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Search Results for: Son

Directory of Salsa Clubs in Latin America

La Salsera

Yatay 961, CABA, Argentina

Azucar Argentina

1193 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Mundo Latino Disco Salsa

Esmeralda 565, C1007 ABC, Buenos Aires, Argentina

La City

Av. Álvarez Thomas 1391, C1427 CABA, Argentina

La Venezuela Disco

Santiago del Estero 1280 C1136ABB Buenos Aires, Argentina

Son Habana

Juan Carlos Gómez 1327, 11000 Montevideo, Departamento de Montevideo, Uruguay

La Bodeguita del Sur

Soriano 840, 11100 Montevideo, Departamento de Montevideo, Uruguay

Salsa & Company

Constituyente 1637, 11200 Montevideo, Departamento de Montevideo, Uruguay

Lotus Club

Cr. Luis E. Lecueder, 11300 Montevideo, Departamento de Montevideo, Uruguay

Casa de la Música de Miramar

Calle 20# 3308 esquina a 35 Miramar Playa La Habana, Cuba 10400

Casa de la Música Varadero

Varadero, Cuba

Cabaret Tropicana, Habana

La Habana, Cuba 11500

Café Cantante Mi Habana

Av. Paseo, La Habana, Cuba

Palacio de la Rumba

Avenida Las Americas, Varadero, Cuba

Salon Rojo del Capri

21 /M y N La Habana, Cuba 10400

Michiel Braam: The Virtuous Pianist from Nijmegen

Two years after the creation of the Latin Jazz album XYZ with Son Bent Braam

Michiel Braam presented XYZ at the Music Meeting Festival. “The festival takes place in Nijmegen, where I was born (1964), grew up, and still live”. Foto: Marjan Smeijsters

Virtuous pianist, masterful producer, and surprising composer. Winner of the Podium award (1998) and Boy Edgar (1996/1997). Musician trained by conviction and at the ArtEZ Music Academy in Arnhem. His lifestyle is synchrony between freedom, creativity, teaching, and love. It is how he presents us his life and his works in Nijmegen, Michiel Braam.

This friendly artist with a protective childhood where love prevailed always had the support and freedom to develop and create everything he considered necessary to him. Michiel is the only one in his family who turned to music professionally, but the rhythm of melodies runs through his veins. His parents played the piano self-taught. His mother wrote notes while his father just improvised.

During high school, he participated in a band for which he wrote and arranged all the music. He studied at the conservatory and founded his more minor quartet Bentje Braam (“Little Band Braam”) in 1985. In the same year, he traveled with his band to Sweden to be the first Dutch group to open the EBU Jazz Festival and wrote his first composition for the Dutch radio “Cows and Beasts”. A year later, he created the band Bik Bent Braam.

“Music is, as long as I know, everything to me. I feel better with music. I dance when I’m happy, and music comforts me when I’m not doing so well… It seemed like a logical step to pursue what I enjoyed most.” Michiel Braam https://www.michielbraam.com/

By 1988 Braam had had no contact with Latin music until percussionist André Groen asked him to be the pianist for his Orquesta Europea de Danzón. In this regard, this wonderful pianist told us: “He wanted a pianist who had a wild free Jazz attitude and who didn’t only play the well-known Latin patterns because he thought that fitted better with the authentic Cuban music. That music immediately appealed to me, especially because of its rhythmic impact, but also because as a pianist, you have a lot of freedom to go in all directions during improvisations. I have touched on those Latin patterns to some extent and in the course of the 10 years that I played in that orchestra I managed to master them better, but it was mainly the combination of freedom and rhythm. That orchestra lasted ten years and we celebrated the thirtieth anniversary in 2018 with a couple of concerts. Great to do that again and I felt again exactly why I found it so appealing back then”.

In 1988 Michiel won the Podium Prize, an encouragement prize for Dutch Jazz music and in 1996/1997 he won the Boy Edgar, the highest prize for Dutch Jazz.

This pianist, the architect of great projects, built a party based on the Latin alphabet of Western culture on the album XYZ released in 2020, creating a danceable mix that includes Mambo, Rumba, Son, Danzón, Boogaloo, Calypso, Rumba, Bembé, Mozambique, Samba, Afro, Bolero, Cha-cha, Merengue, Bembé, and Samba. Michiel is also the Director of the Jazz and Pop department of the ArtEZ conservatory and founded a Danzón orchestra. Now, I leave you with the rest of this wonderful interview that I had the opportunity to do with the great Maestro Michiel Braam. Enjoy!

They have played on the ZomerJazzFiets tour, North Sea Jazz, and Bimhuis. Likewise, some of the members of the orchestra are fluent in Spanish.

– How did the idea of the Latin jazz album XYZ come about?

In 1995 I wrote “The XYZ of Bik Bent Braam” for my big orchestra at the time, Bik Bent Braam (phonetic Dutch for “Big Band Braam”). I thought it would be fun to make a festive version of it to celebrate the 25th anniversary. The XYZ was (and is) a 26-part suite, with a piece for each letter of the alphabet, starting with Aardedonker (English title Atramentous, Spanish Apagado, both not exact translations…) and ending with Zwoerdspek (Zaftig, Zafio). I revisited all the pieces in 2020 and paired various styles with the original material. In the 1995 original, they were mostly jazz-like styles (bebop, free improv, swing, jazz ballad, etc), but Chachachtig was a rumba even then. It is the only piece that has not changed its mood substantially.

– What happened to the previous members and how did the new members take hold?

The original orchestra Bik Bent Braam was composed of top musicians from the Dutch improvised music scene. The orchestra existed from 1986 to 2013 and had a number of lineup changes. In the final version of Bik Bent Braam there were only a few members left from the very beginning. That the musicians of Bik Bent Braam could read well was not really a requirement, the core was affinity with swing and great improvisational skills. For this new version, it was important not only that the musicians were excellent improvisers, but also that they had to have a feel for Latin music and also that they were outstanding readers, because I did not foresee that there would be very much rehearsal time and the notes are quite challenging. Bik Bent Braam was subsidized with government funding and I could then easily occupy a longer period with many rehearsals. Son Bent Braam, the current line-up, does not have its own subsidy, so we have to look at each concert and hope that everyone can make it. There have been quite a few subs, and they too have to be able to improvise and read well.

– Tell us about your Danzón orchestra.

André (André Groen – Percussionist) wanted to immerse himself in traditional Cuban music. There is so much richness in the danzón with its fixed forms that pass by in each piece with the most beautiful melodies and the wildest spaces for improvising on highly danceable rhythms. We found the instrumentation with violins, cello, flute, percussion, double bass, and piano attractive. After ten years I got too busy with my jazz ensembles, by then I was touring all over the world with Bik Bent Braam and other groups and especially with my Trio BraamDeJoodeVatcher. I could hardly combine it anymore with the Danzón Orchestra and the great pianist Peter van Marle took my place, which made me feel very humble. The European Danzón Orchestra then existed for another year or so. I honestly don’t know why it stopped then. In 2018 we did a couple of reunion concerts, great fun to do.

– How many years have you been in charge of the Jazz and Pop department of the ArtEZ conservatory and what do you teach the new generations based on your experience?

I have been head of the program since 1992. It is part of a broad arts university and is located in a building that also houses dance, theater, fine art, applied art, fashion, and creative writing. As a head, I don’t teach very much… only when students very specifically ask for it a few hours of individual lessons per year and a few group lessons, and I also regularly give master students some lessons. My message is usually quite short and clear: there are millions of people who play an instrument excellently, and you can probably teach an orangutan to play Keith Jarrett better than Keith does himself, but – apart from the fact that that would be a fun YouTube hit – there is no point; in our music, it is almost all about an authentic voice, including all the shortcomings that are in everyone, which also make you a unique musician. Obviously, you must have many skills as a musician, but my life motto is that one’s deficiencies are far more important for one’s personality than one’s skills, and that attitude underlies my whole vision of art education.

“With Nos Otrobanda have started to concentrate on the music of Noro Morales and have his composition Maria Cervantes (single) firmly in our program. His music will probably be the subject of our new album”. Foto: Marjan Smeijsters

– What are your next projects?

Everything is starting up again post-covid. I want to record a solo album on my grand piano, a so-called “Alurip”. That’s an aluminum grand piano made in the fifties with a specific sound. And the album of our trio Nos Otrobanda, which specializes in Antillean music, is almost sold out. That doesn’t matter obviously, if there are no more physical copies then you can always hear the music through iTunes, Spotify, etc, but it’s a great opportunity to make new recordings again and the intention is to go to Curacao and record music in the Fortkerk in Willemstad, the place where we did a couple of concerts in 2018. That was a great experience, what a nice place and sweet audience!

– How was the process to make a living from music?

I stuck pretty firmly to the rule that you have to do what you like and not let yourself be distracted too much from that. And I look for what it takes to make it happen. From 1996 to 2012 I received an annual government subsidy to realize my projects. I am also a real musician in the sense that I have a mixed professional practice (playing, writing, teaching, producing, almost every musician has roughly that mix) which means that it is always possible to make a living out of it and we never had to worry about bread and a place to live.

Michiel Braam & Son Bent Braam Orchestra.  Foto: Marjan Smeijsters

I make music mainly because I can’t do otherwise. Music is a way to communicate; it makes you a little better… Leitmotiv in everything is that in music, I am free to do anything I want. For example, I did play Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with the exquisite reed quintet Calefax, also improvising on the various songs from that opera.” Michiel Braam

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Gerardo Rosales is the creator and producer of Combo Mundial, Venezuela Masters and Charanga La Crisis

Gerardo Rosales was born in Caracas Venezuela on July 6, 1964. At the beginning of his musical career he was a percussionist for important figures of his country.

He has been living in Europe since 1992, and has taken up residence in Holland, a country that has served as a base for him to project his music around the world.

He has recorded 20 albums under his own name and more than 70 productions with other artists.

Gerardo Rosales’ specialty is creating musical projects in the styles of salsa and Latin jazz.

Gerardo Rosales is the creator and producer of El Combo Mundial, Venezuela Masters, Charanga La Crisis, Our Latin Groove, La Gran Charanga, Son del Sofá, Rítmico y Pianístico, Cachao Sounds and many more.

In his beginnings in his country Venezuela he performed with:  Orquesta Café, Orlando Poleo, José Rosario, Canelita, Soledad Bravo, Adrenalina Caribe, Ilan Chester, Cecilia Todd, Víctor Cuica, Alberto Naranjo, El Trabuco Venezolano, Joe Ruiz, Tabaco, Los Satélites, Nancy Ramos, Wilmer Lozano,Watussi, Trina Medina etc.

In Europe he has performed with: The Rosenberg Trio, Saskia Laroo, Hans Dulfer, Benjamin Herman, Peter Beets, Tango Extremo, Drums United, Nueva Manteca, New Cool Collective, Fra Fra Sound, Denisse Jannah, Laura Fygi, Izaline Calister, Metropole Orchestra, Holanda Big Band, Cubop City Big Band, Lilian Vieira, Rolf Sanchez, ChaChaChalina y Maite Hontelé etc.

Gerardo Rosales has accompanied on tours, recordings and performances in Europe artists such as Dee Dee Bridgewater, Benny Bailey, Paquito D Rivera, Bebo Valdés, Toots Thielemans, Jimmy Bosch, Juan Pablo Torres, Herman Olivera, Oscar D León, José Alberto El Canario “, Andy Montañéz, Meñique, Edy Martínez, Carlos” Patato “Valdés, Conexión Latina, Orlando Valle” Maraca “, Alfredo Rodríguez, Armando Peraza, Luisito Quintero, Ramón Valle, Larry Harlow, Adalberto Santiago, Frankie Vázquez, Oscar Hernandez, Africando, Chamaco Rivera, Luisito Carrion, Jorge Herrera, Edgar Dolor, Dorance Lorza, Luisito Rosario, Watussi, David Cada, and Tito Allen, etc.

The Records of Gerardo Rosales:

2016 Gerardo Rosales “Salsa Vintage” (Download – CD – LP)

2014 Gerardo Rosales “Son Del Sofa” (Single) ITunes

2013 Gerardo Rosales “Síguelo” (CD).

2011 Gerardo Rosales “Chano Pozo’s Music” (CD).

2011 Gerardo Rosales “30 Aniversario” (CD).

2010 Cachao Sounds “La Descarga Continúa” (CD).

2010 Gerardo Rosales “Buscando Chamba” (CD).

2009 Venezuelan Masters Orchestra “Toros y Salsa” (CD).

2008 Gerardo Rosales “Salsa Mundial” (CD).

2007 Our Latin Groove “Bringin’ it All On Back” (CD).

2005 Gerardo Rosales “Mongomanía” (CD).

2005 Charanga La Crisis “Salsa Antigua” (CD).

2004 Gerardo Rosales “Tribute to Fania” (CD).

2001 Gerardo Rosales “La Salsa es mi Vida” (CD).

2001 Gerardo Rosales & Edy Martínez “Rítmico y Pianístico” (CD).

1999 Gerardo Rosales “El Venezolano” (CD).

1998 Gerardo Rosales “Señor Tambó” (CD).

1996 Gerardo Rosales “Venezuela Sonora” (CD).

1992 Gerardo Rosales “Salsa Pa’lante de Venezuela” (CD).

1991 Gerardo Rosales “Salsa Pa’Lante de Venezuela” (33 RPM Vinyl).

Algunos discos grabados por Gerardo Rosales con otros Artista:

Orquesta Cafe “Criollisima” 1987 (Fama) Venezuela ( Salsa )

Joe Ruiz – Javier Plaza – Jose Torres – Gerardo Rosales

Bebo Valdes “Rides Again” 1994 ( Messidor) Germany ( Latin Jazz )

Paquito D Rivera – Patato Valdes – Amadito Valdes – Gerardo Rosales

Conexion Latina – “La Conexion” 1996 (Enja) Germany ( Salsa )

Rudi Fuesers – Leslie Lopez- Anthony Martinez – Nicky Marrero – Gerardo Rosales

David Rohschild “Looking Up” 1997 (Via) The Netherlands ( Salsa )

Adalberto Santiago – Banjamin Herman – Gerardo Rosales

Leslie Lopez “Bomba Moderna” 1999 (Buitenkunst) The Netherlands (Latin Jazz)

Ramon Valle – Joe Rivera – Nils Fischer – Gerardo Rosales

The Rosemberg Trio “Suenos Gitanos” 2001 (Polydor) The Netherlands ( Latin )

Toots Thielemans – Leonardo Amuedo – Gerardo Rosales

Ronal Snijders “Bijlmerjazz 2004 (Independent) The Netherlands (Jazz)

Randal Corsen – Jesse van Ruller – Gerardo Rosales

Cubop City Big Band “Arsenio 2004 (Tam Tam) 2004 The Netherlands (Cuban)

Lucas van Merwijjk – Edy Martinez – Nelson Gonzalez – Gerardo Rosales

Drums United “World of Rhythm” 2006 (Tam Tam) 2004 The Netherlands (World Music)

Lucas van Merwijk – Nils Fischer – Aly N ‘ Diaye Rose – Gerardo Rosales

Samba Salad – Metropol Orkest “Live Vredenburg” 2006 The Netherlands (World Music)

Herman Link – Dick Bakker – Maurice Luttikhuis – Rita Iny – Gerardo Rosales

Aquilez Baez “ La Patilla” 2007 (Cacao) Venezuela (Latin Jazz)

Anat Cochen – Huascar Barradas – Diego Alvarez – Gerardo Rosales

Maria Catharina “Obsecion” 2010 (Independent) The Netherlands (Jazz)

Adinda Meertins – Thomas Bottcher – Marc Bischoff – Gerardo Rosales

Masalsa “Resurreccion” 2012 (Independent) The Netherlands (Salsa)

Soeshiel Sharma – Ray de La Paz – Marcos Bermudez – Gerardo Rosales

Izaline Calister “Kandela” 2012 (Coast to Coast) The Netherlands (Latin)

Yumarya – Vernon Chatlein – Larc Alban Lotz – Gerardo Rosales

Africando “Viva Africando” 2013 (Sterms Music) France (Salsa)

Boncana Maiga – Oscar Hernandez – Doug Beavers – Luisito Quintero – Gerardo Rosales

Mezcolanza “Headbanger” 2015 (O.A.P Records) The Netherlands (Jazz)

Peter Wenk – Chistof May – David Barker – Mick Paauwe – Gerardo Rosales

Tango Extremo “ Havana” 2015 (JWA) The Netherlands (Latin)

Ben van den Dungen – Rob van Kreeveld – Tanya Schaap – Gerardo Rosales

Orquesta La Potente “ Potente “ 2018 (Independent) Colombia (Salsa)

Coco Ramirez – Guarnizo – Gerardo Rosales

Barry Hay & JB Meijers (Universal Music Group) 2019 The Netherlands ( Pop)

Barry Hay – JB Meijers – Gerardo Rosales

Estrella Acosta “Noche Cubana” 2020 (Independent) ( Cuban) Grammy Nominated

Carlitos Irarragorri – Pedro Luis Pardo – Gerardo Rosales

ChaChaChalina “Mira Antes de Saltar” 2021 (Independent) (Salsa)

Chalina Smit – Dani Brands – Gerardo Rosales

Actuaciones realizadas por Gerardo Rosales en diversos lugares del mundo:

Concerts & Events of Gerardo Rosales:

Poliedro de Caracas: Caracas – Venezuela

Centro Cultural BOD: Caracas – Venezuela

Feria de Cali: Cali -Colombia

North Sea Jazz: Rotterdam – The Netherlands

Toros y Salsa: Dax – France

SOBS: New York – USA

Club Babalu: New York – USA

Expo Sevilla 1992 : Sevilla – España

Festival Latinoamericando: Milano-Italia

Accessible Art Festival: Turquia – Mersin

Bimhuis: Amsterdam – The Netherlands

Melkweg: Amsterdam – The Netherlands

Concertgebouw: Amsterdam – The Netherlands

Paradiso: Amsterdam – The Netherlands

Oosterpoort: Groningen – The Netherlands

Glastonbury Festival: Glastonbury – England

Tabarka Jazz Festival: Tunesia

Music Haal: Berlin – Germany

Las Leyendas Vivas de la Salsa: Medellin – Colombia

Exit Festival: Serbia

La Topa Tolondra: Cali – Colombia

Punto Bare: Cali – Colombia

Cafe Libro: Bogota – Colombia

Bird: Rotterdam – The Netherlands

De Doelen: Rotterdam – The Netherlands

Paard van Troje: Den Haag – The Netherlands

Amazonico:Emiratos Arabes-Dubai

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Danibel Breton “The Barbie of the Accordion in the Dominican Republic”

Danibel Breton was born on November 13, 1997, at the Santiago Rodriguez General Hospital in San Ignacio de Sabaneta.

She is the second daughter of Mr. David Breton and Mrs. Maribel Breton.

When she was a few months old, her family moved to Santo Domingo East in search of better opportunities. She was always a happy child, intelligent and very dedicated to her studies.

Her mother recalls that in her first years of school when Danibel arrived home she immediately took out her school supplies and began to do her homework.

She has always shown a vocation for painting, the arts and she loved to sing and dance. She participated for several years in the dance ministry in her parish.

His interest in typical music was born at the age of thirteen. Accordionist Reyes Pilarte would go to La Barbie’s house to teach her father, David Breton, how to play.

One day after witnessing several accordion lessons Danibel asked her father for the accordion and performed the merengue “El puente seco” much better than her father. After that day she started taking weekly accordion lessons with Reyes Pilarte, a native of Los Bombones, Santiago Rodriguez.

Her first stage performance was at El Rincón Santiago Rodríguez where Bartolo Alvarado El Ciego de Nagua, gave her the opportunity to play for the first time.

Maestro Bartolo Alvarado was very impressed by her playing at such a young age. When he felt Danibel’s face with his hands, El Ciego de Nagua said: “She is a doll”, and from there Danibel Breton’s first artistic name was born: “La Muñeca del acordeón” (The Accordion Doll).

A few weeks later they discovered that there was already an accordionist with the name “La Muñeca”, so Danibel Breton was baptized as “La Barbie del Acordeón” because of her similarity to the popular doll with blonde hair and light eyes.

Other artists that gave her participation on stage before she launched herself professionally were: Narciso El Pavarotti, Manny Jovany, El Prodigio, La Reyna Maria Diaz, Banda Real, among others. These presentations helped her to grow as an artist, to fall in love with the stage and to discover her passion for typical music.

Along with her music, accordion and singing lessons, Danibel Breton studied English, Voiceover and Accounting before working professionally in music. At the present time she continues to receive singing lessons and is studying law, which she started at the Universidad Católica del Este (UCADE) and continued in Santiago at the UAPA University.

Since she wrote her first merengue with the help of her father and older sister, she and her family have dreamed of launching the musical project of Accordion Barbie.

As God’s timing is perfect, the opportunity to start the project professionally presented itself at the beginning of 2018, when David Breton, Barbie’s father and an ensemble of typical music professionals carefully selected each of the musicians and arrangers that are part of La Barbie del Acordeón.

On September 29, 2018 at The New Monte Bar, in Santiago de los Caballeros, the grand Debut of “La Barbie el Acordeón” took place. Danibel Breton narrates that she says she felt very excited to see her dream come true.

For her, playing typical music is an opportunity to represent Dominican women in the new generation of perico ripiao artists, to preserve the merengue derecho or “de línea” and at the same time to make modern songs to captivate a young audience.

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