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Manny About Town

The Ortas

A FAMILY AFFAIR

by Manny Meland on July 19, 2010

I caught the Ortas performing last month at the High Note Jazz Club in the Gables. It is hard to miss the Ortas. One or the other is probably performing at some hot venue or another around town. Mike is a piano virtuoso. His brother Nicky plays the bass and Nicky’s wife, Debbie Orta, is a singer. They don’t always play together. When they do, it’s a family affair.

Mike Orta and his brother Nicky were born into music. Their father, Ernesto Orta was a guitarist who inspired his sons to learn music. Mike began to study the piano at seven. Nicky took up the bass when he was eleven. Their talent was evident from the start. Each eventually earned a scholarship to study music at Miami Dade Community College.

Mike earned an Associate of Arts Degree at MDCC. A Bachelor and a Masters of Arts in Music Degrees at the University of Miami followed. He is very active on the jazz scene and has recorded two albums with his Mike Orta jazz/fusion group. Superstars Arturo Sandoval and Paquito D’Rivera engaged him to accompany them in their recordings. They were not the only ones. Mike has played with all the top acts in town. He has toured extensively and has played most of the big jazz festivals. Besides composing, arranging and playing, Mike is an Associate Professor and Director of Jazz Performance at Florida International University. He teaches jazz piano and jazz improvisation. He also directs their jazz and Latin jazz ensembles.

Nicky played with a group called Top Secret Sextet while still studying at MDCC. Top Secret played the Montreux and North Sea Jazz Festivals. The United States Information Agency recruited this sextet to tour Africa as Ambassadors of Goodwill. Through the years, Nicky has been part of the rhythm section of many top orchestras in their performances and recordings including Arturo Sandoval, Othello Molineaux, Toots Thielman, Chick Corea, and the list goes on. And Nick also teaches. In 2009, he participated in the University of Miami's Young Musicians' Camp and is presently on the adjunct facility at the University of Miami Frost School of Music teaching electric bass and directing the Classic Bop Ensemble.

Debbie brings glamour to the act. She has great stage presence. You can sense her connection to her songs. Her ballads are heartfelt and moving. Debbie found her voice as a child. She began to sing in front of an audience when she was thirteen. A record contract with T.K. Productions launched her professional career. Later she sang backup for “El Puma” and for Chayanne. Besides appearing in many South Florida clubs, she has performed in concert at the Deering Estate, at the SunTrust Sunday Jazz Brunch and she was the opening act for Spyro Gyra at SunFest 2009. This lady is busy and she delivers.

Search your jazz calendar and chances are you’ll find an Orta performing. For example, I was present when Mike and Nicky performed at the Bass Museum's Cool Nights Hot Jazz Series. I also heard them upstairs at the Van Dyke Cafe on Lincoln Road. Earlier, I saw Debbie and Nicky at Wine 69 on Biscayne Boulevard and then the three of them together at the High Note. I especially enjoy their vibe when it’s a family affair.

For more information on the Ortas visit www.nickyorta.com, www.debbieorta.com, and www2.fiu.edu/~ortam. For more information about the Bass Museum of Art visit www.bassmuseum.org.

Check out this video of Debbie Orta:

http://crazymotion.net/miami-jazz-heritage-debbie-orta-at-van-dyke-cafe-3/wunUBqWANfk4jAy.html.....The

Maria Rivas: A Venezuelan Bombshell

by Manny Meland on June 20, 2010

Maria Rivas sings Latin Jazz and Tropical Pop. That is how she described her unique and innovative style to us when I heard her sing on Friday, April 23. She sang to a studio audience at at Ed Bell’s South Florida Arts Beat Program on Radio Station WLRN. The show was broadcast internationally. I found her exotic and sensuous voice and her attractive stage presence captivating.

Rivas began singing professionally in the 1980s in her native Venezuela. It was obvious at an early age that she had talent. She stood out when singing patriotic songs in school and hymns in choir. Also the fact that she learned to sing in the languages of the Western Hemisphere; Spanish, Portuguese, French and English, enabled her to draw from these various cultures. For example, her fourth CD, “Muare,” which featured her hit “Swing Con Son” combines American ‘swing’ and Cuban ‘son.’

In 1987, she took a program called “A Sentimental Journey through Jazz” to Aruba. It played for three years in the island’s major hotels. Back in Venezuela in 1990, Maria scored a hit song “First Born” from her first CD “Motorized.” It was played in sixty countries. An even bigger success came next with her 1992 hit “Manduco.” This song occupied a spot in Venezuela’s Hit Parade Top-Ten for three consecutive years. It spread to Panama, Columbia and Brazil. More recordings followed; “Mapale in 1994, “Café Negrito in 1998 and in 2003 --“En Cocierto.”

Europe beckoned. Rivas toured countries that were listening to her music. In Paris, she did a concert in the prestigious Le Club Jour Nouveau to celebrate Caracas Week. Besides France, she was enthusiastically received in Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Austria, Portugal, Germany and Holland. Her tours of the Western Hemisphere took her to Columbia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Aruba and Puerto Rico. Then Caracas designer Octavio Vazquez presented her in a fashion show “Salon Solera Light de la Moda en Caracas.” Vazquez had her model and sing in this well received presentation.

Maria has shared the stage with many top artists. They include Arturo Sandoval, Ruben Blades, Cheo Feliciano, Joan Manuel Serrat, Pablo Milanes, Juan Lois Guerra, Paquito de Rivera, Zimbo Trio del Brazil, Leila Pinheiro, Leny Andrade, Daniela Mercury, and Albita. Rivas was also invited to sing with several principal orchestras such as Bolivar Symphonic Orchestra, the Symphonic Orchestras of – Venezuela, Carabobo, Maracaibo and National, and La Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho. Rivas is currently the main vocalist for the “Big Band of the Venezuelan Symphony.”

Rivas' compositions also show another side of her. She is concerned with the state of the environment. Her songs attracted the attention of American ornithologist and chief environmentalist William H. Phelps who adopted Venezuela as his home. Maria was awarded the Phelps’ Environmental Prize. (Phelps is also an important coffee grower and he owns a local radio station).

And now, Miss Rivas has come to conquer Miami. She undoubtedly captured the audience at Radio Station WLRN. I then ran into her a few weeks later at the American Legion Hall in Miami. There, she joined a group of musicians who came to jam in celebration of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. It was a good way to introduce herself to her contemporaries. Then on Tuesday, June 8, she played at the Van Dyke Cafe. Half of the audience was Venezuelan. I heard someone cry arriba -Venezuela. I thought arriba - Maria Rivas. Hopefully, her next prize will be a Grammy.

See video below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhxkVaik-bk

Jazz Hall of Fame: Knights of Our Realm

by Manny Meland on June 08, 2010

British royalty bestows aristocratic titles on citizens who have excelled and enriched the nation in some way. In America, we award Oscars and Grammys to those that excel in their fields. We also honor the deserving by inducting them into a Hall of Fame.

On June 4th, the Sunshine Jazz Organization of South Florida (SFJHOF) held a special ceremony at the American Legion Hall In Miami to induct its first six deserving jazz personalities into the newly formed Jazz Hall of Fame. Here are the six honored.

Julian “Cannonball” Adderley was born in Tampa Florida in 1928. He learned to play jazz on an alto sax and his talent took him to great heights in the music world. He and his brother, coronetist Nat Adderley, played with Ray Charles in Tampa in the 40s until New York beckoned him. There, he gigged and recorded from 1955 to 1975 with Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Lou Rawls, Nancy Wilson, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Ray Brown, Joe Williams, Oscar Peterson and the list goes on and on. Adderley made many songs famous including “Mercy Mercy Mercy.” Julian Adderley died of a stroke in 1975. He was inducted posthumously into the Down Beat “Jazz Hall of Fame.”

China “The Mahj” Valles, who was the road manager for saxophonist Illinois Jacquet, came to Florida in 1962 to head the upstart jazz radio station WBUS. It was a sad day when radio station WBUS terminated its jazz format after a few short years and depriving the locals of the only local jazz radio. Fans of China gathered at the Holiday inn on LeJeune Road in Coral Gables for a “Last Ride on the Bus.’’ This veteran DJ was the originator of the Sunshine Jazz Organization. His nickname, “The Mahj” (short for maharaja), was laid on him by none other than Duke Ellington.

Lenny Zeif helped jazz take root in the Miami airport area. He brought jazz to the lounge at the Travellers Hotel which he managed in the 1970s. He featured corpulent pianist Billy Marcus. Soon saxophonist Eric Allison joined the band. Billy and Eric had great chemistry and Lenny constantly refreshed their programs by adding quality guest artists. They developed a crowd of loyal jazz fans. In the 1980s, these fans followed him to the Take Five Lounge on LeJeune Road. Unfortunately, Lenny suffered a stroke that paralyzed half his body and impeded his speech. He recovered his ability to speak and went on to found the Jazz Hot Line. He presently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Saxophonist Jesse Jones, Jr. has been a cool jazz fixture in South Florida since the 1960s. Back then, it was fun to see him and his brother, trumpeter Melton Mustafa, jam on Sundays with McMillan’s Ragtime Band in Coconut Grove.

Inspired by Cannonball and Nat Adderley, Jesse and Mustafa tried to emulate the Adderley groove. Jesse is a mainstay in the Miami jazz scene. Now, one of his goals is to plant the seeds of jazz in young people. He has been working with kids in schools and community centers and in 2004 performed a Yabba Dabba Doo Concert with Simon Salz and Ira Sullivan for 700 youngsters. He has played with the best and continues to enrich our music scene.

Othello Molineaux was born and grew up in Trinidad where he developed a skill of fashioning and tuning steel drums which he cut down from 55 gallon metal drums. His genius brought amazing sounds to his pans. When he settled in South Florida, he played with jazz musicians who considered his instrument a novelty item. He won recognition when he played with Jaco Pastorius on Jaco’s Grammy nominated album. This led to recordings with other jazz greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Weather Report, Joe Zawinul, Chicago, Monty Alexander and Ahmad Jamal. Molineaux also scored big time with his CD “It’s About Time.”

Alice Day, Miami’s grand dame of music, is truly a renaissance woman. For several decades, she has graced the stage of every jazz club in South Florida. I had the pleasure of engaging her when I managed the lounge at the Miami Skyways in the 1970s. She continued to gain vocal maturity with her flexibility and outstanding range. Many budding singers have benefited from her assistance and advice. Today, she is a world class act working the European music circuit and her shows sell out. For the past few years, she has been a mainstay at the Hotel Oriental in Bangkok, Thailand.

Congratulations to this season's inductees. They have enriched their communities and our lives. Some may have earned a fortune. Most play for the love of it. The recognition bestowed on them is their just reward. And most importantly, the honor is enduring.

Federico Britos - A Violin Virtuoso

by Manny Meland on May 24, 2010

Last Friday, May 14^th, virtuoso Federico Britos played his violin for radio station WLRN’s South Florida Arts Beat program. I enjoyed his music so much, the following Saturday night I followed him to a new jazz club on Calle Ocho called the “High Note.” Violinist Federico Britos, a highly accomplished musician, has excelled in the classics and jazz with decades of experience.

When was the last time you heard a jazz group that featured a violin and guitar, backed up with the bass and percussion? Britos takes jazz standards, plays them with soft sophistication, and gradually builds up the tempo by adding his own Latin accents.

Britos’ violin melds with that of guitarist Jorge Garcia in a way that is somewhat reminiscent of the style of the late violinist Stephane Grappelli and guitarist Django Reinhardt. Grappelli and Reinhardt, called their violin/guitar act “Hot Club France.” Several years ago, Britos and guitarist Frank Vignola toured Europe. In the spirit of “Hot Club France,” they called their act “Hot Club USA.” In December 1998, Federico paid homage to these venerable musicians when he played in the Grapelli Legacy in Carnegie Hall. This was followed by playing at the Dejango Reinhardt Festival at Birdland Jazz Club in New York.

Britos was practically born to his music having taken up the violin at the age of five in his native Montevideo, Uruguay. When he was eleven, he composed a piece called “Capricho Uraguayo” which Romanian violinist George Boulanger premiered on his tour of the Southern Hemisphere. Although his early training was classical, Federico never felt any constraint to cross over to jazz and back. Through the years, Britos continued to write and record many pieces for orchestra, chamber ensembles, ballet, and for popular dance, films, television and theatre.

In the classics, Britos has served as principal chair, soloist and concertmaster with symphony orchestras in Uruguay, Venezuela, Peru, and Cuba as well as with the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra in Miami. He toured extensively throughout the Americas and Europe appearing with Latin America's greatest musicians such as Astor Piazzolla, Horacio Salgan, Bola de Nieve, Cachao, Joao Gilberto, Dorival Caimi, Vincio de Moraes, Armando Manzanero and Tania Libertad. On the jazz side, he shared the stage or recorded with Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Woody Herman, Benny Goodman, Bucky Pizzarelli, Charlie Haden , Ken Poplowski, Eddie Higgins, and Charlie Byrd.

Britos has played in most major jazz festivals in America and Europe. James Olmas invited him to participate in a program called “Americanos” at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. This showcase of the crème de la crème of South Florida’s Latin music elite included Cachao, Nestor Torres, Jose Feliciano, Juan Luis Guerra, Gloria Estefan and Paquito D’Rivera.

This old timer never seems to slow down. Lately, he has been touring with Charlie Haden and promoting his latest Grammy awarded CD “Nocturne.” (His last two recordings were made with Haden). He recently recorded his Grammy nominated CD “Cuba Linda” with Grammy winner Cachao. His CD “The First Danzon” has just been released and his “Jazz-Ta” will be released shortly.

Britos has been kicking up dust locally too. After the afternoon concert at WLRN, his group was off to do an evening show at Books & Books in Coral Gables followed by a weekend engagement at the new High Note jazz club.

If you see him, you will be enchanted by his exquisite sounds and arrangements.

The High-Note Jazz Club, located on the second level of La Floridana at 3850 S.W. 8th St. in Coral Gables, is a small intimate room with great acoustics. (No amplification is needed). Parking on site. Tapas and meals. Call 305.603.8659.

Check out this Federico Britos video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXgp5Xfi0Q0

Photos by Manny Meland.

Juan-Carlos Formell

by Manny Meland on May 11, 2010

Rebel with a Cause

Cuban guitarist Juan-Carlos Formell is a rebel with a cause. Born in Havana in 1964, he is the fourth generation of a family of musicians. Classically trained as a bassist, virtuoso guitarist and composer, he aspired to change the parameters of the music he heard being played. However in Cuba, it was a controlled music industry and he wanted to express new ideas and techniques. Change and innovation were anathema to the regime. Juan-Carlos felt that growth and innovation were his birthright. Escape seemed to be his only option. In 1993, he fled to the United States.

Upon arrival in New York, Formell began performing his guitar music in subways. He also found some work with several salsa bands playing bass. He formed his first band the following year and found a niche for his music in alternative venues. After five years of struggle, his career took a leap when in 1999 he was signed to the Wicklow Record Label. This led to a Grammy nomination in 2000 for his debut CD “Songs from a Little Blue House.” Two years later, his acclaimed release “Las Calles del Paraiso” (EMI Latin) followed.

After several years touring with veteran Eliades Ochoa of the Buena Vista Social Club and with world music stars Cesaria Evora, Milton Nascimento and Susana Baca, Juan-Carlos decided to change to a solo guitar act.

Now, a decade later, he has produced five albums and has gained an international reputation as a prophet and poet. His songs speak of Antillean mytho-history that range from what he describes as “paeans to the flora and fauna of Cuba, a defiant call to freedom of a runaway slave, a personal invocation to an Afro-Cuban deity, to a celebration of the divine light that resides in each of us.”

Today, he is being compared to other celebrated guitarists/composers such as Caetano Veloso, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Gilberto, Jackson Browne, Neil Young, Steve Earl and Nick Drake.

His fifth album, “Johnny’s Dream Club,” re-ignites a century old musical exchange between Havana and the Delta. This title refers to a legendary Havana cabaret where local musicians would show up to jam. Album #5 was recorded in 2008 in the Big Easy and features Dixieland musician Dr. Michael White on clarinet. (Read Dr. Michael White, Man on a Mission – MiamiArtZine (archive) - issue 96 – Manny About Town). “Johnny’s Dream Club” is a Cuban version of Dixieland.

Kimberly Chmura of KCC Productions called to tell me about Juan-Carlos Formell. After a five-year absence from Miami Beach, she booked him on Sunday May 2 for a one night solo acoustic guitar concert at the Van Dyke Cafe on Lincoln Rd. In this one-man show, his music took excursions into the mystical, which he defined as “musical magic realism.”

For more on Juan Carlos Formell, visit www.myspace.comformell. Van Dyke Cafe is located at 946 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach. For more information call 305.532.1233 or visit www.thevandykecafe.com.

 

Juan-Carlos Formell - Video link to Juan Carlos Formell's “Johnny's Dream Club”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_679tDnn53Y Juan Carlos Formell

 

BOMBA ESTÉREO

by Manny Meland on April 25, 2010

BOMBA ESTÉREO

Cumbia / Rap

Are you ready for an explosion? That’s what we got at the Eighth Annual Heineken TransAtlantic Festival on April 9 at the North Beach Bandshell in Miami Beach (Collins at 73rd St.). The music of Bomba Estéreo (literally Sterio Bomb) exploded on stage. Vocalist Liliana (Li) Saumet burst forth with the energy of a speeding metro-rail train. Backed by band leader and bassist Simon Mejida, drummer Kike Egurrola and guitarist Julian Salazar, the infectious beat of “Feelin,” from their successful C.D. “Blow Up.” blew us up.

Who is Bomba Estéreo? The band was founded in 2001 in Bogota, Colombia. They call their music Electro Tropical. It starts with Colombian folkloric Cumbia, a style of music originated by African slaves. The Amerindians’ millo flutes, guiros and claves and the European guitar brought over by the Spanish combined with the African drums to give Cumbia its distinctive sound. Simon waxed poetic when he described his music as “a mixture of the Caribbean Ocean and the Andes Mountains with a bit of Bogata traffic and smog.” Until recently, Cumbia was more popular than Salsa in most of Colombia.

Simon searched for a different sound, something more in step with what young people were listening and dancing to. Even though he thought Cumbia was old fashioned, its basic 4/4 rhythm structure fused well with electronica’s beat. In 2006 in South America, Bomba Estéreo released its first mostly instrumental album called “Vol.1.” Simon then began to work with vocalist, Liliana Saumet who became the charismatic force of the group. Together, they developed a lively sound geared more to the party atmosphere. They recorded “Estella” in 2008 followed by their first U.S. release “Blow Up” in 2009. “Blow Up” has become a mainstay in the iTunes Top 100 Latin American Chart.

Bomba Estéreo, led by Simon Mejia and the lively Li’ Saumet, have made a name for themselves on the tour circuit doing energetic shows in both the United States and Latin America. Bomba had their in New York stage debut at the Latin Alternative Music Conference in 2008. On their way to this evening’s appearance at the TransAtlantic Festival, the group electrified a crowd in Mexico City’s huge central plaza. The band is scheduled to play next month at South By Southwest. (SXSW is a set of interactive music festivals and conferences that take place every spring in Austin, Texas).

P.S. The Rhythm Foundation’s Annual Heineken TransAtlantic festival booked two major acts. The first and opening show on Friday April 9th was Bomba Estéreo and the second and closing performance on Saturday April 24 featured Vieux Farka Toure, the son and heir of the late Ali Farka Toure, a revered blues star in the West African country of Mali. Vieux’s music is released in the U.S. on Six Degrees Records.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZXlgNMDK3E.

Photos by Manny Meland.

Gilberto Gil: Artist / Activist

by Manny Meland on April 11, 2010

Brazilian cultural icon Gilberto Gil, a Grammy winning singer, guitarist and composer, is just as famous for his political activism as for his music. On March 31, I joined an excited throng of Brazilians who packed the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale to hear his music.

Gil began playing music when he was very young. His mother, a teacher, bought him an accordion when he was ten and sent him to music school for four years. His training was in the classical style but he gradually grew more interested in Brazilian folk and popular music. Then in 1950, at the age of fifteen, he joined his first band, Os Desafinados (The Out Of Tunes). He played accordion, vibraphone and he sang. Later on, he switched his primary instrument to the guitar and his music to bossa nova.

In 1964, Gil and a group of influential musicians collaborated in performing traditional Brazilian songs and bossa nova at the Vila Velha Theatre in Rio in a show entitled Nos, Por Exemplo (Us, for Example). The lyrics spoke for popular causes.

The Military regime that took power at that time considered Gil a social threat and held him in confinement for nine months. His first hit song “Aquele Alegro” was released just before his arrest. He was then exiled to London where he discovered reggae and the music of Bob Marley. He also took in concerts and soaked up the music of Miles Davis, Sun Rae and others.

He returned to his beloved Bahia in 1972 and continued his enriched musical career as well as pursuing his political activism. In the late 70s, Gil decided to go to Africa, visiting Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria. Upon his return, Gil released a cover which he did with Jimmy Cliff. It was the popular hit “No Woman, No Cry” which arguably introduced reggae to Brazil.

After Brazil’s current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, appointed Gil to the nation’s post of Minister of Culture, he was visited by a delegation of American online-rights activists which included John Perry Barlow of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. (This is the same John Perry Barlow that wrote songs for the cult favorite American band, the Grateful Dead).

Perry and the delegation proposed to Gil to make available an on-line music archive that would one day contain every Brazilian song ever recorded with all of it downloadable for free. Gil, whose own works are out there, amazed his visitors by giving the project his backing. This shouldn’t have been so surprising as Brazil is transforming itself into an open source nation. Observe its approach to drug patents, its support of the free software movement and its resistance to the attempts by special interests to shape global information policy. Gil is in step with all this. Another of his achievements is Onda Azul (Blue Wave), an environmental protection organization he created to protect Brazilian water.

I e-mailed my friend in Rio de Janeiro several photos of Gil that I took at the concert at Broward Center. His reply to me was that Gil has not written a new song since being appointed Minister of Culture.

Back at the Broward Center, people in the audience begged Gil to sing their favorite song. Gil lamented that of the five hundred pieces he had composed, he had to choose twenty for tonight’s program.

Gilberto Gil’s rewards and recognition are numerous. They include Grammys, Medals of Honor and recognition by the United Nations. And counting his music, he certainly deserves to take his bows.

Mo' Music with Mo Morgen

by Manny Meland on March 30, 2010

Every Thursday and Friday, Mo Morgen makes music at the Miami Shores Country Club. That’s where I caught his act he calls Mojazz. It presents my man Mo Morgen on keyboard and sopranino sax. And for the past ten years, it includes the other half of his act, percussionist Madafo.

Mo was born in New York. His interest in music was stirred by his mother and brother, both amateur classical pianists. He was eleven when his fondness of Benny Goodman steered him to trying the clarinet. He loved Benny Goodman but he never loved the clarinet. At 18, he switched to sax. He tried the alto, tenor, baritone and bass saxes. “Finally, I fell in love with the Eb soprano sax”, he said. He affectionately calls it Nino”. (The E & b flats put Nino in a higher range).

The thing about Morgen is that he is a prolific promoter. In New York in 1975, he founded the world renowned Jazzmania Society which spearheaded the legendary Jazz Loft Movement. He promoted jazz five nights a week at his loft where he rotated prominent guest stars. On weekends, he provided opportunities for bands to showcase themselves. In 1977, he organized the first three day New York Loft Jazz Festival. The same year, he presented a Brazilian Jazz Festival. Morgen’s Jazz Loft’s ten years run made it the most successful in New York.

In 1993, Mo joined a tide of New Yorkers who moved to Miami. Here he opened a Miami Beach jazz club called MoJazz Cafe located on 71st St. at the foot of Miami Beach. It was a great place to hang and catch some good vibes. I especially enjoyed his Sunday jam sessions. However, jazz clubs have a slim survival rate. He could not generate enough traffic.

I later ran into him at a benefit for drummer Howard Moss. Moss had unfortunately contracted lung cancer. Our local musicians close rank when a fellow musician is in need. They filled an art gallery in North Miami where everyone was happy to pay a door charge to hear their contemporaries play.. Mo said gatherings like this are great for networking. This consummate producer then spread the message around the room that he will repeat this every Sunday. That was a good idea but too few showed up the next Sunday. 

Morgen got it right at the Miami Shores Country Club. Check it out. The parking is free and plentiful and so are the hors d’ouvres. The club offers a very affordable menu for your dining pleasure and you can’t beat the price of wine at $5 a glass.

And now with daylight saving time, get there early to see the sunset on the golf course. Of course, the piece de resistance is the musical stylings of Mo and Madafo and the various local musicians that they invite to stand in each week.

Mo and Madafo, Thursdays and Fridays, 7-10 p.m. Miami Shores Country Club, 10000 Biscayne Blvd., Miami

Shawn Snyder

A Guy, a Guitar & His Quest

by Manny Meland on March 16, 2010

Shawn Snyder packed his soul and his acoustic guitar into his silver Hyundai Elantra and set out on a quest to “eavesdrop on the world.” During his travels, he played his songs on streets, in coffee houses, at festivals and clubs. After 40,000 miles, he had performed more than 120 shows in approximately 50 cities and 25 states.

You may call Shawn Snyder a poet or a songwriter. His rich uses of metaphor make his ballads very compelling. Shawn’s original acoustic folk- rock style is lyric driven. He soulfully blends folk, rock, jazz and blues into deeply passionate and expressive performances. Catch his act and you’ll be hooked.

As a child at home in Cooper City, Florida., Shawn grew up listening to his dad’s music which included Simon & Garfunkle, Joni Mitchell and James Taylor. He learned to love the guitar after his grandmother gave him one for his fifth birthday. By the age of thirteen, he was composing songs.

Snyder graduated from Nova University in Davie. While there, he made a documentary about homelessness. His major was religion, and he also studied musical theatre. All these contributed to the depth of his works. He continued his education at Harvard where his musical direction began in earnest. “It was there that I pondered the bigger questions of life,” he declared.

Graduating in 2004, at the age of 24, Shawn headed for the California Bay Area. There, he gigged with great musicians such as mythic drummer Dave Krusen (of Pearl Jam “Ten” fame). Shawn played the most prestigious troubadour spots in San Francisco and Los Angeles. His L.A. gigs included Gary Jules' Hotel Café in the heart of Hollywood.

Snyder has covered the West Coast and the East Coast and in-between playing some of the hottest singer-songwriter spots. The Bitter End in New York and Passim Folk & Cultural Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts are just two examples. In 2006, at the age of 28, he released his debut C.D. “Dog Eared Pages.”

His restless spirit took him down under to Australia where he followed the famous Rufus Wainwright’s performance at Melbourne's renowned Manchester Lane. Snyder is now back in South Florida for a longer than usual stay. During this time, he released his latest album -“Romantic’s Requiem.”

Shawn is a prolific performer playing two or three shows a week. His fans are spread throughout Dade and Broward counties. You might see him at the Skinny Dip @ Kitchens in the Newport Hotel in Sunny Isles Beach or at Books & Books on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, the Wallflower Gallery or Bardot Cafe, both in Miami. He is also popular in Broward playing the Chocolate Moose Café in Davie, the Labyrinth Café in Fort Lauderdale and the Glades Edge House in Sunrise. And to my friends in Boca, you don’t have to be Irish to catch him at the Dubliner at 435 Plaza Real.

I caught his act a few months ago at Tobacco Road in Miami. He laid a copy of “Romantic’s Requiem” on me. I hope I haven’t worn out the grooves playing it so much.

For schedule of performances: www.shawnsnydermusic.com.

Felipe Lamoglia and his Afro-Cuban Clave Beat

by Manny Meland on March 02, 2010

I caught saxophonist Felipe Lamoglia’s act at the Van Dyke Cafe (on Lincoln Road in South Beach) the other night. You have to check out his clave sound. He is HOT! The Latin-style jazz he plays was developed from the rhythms of African slaves and became a basic beat in Cuban music. New Orleans, an incubator for new sounds, loved these Cuban chords. For over a century, Cuba and the Delta had an ongoing exchange of this clave beat. Felipe is a great ambassador of this music
 
At 18, Felipe won a scholarship at the prestigious Superior Institute of Arts (ISA), the most important University of Music in Latin America where he studied music. Upon graduation, he was hired to play with NG La Banda, one of Cuba’s most acclaimed orchestras. In 1992, he traveled to Brazil for a musical exchange program offered by the University of Sao Paulo. Felipe lived in Brazil for seven years, where he formed his own band called Tumbaoin and recorded his first solo album “Dimensions,” which incorporated his clave sound with strong influences of jazz and Brazilian music.
 
Lamoglia moved to the United States in 1999, scoring top gigs as soon as he arrived with talents like Latin star Celia Cruz.  He met Arturo Sandoval and was able to participate in several of Sandoval’s recordings including “Trumpet Revolution,” “Live at Blue Note NYC,” and “Live at Ann Harbor Summer Festival.”  Lamoglia also got involved in two Grammy nominated album projects which were released by Blue Note Records. In 2004, he joined Gonzalo Rubalcaba in his Grammy nominated recording of “Paseo.” Then in 2006, he played for Ignacio Berroa’s nominated album, “Codes” for which he also worked on arrangements. Soon, his composition and arrangement skills were again put to work by Grammy winning Arturo Sandoval. Felipe helped produce Sandoval’s latest album “Rumba Palace” which won a Grammy Award in 2008.
 

While on tour with the great Sandoval, Lamoglia took extensive master classes and clinics. In the interim, Felipe appeared at various festivals sharing the stage with music greats such as Herbie Hancock, Michael Becker, Wynton Marsalis, Eldar, and Marcus Miller. Consequently, he utilized his excellent teaching skills that he had developed at clinics at the University of Free Music in Sao Paulo, and more recently at the University of Michigan and the University of New Mexico.
 
Kimberly Chmura of KCC Productions in Miami was quick to recognize Felipe’s special qualities. She put him in a line-up last January 9, at the APAP Showcase in the New York Hilton where other Grammy nominated bands were showcasing their music. Several gigs followed including the recent show at the Van Dyke Cafe.
 
A jazz singer from New York who was sitting at the bar next to me was incredulous. “Someone told me there was jazz upstairs at the Van Dyke. I didn’t expect this world-class music.” I told him that he can enjoy Lamoglia again on the last Friday of February in concert at the outdoor stage at the Museum of Contemporary Art or you can see him any Wednesday in March at Casa Panza.

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is located 770 N.E.125 St. in North Miami. Call 305.893.6211 or visit www.mocanomi.org. Casa Panza is located at 1620 S.W. 8 S. in Little Havana. Call 305.643.5343 or visit www.casapanza.com.
The Van Dyke Cafe is located at 846 Lincoln Road in South Beach. Call 305.532.1233 or visit www.thevandykecafe.com. For more information on KCC Productions visit www.kccproductions.com.