, the resilience of the Cuban people in the face of the tightening of economic sanctions imposed by the United States, and reiterated the invitation to participate in the May Day Parade in Cuba.
Other delegations from the internationalist brigade carried out activities that included visits to other companies located in the capital, such as the Cuban International Insurance Company SA and the Prodal Food Production Company.
The more than 300 brigade members will extend their stay on the Caribbean island until May 16.
April 29 (Radio Rebelde) Nearly 1,000 activists, representing 260 organizations from 39 countries, are in Cuba today to accompany the people in the celebrations for International Workers’ Day, said ICAP President Fernando González.
During an appearance Monday evening on the news program Mesa Redonda, the head of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) reported that of that number, 325 friends of the island form the 18th contingent of the May 1st Brigade of Voluntary Work and Solidarity with Cuba this Monday.
Of the nearly 1,000 delegates present, 324 come from Latin America and the Caribbean, 263 from North America, including 211 from the United States, 230 representatives from European countries, 67 from Africa, and nine from Asia, González explained.
He also emphasized the value of the U.S. delegation’s presence here at a time of internal pressure and hostility toward progressives and political activists in that nation.
Convened by that organization, the Workers’ Central Union, and the Communist Party of Cuba, the visitors are paying their own expenses and living in conditions similar to those experienced by millions of Cubans on the island today.
Their enemies use the false argument that the Cuban government pays them to take part in the May Day parades, the leader denounced, describing the conditions in which they are housed in camps for those mobilized for productive labor.
Despite the rigors of prolonged blackouts and water shortages, they fully understand the situation, because they come to support the people in their current difficulties, obstacles, and hardships, he emphasized.
He reported that they will carry out three days of activities, which will take them to work centers in the capital on April 30th to learn about the reality in “Anti-Imperialist Forums,” organized by unions and government agencies.
There, they will learn about the real impact of the United States’ economic, commercial, and financial blockade policy, and the actions to suffocate the economy and the people.
In addition, they will view audiovisuals about the Israeli genocide in Gaza and the development of vaccines in Cuba.
The island’s medical brigades abroad and the humanitarian service of their professionals will receive tribute from the foreigners who are in Cuba for the activities for International Worker’s Day.
From those days and nights, we are left with the aftertaste of Afro-Cuban jazz, timba, and traditional Cuban music rhythms, blended with blues, soul, and folk sounds from different latitudes—a myriad of emotions renewed with each jazz improvisation. And, of course, thanks to the album and the music of the authors contained therein, the journey never ends.
There is something confessional about listening to an album. Note by note, song by song, we build an emotional edifice that can collapse on the third track or stand strong, sturdy, for the rest of our lives.
Any analysis that attempts to portray Jazz Plaza’s past may prove insufficient, as 40 years of shared creation make it difficult to accurately summarize, although some presences are unavoidable.
What can best tell what that was like are the valuable recordings. If you want to know what the most recent edition of the jazz festival in Cuba sounded like, you only have to turn to them.
Grande-Terre. Roy Hargrove’s Crisol (2024)
This album is a sensational discovery for any jazz lover. Roy Hargrove passed away in 2018, at the age of 49. He left behind a colossal body of work as a trumpeter and composer; however, it is said that he didn’t leave much on record.
His intense creative work was recognized with two Grammy Awards, and we are still learning about new releases today. An example of this is this material, recorded in 1998 and released in late 2024. His widow and the foundation she heads, Hargrove Legacy, have been instrumental in this endeavor, rescuing and assessing unreleased material and extracting big band arrangements from the notes and recordings left by the notable musician.
It turns out that after winning his first Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Performance with Habana — this album was the result of the trumpeter’s first visit to the Cuban capital in 1996 and his meeting with Chucho Valdés, a prelude to several collaborations between the two — Hargrove proposed to the members of his Crisol that they record a new album during a trip to the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.
He asked each of them to write two arrangements, and with that, they went into the studio. This is what Gabriel Hernández, who joined that Crisol to replace Chucho and played with Roy Hargrove for a decade, told me during the days of Jazz Plaza 40. “You listen to this album and travel back in time; it’s wonderful,” the renowned Cuban pianist, who has lived in Mexico for more than 30 years, assured me.
Grande-Terre (Verve Records, 2024) is a one-hour journey. Roy Hargrove’s trumpet shines with its unmistakable tone, accompanied by a troupe of excellent artists, both Cuban and American. “Rhumba Roy,” by Gabriel Hernández, opens the door to this album of marked Afro-Cuban influence, imbued with bebop and naturalness.
From the ballad “Another Time” to his clear look at the mother continent with “Ethiopia,” or the savory flavor unleashed in Cedar Walton’s “Afreaka,” the album inhabits emotional spaces that contemporary jazz has been able to portray in its sounds and the power of percussion. Cuban legend José Luis Quintana “Changuito” can be heard as part of the ensemble.
Roy Hargrove sings “Lake Danse” and “Kamala’s Dance” (dedicated to his daughter, born that same year) and closes with his “Priorities,” amidst Abakuá chants and in a musical trance of excellence.
Completing the roster are Sherman Irby on alto sax, Gerald Cannon on bass, Willie Jones III and Julio Barreto on drums, Ed Cherry on guitar, and Larry Willis on piano; Jacques Schwarz-Bart on tenor sax, and Frank Lacy on trumpet.
We don’t know why it took so long for this material to see the light of day or why its author never published it during his lifetime. The truth is, according to Hargrove Legacy, the trumpeter lived in an intense creative frenzy, between jamming, studio work, and diverse experiences surrounding jazz. Everything seems to indicate that there is more to be discovered about Roy Hargrove and the influence of Afro-Cuban sounds in his compositional work. This album is a testament to that.
Album cover.
Drums La Habana. Oliver Valdés and Rodney Barreto (2010)
Formed in the heat of jamming at Jazz Plaza from a very young age, Oliver Valdés and Rodney Barreto proved themselves to be top-notch drummers. From this CD/DVD, their debut album together, they showed the public that they wouldn’t settle for a limited space in music. They wanted to explore, to go beyond, everything their talent and experience could allow.
Drums La Habana (Bis Music, 2010) was a fine introduction, and we celebrated its 15th anniversary during the recently concluded Cuban Jazz Festival. Clearly, time has not passed for nothing, and it has broadened the musical discourse of both performers, imbuing them with undeniable versatility. They reissued the same concert contained in this album, which was released fifteen years ago, and demonstrated that their creative dialogue is solid, collaborative, natural, and enriching.
From the outset, Valdés and Barreto tell us they’re writing their own story: you just have to get into the game, feel that sound produced by the typing of the typewriters from which they are able to create music.
Then the creation takes place, the party begins. First, Oliver and Rodney, face to face, in a percussion interview, an appetizer for the extravaganza that will follow.
Oliver Valdés chooses a quintet to showcase his creations, and Rodney Barreto prefers to move between trio and quartet — on the DVD — along with friends who come and go on stage, such as Robertico Carcassés and Tony Rodríguez on piano, Carlos Miyares on saxophone, Juan Carlos Marín “El trombonón de Santa Amalia,” and Yandy Martínez on bass.
Between “Latin Twins” and a cover of Jaco Pastorius’s “Havona,” this album is a celebration of friendship.
Gogo Juice. Jon Cleary (2015)
Jon Cleary and his band, The Absolute Monster Gentlemen, shook the foundations of Jazz Plaza with an explosive dose of funk and R&B. Of course, there was still room for experimentation with Cuban artists, those the American called the “Cuban Monster Horns.”
The levels of artistic “monstrosity” reached relevant heights with this troupe led by the unique creator. Jon Cleary (United Kingdom, 1962) is a skilled multi-instrumentalist, a kind of one-man band who can play a tumbao on the piano as if he were an authentic Cuban, or interpret José White’s “La bella cubana” on a ukulele, accompanied by pianist Ernán López-Nussa. This natural ability to cohabitate different spaces in music owes much to his stay in New Orleans for more than two decades, a fact that has magnified his talent and creative work.
This is something we can appreciate in Gogo Juice (FHQ Records, 2015), a celebrated album that earned him a Grammy for Best Regional Roots Music Album in 2016. The artist gave us some tracks from this album during his recent visit to Havana (his first visit to the island was in 2019).
Cleary appropriates Creole elements and forms from Louisiana music and filters them through sounds native to New Orleans, such as funk and other strains of R&B, like soul.
There’s an abundant and spicy boogie-woogie in this album, that blues style that demands rapid piano playing and encourages dancing: Cleary is a monster at it.
From the opening “Pump it Up,” this album puts us in a state of grace, a level that continues until the closing “Love on Condition.”
And how gratifying it was to learn that he was the original composer of “Brother I’m Hungry,” also on the album, a song with social content that a year later Snarky Puppy included, in a cover version, in his album Family Dinner-Volume Two.
Album cover.
Quiet Revolution. Ted Nash, Steve Cardenas and Ben Allison (2018)
Saxophone, electric guitar, and double bass. The trio formed by these three masters of the U.S. jazz scene is as inspiring as it is surprising; their sound is distinguished and invigorating. The three creators carry out educational and research work around music, which has guided many of their projects over more than 25 years of collaboration.
The group follows the model of the drumless trios that Jimmy Giuffre (1921-2008) pioneered in the 1950s and 1960s, eschewing bombast in jazz. This is how Allison explains it, noting that with this format, “they envisioned a calmer music that retained elements of blues and folk, but also embraced the emerging qualities of freestyle. We created intimate music with a very conversational tone: a ‘musical trilogue,’ where group interaction is the focus.”
With that commitment, Quiet Revolution (Sonic Camera, 2018) first appeared, a calm and fertile dialogue between guitar, saxophone, and double bass. It is a clear exposition of free jazz until it closes with “Love Theme from Spartacus,” something that whets the appetite to continue exploring this creative work in other facets.
Ted Nash returned once again to Cuba, to Jazz Plaza, and this time he did so in the company of these two masters, Ben and Steve, with whom he did not want to miss the opportunity to offer the audience a unique creative experience. Jazz x Art, the project Nash put together in 2023, united jazz with the visual arts in a concert of intertwined inspirations in a jazz band format, conducive to collective improvisation.
This time, they returned to that experience, but in a trio format. Ted, Ben, and Steve arrived at the Museum of Fine Arts on the morning of their last day in Havana, and there they created the work in situ. They took inspiration from a brief tour of the paintings in the galleries and turned it into an improvised concert in the museum’s courtyard.
Album cover.
Cuba Linda. Maite Hontelé (2019)
Maite Hontelé arrived at the 40th edition of Jazz Plaza in a creative moment that was superior, more ethereal, than what we’ll hear on this album I’m proposing. Now she’s joined Ramón Valle in an exquisite creative duo — piano and flugelhorn — that has already recorded an album.
But Cuba Linda was the last stop for this Dutch trumpet player, trained in the cult and interpretation of Cuban music, in the dance music orchestra format, before a five-year hiatus that convinced her to take this new path that we now enjoy on stage.
The artist told me: “Cuba Linda was the climax of my career at that time. It represented a lot, but then another important era began for me; after releasing the album, I decided to stop playing the trumpet for five years.”
She took a break after years of working with bands, recording salsa albums, and collaborating with exponents of the genre like Oscar de León and artists from across the Cuban spectrum.
The result of this album is a wonderful celebration where Hontelé’s trumpet is in its element, with musical production by none other than maestro Alain Pérez and some arrangements by Juancho Valencia.
Also featured are heavyweights such as Robertón from Van Van, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Osaín del Monte, the Aragón Orchestra, among others.
Maite Hontelé’s creative climax is worth checking out.
Album cover.
Timba a la americana. Harold López-Nussa (2023)
Harold López-Nussa arrived at the jazz festival in Cuba from Toulouse, France — his current home. His was one of the most anticipated performances, as he hadn’t performed on the Havana scene since late 2023, and he brought with him this album, which, while circulating online and available to the public, had not been presented in a live concert in Cuba.
This is an album born from a distance, a beautiful ode to the Cuba Harold sees from afar, to the new creative life he is building, day by day, in another latitude. “From afar, you can see Cuban music from a different perspective. When you’re on the island, it becomes a part of you, and you don’t pay attention to it in the same way, because all of that is you; it’s part of your being. From outside, you’re constantly searching for it and seeing it differently. I’d heard that from many Cuban musicians who’d been living abroad for years, but experiencing it has also been eye-opening for me,” the musician said at the end of last January.
As you scroll through the album, vibrant tracks emerge, full of sonic blends, from “Funky” and “Cake a la Moda” to “Conga a la Americana” and “Hope.” Michael League’s work in the production, some of his arrangements, and his use of the synthesizer are evident.
“Mal du pays” is a track where the pianist and composer pours out his nostalgia, his longing for a distant land; something similar happens in “Afro en Toulouse,” where Harold attempts to musically connect his current city with the street where he was born in Centro Habana.
Timba a la Americana is the Cuban’s first production released under the Blue Note label, and alongside him, Luques Curtis on bass, Bárbaro Machito Crespo on congas, Grégori Maret on harmonica, and Ruy Adrián López-Nussa on drums shape the journey.
“I celebrate the truth of the musician that I am: an Afro-Cuban jazz pianist, Black, Yoruba, a lover of his country, who enjoys coming here and seeing his family and his audience. Independence refers to my autonomy as an artist, to the fact that today I have control of my career, I know my business inside out. Love, for its part, has always been in my path. Diversity because I am Black and I live in a society where we must continue to work on this element in all its forms: racial, gender, musical, artistic, so that there is room for everyone.” Dayramir González commented in an interview with OnCuba about the concept of this album, with which he celebrates his 25-year career.
It is an honest album of overflowing spirituality.
It also had its moment during Jazz Plaza 40; Cuban music made in New York that arrives in the form of a powerful album featuring excellent musicians such as Pedrito Martínez, Daymé Arocena, Jadele McPherson, Edrey Ogguere, among others.
From “Transiciones en azul,” dedicated to Yemayá, to “V.I.D.A. Soy Cubana,” where Dayramir talks to Ochún, the pianist builds an emotional journey that combines references to the traditions of our culture with a version of “The Peanut Vendor,” songs dedicated to his children like “Principito,” “Rosas & Dahlias,” and the memory of his creative phase with Habana Entrance.
Album cover.
Carrousel. El Comité (2024)
El Comité synthesizes the work of a generation of artists who have defined the history of Cuban jazz over the last 20 years. Just look at the composition of the band. It was formed in 2017 out of the simple need to bring together friends who wanted to express themselves through music.
Rolando Luna, Harold López-Nussa, Gastón Joya, Yaroldy Abreu, Irving Acao, Rodney Barreto, and Carlos Sarduy make up El Comité. From time to time, they get together, entertain their audiences, and, in the process, record a good album to record the spicy part.
In mid-2024, Carrousel was released on Caramba Records. This is the team’s second album, something we’ve been eagerly awaiting since enjoying their debut with Y qué!? So what (Not on label, 2019).
The first offers a provocative dose of groove-laced Afro-Cuban jazz, in which each member infuses compositional concerns ranging from references to the commotion on Gran Vía (Madrid, Spain) to the Alamar neighborhood in East Havana.
There’s also a musical look at those who paved the way in jazz before them; masters like Emiliano Salvador (“Son a Emiliano,” with an arrangement by Rolando Luna based on a composition by Gabriel Hernández) and Miles Davis (“So What”).
Now, with Carrousel, things become more diverse, encompassing Latin jazz, timba, rumba, Afrobeat, folk, and a touch of country. There’s a more world music aesthetic to this album; a true musical merry-go-round where the members once again spin their own arrangements and compositions.
The carousel kicks off with “Alusión,” a psychedelic piece by Rolando Luna, opening the door to the musical volley, amid the enjoyment of original creations and the surprise of discovering versions of iconic songs that are part of contemporary universal popular culture, such as “Wonderwall” by the British rock band Oasis and “La Fama” by the Spanish singer Rosalía.
The album closes with a reference to the event that has united them all for years from a very young age; where they took their first steps toward becoming the true masters they are today: “Jazz Plaza,” composed by Carlos Sarduy.
Album cover.
Mundoagua – Celebrating Carla Bley. Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (2025)
Here’s the latest from Arturo O’Farrill and his Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, released days before the six-time Grammy winner landed in Havana to participate, as has been the custom since his first visit in 2002, in the jazz festival.
Arturo O’Farrill (Mexico City, 1960), the son of Chico (1921-2001) — that Cuban totem of Latin jazz — strengthens his ties to his Cuban roots with each visit.
“I set a rule for myself and I try to live by it: play the music I love, with the people I love, for the people I love. If I can’t be that kind of musician, I’ll drive a taxi,” is a quote from this distinguished pianist that can be read in his section on the Grammy Awards website. This philosophy of life and creation can be felt in his new album.
O’Farrill defines the creation of Mundoagua… as his greatest musical mission with the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. They are two ambitious jazz suites composed by him, which, along with “Blue Palestine,” by the iconic composer Carla Bley (1936-2023), form an orchestral triangle. Although they are very different compositional and conceptual moments, there is unity in the sonic discourse, with dissonances as a very present resource throughout.
The first suite is “Mundoagua,” a three-movement composition, a story about humanity’s challenges in the face of global warming and the water cycle. It is followed by “Blue Palestine,” in four movements, by the renowned Carla Bley, considered a benchmark of free jazz, one of the great composers of contemporary jazz. She is the reason for this compilation/celebration of suites, which closes with the three movements of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). A sonic journey where Arturo O’Farill leaves us with a sublime musical narrative.
Album cover.
Tributos: Jazzeando a lo cubano (En vivo desde el Teatro Martí). Los Hermanos Abreu (2025)
The debut album by Los Hermanos Abreu was recently released on digital platforms. The young men are barely 20 years old, but they have already joined forces with other colleagues to bring life to the Cuban scene, through jamming and performances at events.
Fabio and Diego, the Abreu brothers, released their first album a year and a half after beginning their creative journey. Of course, they were already immersed in jazz and music from the cradle. Sons of the imposing percussionist Yaroldy Abreu and the notable musicologist Nerys González Bello, the brothers have successfully embarked on their own artistic journey.
The two most recent Jazz Plaza events have featured the notable participation of this piano and drum duo, who compose their creations. If they have to cover other artists’ works, the arrangements are a delight, as if they were mature creators. As proof of this, we now have these Tributos…, a concert the duo gave in May 2024 at the Teatro Martí, now released on CD and audiovisual format under the La Casa Producciones label and produced by Nerys González Bello.
You can enjoy works by Fabio and Diego, such as “Papá en la luna,” “Rastros etéreos,” “Latin va,” “Afrunk,” and “Conga desértica,” along with jazz versions of classics like “Lo feo,” “Seis semanas,” and “Alma mía,” accompanied by a group of notable performers such as Alain Pérez, Beatriz Márquez, Julito Padrón, Jorge Reyes, Rafael Paseiro, Orlando Valle “Maraca,” and Germán Velazco, among others.
With this album, we have a great testament to the current state of Cuban jazz and its scene. It’s also a reason to keep an eye on these young performers who, like so many giants who came before them — and who accompany them — still thrill us.
