Bman's Blues Report

LEGENDARY CUBAN SINGER OMARA PORTUONDO RETURNS TO NORTH AMERICA ON HER LAST-EVER WORLD TOUR “LAST KISS” TOUR REACHES LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK, CHICAGO, WASHINGTON DC AND MORE photo credit Johann Sauty Omara Portuondo , legendary Cuban diva and original member of the famed Buena Vista Social Club ™, comes to North America this spring/summer for the final time as part of her worldwide “ Last Kiss ” farewell tour. Highlights of the tour’s North American portion include performances at the Regent Theater in Los Angeles , Sony Hall in New York , the Barns at Wolf Trap in Washington, D.C. and the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago . See below for a list of dates. On the road, Portuondo will be joined by a traditional piano/bass/drums/percussion lineup consisting of acclaimed GRAMMY Award nominated pianist Roberto Fonseca , Andres Coayo on percussion, Ruly Herrera on drums and bassist Yandy Martinez . Portuondo’s last-ever worldwide tour comes on the heels of her m...

Mario Bauzá (28 April 1911 – 11 July 1993) was an important Cuban musician. He was one of the first to introduce Latin music to the United States by bringing Cuban musical styles into the New York jazz scene. While Cuban bands had popular jazz tunes in their repertoire for years, Bauzá's composition "Tanga" was the first piece to blend jazz with clave, and is considered the first true Afro-Cuban jazz, or Latin jazz tune. Trained as a classical musician, he was a clarinetist in the Havana Philharmonic Orchestra by the age of nine, where he would stay for three years. Bauzá traveled to New York in 1925 to record with Maestro Antonio María Romeu's band, a charanga, shortly after his fourteenth birthday. Bauzá returned to Cuba but moved back to New York in 1930 and reputedly learned to play trumpet in just over two weeks in order to earn a spot in Don Azpiazú's Orchestra. This was in need of a trumpeter to play on recordings for RCA Victor. Bauzá had been hired as l...

Harold "Geezil" Minerve (January 3, 1922 - June 4, 1992) was a Cuban-born jazz alto saxophonist and flautist. Minerve was raised in Florida and began playing music at age 12. He played with Ida Cox early in his career, then worked as a freelance musician in New Orleans. Following stints with Clarence Love and Ernie Fields, Minerve served in the Army from 1943-46, then returned to play with Fields for a short time. He worked with Buddy Johnson from 1949-1957, then with Mercer Ellington (1960), Ray Charles (1962-64), and Arthur Prysock. In 1971 he joined the Duke Ellington Orchestra, filling Johnny Hodges's spot after Hodges's death. Minerve remained with the Ellington Orchestra until 1974, then returned to play with Mercer Ellington. He did further freelance work later in the 1970s. If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looki...

Bulee "Slim" Gaillard (January 4, 1916 – February 26, 1991) was an American jazz singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist, noted for his vocalese singing and word play in a language he called "Vout". (In addition to speaking 8 other languages, Gaillard wrote a dictionary for his own constructed language.) Along with Gaillard's date of birth, his family lineage and place of birth are disputed. One account is that he was born in Santa Clara, Cuba of a Greek father and an Afro-Cuban mother; another is that he was born in Pensacola, Florida to a German father and an African-American mother. Adding to the confusion, the 1920 U.S. Census lists a 19-month-old boy named "Beuler Gillard" in Pensacola, but born in Alabama. He grew up in Detroit and moved to New York City in the 1930s. According to the obituaries in leading newspapers, Gaillard's childhood in Cuba was spent cutting sugar-cane and picking bananas, as well as occasionally going to sea wi...

Bill Kinnear started playing guitar late in life - at age 35. He traveled to the Mississippi delta spending time there soaking up as much of the culture and music as he could. Although not a technician, he brought a wonderful immediacy to his simple but soulful playing. He met Carlos in 1991 and they recorded this one CD before Bill died in 1994. He was only 52 and died shortly after watching his 11 year old son die of a life debilitating disease. Although he loved life (he will be warmly remembered by all that knew him), he really died of a broken heart as he pretty much drank and smoked himself to death If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”

Bulee "Slim" Gaillard (January 4, 1916 – February 26, 1991) was an American jazz singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist, noted for his vocalese singing and word play in a language he called "Vout". (In addition to speaking 8 other languages, Gaillard wrote a dictionary for his own constructed language.) Along with Gaillard's date of birth, his family lineage and place of birth are disputed. One account is that he was born in Santa Clara, Cuba of a Greek father and an Afro-Cuban mother; another is that he was born in Pensacola, Florida to a German father and an African-American mother. Adding to the confusion, the 1920 U.S. Census lists a 19-month-old boy named "Beuler Gillard" in Pensacola, but born in Alabama. He grew up in Detroit and moved to New York City in the 1930s. According to the obituaries in leading newspapers, Gaillard's childhood in Cuba was spent cutting sugar-cane and picking bananas, as well as occasionally going to sea with hi...

ELIADES OCHOA guitar and vocals (born Songo la Maya, Cuba, 1946) With his trademark cowboy hat and penchant for wearing black, Eliades Ochoa has been dubbed "Cuba's Johnny Cash." There's more than a fashion statement in the comparison to America's greatest country singer, too, for Ochoa is a "guajiro" (from the countryside) and a champion of rural Cuban styles such as son and guararcha. One of the younger members of the Buena Vista Social Club, he has since become something of an elder statesman himself and has been a professional musician for almost half a century. For many years he was a regular at Santiago's famous Casa de la Trova, and, in 1978, he took over the leadership of Cuarteto Patria, a Cuban institution, which, by then, had already been performing for almost 40 years. He recorded two albums with the group for the Mexican Corason label and in 1986 met the veteran singer Compay Segundo, who joined Cuarteto Patria for a time. While with the...

It's probably a good thing Carlos wasn't there when the harmonica appeared in North America in the 1860s. Neil Young and Bob Dylan can probably roll with it when he says they are very mediocre harmonica players. Aspiring harmonica players Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid might have overreacted and pulled out their pistols... Carlos is one of those players whose music is so advanced that when it comes to awards, it's either retire the category or rephrase the question to "Best Harmonica Player Not Named Carlos". This includes two Gold Medals from the Hohner World Harmonica Championship in Trossingen, Germany, as well as multiple national awards in Canada. To say he plays the harmonica is like saying "Jimi Hendrix plays guitar". He blows the blues harp through a prism -- suddenly it seems he's holding every color in the musical rainbow right there in his hands. Simultaneously sophisticated and raw, his playing blurs the boundaries between blues and ...