Musica Nueva!
Scroll down for Sacambaya de Bolivia, Osvaldo Chacon, Sones Jarochos, music from Venezuela, Tango, Flaco Jimenez, Oscar Lopez and the latest compilations from Outcaste and Putumayo...

	Musical Revolutions – what is happening in Cuban music today? Interviews with Juan de Marcos Gonzalez and Carlos Alfonso August 2004 La Habana, Cuba by Cristina Dio (left: Cuban fusion group Sintesis)
It is because of Cuba’s revolution in 1959 that musical traditions have been preserved on the island, and musicians are able to study music at the expense of the state for up to 20 years! But has the system actually oppressed musical development? Post-revolution, progress ceased on many levels due to the US trade embargo, but is Cuban music also stuck in a time warp? Or is this the perception of a world over-exposed to Buena Vista Social Club branding? I asked the question while recently in Havana of two of the most prominent producers of music there today, Juan de Marcos Gonzalez, ex-Sierra Maestra, director of the Afro-Cuban Allstars and responsible for the Buena Vista Social Club, and Carlos Alfonso, director of fusion group Sintesis. Not everyone was in agreement on the state of musical affairs in 21st Century Cuba.... click on the image above for the full story...
	OSCAR VALDÉS - EVOLUTION AND INNOVATION The sound of Afro-Cuban Jazz Fusion “My work has always been to find the rhythmic melodies of Afro-Cuban instruments and integrate them into the jazz. That created a new form of making Cuban music…” Oscar Valdés Campos
Recognised officially by the Cuban government as a cultural institution, Oscar Valdés Campos has contributed significantly to Cuban music for the last 30 years, firstly as founding member of Cuban supergroup Irakere and now as director of Diakara, one of the most innovative Afro-Cuban ensembles to come out of the island in the last decade. Cristina Dio recently met the legendary maestro in Havana where there was time to visit his neighbourhood and discuss the scene then and now…click on the image above to read the full story.

REVIEWS

	VENEZUELA! What do we know about Venezuela? Jungles, the towering Andes, oil, the Caribbean sea lapping on pristinely white beaches? Salsa addicts will know that the great Oscar D’Leon hails from there as does the seminal band Dimension Latina of which Oscar was the original leader...click on the CD for more...
	Essential Latin Flavas (Outcaste Records) works better simply because there are more fusions of old and new being allowed to groove with the indispensable call and response elements...click on the CD for a full review
	Meanwhile, down at the racetrack Putumayo has released a compilation Salsa Around The World which explores the contemporary face of this phenomenon... click on the CD for a full review.
	Nocturno (ARC Music) is the newest release by English quartet Tango Siempre... click on the image for a full review
	I don’t think you really can have any doubts about the origins of Sacambaya de Bolivia though because the human voice invariably betrays its origins, especially in folk-based music... click on the CD for more.
	“La Bamba; Sones Jarochos From Veracruz” (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings)... click on the CD for a full review
	Osvaldo Chacon - Salsa Timba! (ARC Music) When one thinks of contemporary latino dance music the first word that comes to the listener's mind is almost certainly salsa or at a pinch merengue or cumbia. Over the last decade we have seen an interesting phenomenon. Click on the CD for a full review.
	Latin America Musica Viva (Latisphere), a collection of instrumental music of South America, Mexico and the Caribbean...for a full review click on the image.
	Tex Mex (Arc Music), a 17 track compilation of some of its leading exponents such as Flaco Jimenez, Eva Ybarra y Su Conjunto, Los Dos Gilbertos, Los Pinkys, Freddy Fender, Mingo Saldivar and others. For a full review click on the CD.
	Oscar Lopez (Narada World) For a full review click on the image.
	Ziroq For a full review click on the image.
	The Very Best of Latin America For a full review click on the image.
	Armik - Lost in Paradise Click on the image for a full review

With a world class Latin line-up and repertoire, we love Son Veneno and so will you... Michael Brown tells us how it all began.