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Harlem News Group January 17, 2013

Harlem News Group

BRONX

Harlem News Group BOBBY SANABRIAS BAND AT BRONX LAB

HARLEM . QUEENS . BROOKLYN . BRONX

BRONX

By Howard Giske

New Year's Party for a group of 50 revelers was special with Bobby Sanabria's band of Latin Jazz allstars, Sexteto Ibiano. The scene was the Bronx Music Heritage Center (BMHC) Lab, where Bobby Sanabria made clear at the start that this was not a concert, but a dance party, and exhorted couples to get on the dance floor. Soon the crowd loosened up and the party started. Bobby Sanabria is a multigrammy awarded nominated drummer and bandleader, and a Bronx Walk of Fame inductee. A special guest, Candido Camero, originally from Cuba, played his 3-pitched conga drum set, something he has done with all the great jazz bands and still does well at age 91. Camero has been playing music in the United States for many years and is a winner of the Jazzmaster Award. A high point of the evening was a long conga drum solo by Camero, ranging from fast multi-drum beats to the slow tapping out of voodoo-like ritual

drumming. Other band members included Frank Anderson on the electric piano, Iran Ramon, singer and on the maracas, bassist Andy Eulalie, and Peter Braden on saxophone. Sanabria, as a band leader, aims to follow the tradition of Afro-Cuban Jazz band leaders like "Machito" Grillo. The New Year's Eve party was part of the Bronx Rising! project of the Bronx Musical Heritage Center (BMHC) Lab curated by Bobby Sanabria, with folklorist Elena Martinez of the organization City Lore. Music, film, and spoken word in this series range from the latest hip hop groups to the roots of Afro-Cuban Jazz. Other activities have been free intergenerational classes on drumming, visual arts and hip hop dancing. The intergenerational reach of jazz was striking with band musicians ranging from their 30s to over age 90. Likewise, the repertoire of the band was wide, from cha-cha, salsa, meringue, and mambo styles, to the more roman-

tic "bolero" style, like the song "Sabor a Mi." Afro-Cuban jazz has a big following in Puerto Rico, and developed to its greatest extent in the New York City area, where people of all backgrounds play Latin Jazz. In the 1950s club era, many jazz bands played in the Bronx, in clubs like Club 845, and Blue Morocco, as well as downtown Manhattan clubs like the Tropicana. This nears the end of the Bronx Rising! Series at Bronx Lab, but there is still one more group of shows. Thursday, January 17th, Grace Drums will blend in R&B, Jazz, Funk, Afro-Caribbean dance music and vocal improvisation to create original arrangements. Friday night will present the documentary film "Style Wars" on hip hop culture, graffiti, New York City and life. The last Bronx Rising show on Saturday night features photographer Joe Conzo, speaking on his book "'Born in the Bronx" that goes back to 1977, when he "began snapping urgent,

candid pictures of local shows, where a revolutionary new sound could be heard." -- Entertainment Weekly. For more information see http://bronxmusic.org.

BP DIAZ 6TH ANNUAL SWEETHEART LUNCHEON FEB 14

ronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. is hosting his 6th Annual Sweet heart Luncheon on February 14, 2013 from 11am to 3pm. If you're a couple that resides in the Bronx and have been married for 50+ years and newly-wed couples that have been married less than one year. Please contact Larcenia Walton, Director of Senior Services at 718-590-6248 for further information.

Harlem News Group January 17, 2013

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