Farewell Chata

Chata Gutierrez, a mainstay in the San Francisco Bay Area radio scene for four decades, passed away on December 17 after a long battle with liver cancer.  She was 60.  Blessed with a great voice, smooth delivery and impeccable musical taste, Chata was a natural for radio.  She started back in KPFA under the guiding hand of radio producer Emiliano Echeverria back in 1972.   She hosted programs at KPFA and KPOO from 1972 to 1979.   I have known Chata since we were classmates in high school and actually worked together for a brief stint at KPFA back in 1976.   We were friends, colleagues and rivals but always had mutual respect for each other and the music.  She produced her long running Saturday salsa music program later known as "Con Clave" for 33 years at community radio station KPOO.  Her program was essential listening for Latin music fanatics and Salsa lovers.  She was a staunch advocate for Salsa who was awarded the Tom Donahue award in the late 1980's.  She was loved by her radio public and the Mission community in SF that supported her but was also a fierce competitor and brutally frank in her opinions about music and people.  She kept hosting her popular program despite her up and down days almost up to the time of her death with the help of radio dj Jose Ruiz.  She will sorely be missed.  There will be a  wake at Driscoll's Mortuary from 2 to 6 pm and a memorial concert immediately following at Roccapulco to honor her memory this Sunday, December 29th in San Francisco.

Renacimiento

I have taken most of the last third of this year off from posting on this blog.  I'm not making any excuses for my absence.  There has been a lot going on with my life both positive and negative that I have not shared with you.  It has been an introspective period of time for me.  However, I am experiencing a rebirth/renacimiento...I now feel that I am willing to share my perspectives that I am passionate about with you again.  So let's proceed as we head into 2014.

Yoshi's JazzFest - Free - Sunday 8/25/13 - Jack London Square Waterfront-Oakland

Salvador Santana will be headlining a free concert this Sunday, Aug. 25 from Noon to 5 pm at Oakland's Jack London Square Waterfront brought to you by Yoshi's Jazz Club.  KPFA is one of the media co-sponsors of the Yoshi's JazzFest which also features the Julian Coryell Trio, Cuban reggaeton mix-master Dos Four and the Oaktown Jazz Workshop Performance Ensemble.  It promises to be a great musical afternoon.  For more information, visit www.yoshis.com

What I Did On My Summer Vacation 2013

I have been on Summer vacation from this blog.  But I'm baaaccckkkk!!  During the last few months, I had a birthday, took a real family vacation to Spain (which included Barcelona, Catalunya and La Costa Brava..had a blast & visited my in-laws and friends), came back and saw Spanish Harlem Orchestra (so good!!), checked out Outside Lands Festival (saw great acts: Paul McCartney, Phoenix, Nine Inch Nails, Chic, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Rhye, Bombino, Bauer etc) , the San Jose Jazz Festival (Javon Jackson w/Les McCann & Dr. Lonnie Smith , Wil Campa & powerhouse vocalist Paula Harris with The Beasts Of Blues were awesome!), moving forward with plans for a new personal web site, have hosted and produced a lot of radio, raised money to keep KPFA alive, interviewed Puerto Rican salsa stalwart Don Perignon, contemporary Salsa sonero/matinee idol Michael Stuart and emerging Cuban music star Wil Campa (they were ALL great performing live in person by the way!!!).  I haven't stopped yet..I am hosting Con Sabor tonight - Saturday, August 17 from 9 to 11 pm on KPFA 94.1 FM/www.kpfa.org.  I am starting a new nightclub scene...I will be resident dj for a new weekly Salsa night "Sabroso Mondays" this Monday 8/19 from 8 to Midnight at Lukas, West Grand at Broadway, Downtown Oakland, just a couple of blocks from the Paramount Theater.  I will also return to my regular monthly spot at Cafe Cocomo this coming Saturday, August 24th with the popular Julio Bravo & Salsabor on stage!!  Que vida!!

tidbits late June 2013

memories of spring and the beginning of Summer 2013:  Don Perignon and his great trio of singers including Rico Walker, Gonzalez and Josue Rosado performing a smoking set in semi darkness due to a blackout at El Vacilon, Treasure Island...Peruvian Cuban Timba sensations Barbaro Fines and Mayimbe packed Cafe Cocomo to the rafters.   The band with it's frontline reminiscent of Charanga Habanera wowed the timberos at the club....Carnaval SF was rescued at the last minute by a Mission District community coalition led by Roberto Hernandez that pulled off the 2 day festival and parade with a volunteer staff and bands that played for free.  SFCAT, the non-profit producing entity that ran the event for the past 3 years (and that hired me as Carnaval's entertainment consultant from 2011 to 2012) went kaput this year and punted to Hernandez and the Mission coalition.....The indestructible salsa great Oscar D'Leon was joined by two violins and a full band mesmerizing the crowd at Cocomo.  Tragic news about D'Leon just weeks later.   He lost his eyesight after he was struck in the eye by a chest in a domestic accident.  Wishing Oscar a speedy recovery!  He is truly one of the great Salsa singer and performers of all time.

SF International Film Festival

The 56th annual edition of the San Francisco International Film Festival which took place in late April showcased a series of Latin films dealing with youth and the coming of age.  Be sure to look for the Brazilian film "They'll Come Back" dives into that scenario focusing on the story of a privileged 12 year old girl Cass who is abandoned on a desolated road along with her brother by her parents.  Her brother goes off by himself to get help.  She discovers a Brazil that is foreign to her defined by class, poverty and immigrants.

Memories of Jelly's...What A Scene!

I was one of the resident dj's that help carry the throne at the late San Francisco club Jelly's from 1998 to 2010.  There were many memorable evenings that I experienced from behind the dj booth.  The bands and the dj were always pushing each other to take the music higher in those days.  There was a tremendous communication between the band, dj, dancer, party goer, a regular and an aficionado.  But the real connection was the music.  The music soared on most Sunday evenings where the band and the dj was jamming, the dancers packed the wooden floor and outside concrete patio.  I wasn't there when it started when Linda Wosskow (who now runs the Seahorse) and KPOO DJ Chata Gutierrez started the Sundays in the mid 90's.  I was asked to do a late Sunday night following a typical Sunday tardeada at Jelly's around 1998.  It was a short run disaster but I did get hired by Jelly's owner Clarice Lacau to rotate Sundays with PR salsa maniac DJ Ivette "La Coqui" Fuentes.  It was a great period of time for me personally in terms of dj'ing my particular mix of new and classic salsa brava, timba, cha cha, merengue y mas to a mixed, packed and enthusiastic crowd.  The crowd didn't care about taking proper dance lessons or having bottle service at their table, they were there to dance and listen.  Those were good times.  I always looked forward to eating "el maestro" Jesus's cooking!  I was addicted to my combination of ribs and pollo...rico!!!  Ivette was later replaced with rotating DJ's Walt Digz and DJ Antonio who were first known primarily as Timba DJ's.  During the last 10 months of the club's existence, I was reduced to a monthly residency as a cost cutting measure at the club...lo bonito y lo feo.   Jelly's finally went kaput in October 2010 after a fatal shooting incident during an off night hip hop event which eventually sunk the club.  They were forced to close by the Port Commission and the club closed.  We closed the club in typical Jelly's fashion with Julio Bravo and Salsabor, DJ Walt Digz and myself doing the spinning honors that evening.  It was a packed crowd from start to finish.  Ever since the club closed, promoters have been trying to capture the Jelly's magic but they haven't been able to do it.  However, they have developed their own distinctive scenes such as the Seahorse in Sausalito and Cana.  I have been hearing about new clubs opening up on Sunday.  The advance hype is that they are "the new Jelly's" hoping to appeal to sentimental ex-patrons who perhaps are frustrated with the current Sunday salsa scenes.  Those folks who have this notion have completely missed the point of what was happening at Jelly's during those days...it was a special time and place.  There was an unpretentious vibe.  It didn't matter if the place was a dump, it was your Sunday meeting place where you could hear and dance to great music.  It was the real thing not hype.  R.I.P. Jelly's con amor!

Clefs and Notes - Tito Puente's 90th Birthday

Yesterday would have been Tito Puente's 90th birthday!  So I played a short but sweet tribute to El Rey Del Timbal on my radio program "Con Sabor" last night.  Playing just one set of TP is a challenge because of the volumes of material that this late prolific master produced during his lifetime.  So I played a special set of (in order) "Tito On Timbales", "Barbarabatiri", "Cuando Te Vea", "Happy Cha Cha Cha", "Nina Y Senora", "Picadillo Jam" (with Eddie Palmieri!) and ended with "Celia Y Tito" featuring Celia Cruz.  I probably would have done the whole set differently in another program.  But that was the beauty of Tito's music.  The range, scope and depth of the recorded music that he came out with was astonishing.  You also have to mention the powerful live performances that I will remember and cherish.

Carnaval

During the last couple of years, I had the great pleasure of working in Carnaval San Francisco as Entertainment Coordinator by the late SFCAT organization.  I had previously worked in that capacity in 1983 and from 1986 to 1998 for the late MECA organization.   I go back to Carnaval to when I marched in the first Carnaval parade in Precita Park back in 1979.  I was asked by SFCAT to coordinate one of the stages in 2011.  Last year was particularly sweet since I oversaw and ran the entire outdoor Entertainment operation (like the old days) assisted by a great crew of emcees, backstage help, stage veterans and sound pros.  I felt that we did San Francisco proud with a varied, exciting and eclectic show that featured the best in Salsa, Brazilian, Caribbean, Cumbia, African, World, Funk, Hip Hop and Rock in traditional and contemporary forms.  In other words, we presented great music that complimented the other parts of this unique massive event!   The operation ran well despite the obvious challenges, trials and tribulations that come with the territory.  I was looking forward to possibly repeating my role this year but a funny thing happened on the way to the repeat.  SFCAT went kaput!  Apparently the organization was in substantial debt and wasn't able to fundraise and maintain their infrastructure.  There was talk that the two day festival that framed the spectacular Sunday Carnaval parade was in danger of being cancelled.  SFCAT's management negotiated with a community based coalition led by my former MECA boss Roberto Hernandez, a master of reinvention and charismatic media manipulator, to take over the festival.  Because of SFCAT's financial woes, Roberto and the community coalition have taken over the entire Carnaval operation.  Hernandez even came up with a catchy sound bite that I will paraphrase "You don't cancel Christmas, You don't cancel Carnaval".  An emergency community meeting took place where the call was sounded for 500 volunteers to help with the event and to solicit possible sponsors and for money to be donated.  I wasn't able to make the Brava Theater meeting because I had a DJ gig with Bajofondo at Bimbo's that evening.  Roberto already had installed his own team of players to run the event.  Due to these developments, I wasn't asked to be involved in this year's event.  However, I'm not bitter, I have fond memories of my Carnaval years.  After all, life runs in cycles.  I wish the Mission community a tremendous amount of luck in their noble quest.  It looks like it may be downscaled due to the economics and tight time schedule.  Hopefully they'll succeed in pulling it off because Carnaval has to survive.  There is no other event that comes close to creating that magic.

Mood

Some truths of life that are affecting my mind space today.  Life can be a constant up and down cycle..you just have to ride it out!  After surviving a tough period of time where sure things have changed and some juicy repeat business dries up, I'm looking forward to working more rewarding projects and dates this year.   I have to be optimistic because when one door closes, another one opens. You just have to be ready to plunge in.  I haven't been writing much lately but I'm writing today.  Funny how life works that way.  It's always easy to point fingers, swear at people and blame everyone for your problems.  Solving your problems is always the hard work.  So please forgive me for not writing much, I'm busy solving my problems.  Music is the point of this blog...really.  However, one page devoted to self therapy is ok.  I promise I won't make a habit of it.

SXSW 2013

South By Southwest 2013 was an eye opener as SXSW continues to grow and get crazier.  Now every time that you catch an act, you miss 20 instead of 10 acts that you want to see at the same time.  Also cooperate interests are continuing to show a strong presence at SXSW such as the Doritos stage.  Big headliners with special lotteries for admission are showing a big presence such as Prince, Justin Timberlake, Green Day, Dave Grohl's Sound City Players with all stars such as Stevie Nicks and John Fogerty, Nick Cave, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and others.  SXSW also continues to be an industry conference whose speakers are full of such hot shot respected figures such as Clive Davis and artist interviews with Eric Burdon and new sensations MacKelmore and Ryan Lewis.  More to report coming up!

Grammy 2013 Post Mortem

I watched the 2013 edition of the Grammys last night.   It was an overly long show full of the good and ugly moments that make up the Grammys.  Among the fine surprises were the tribute to Bob Marley which included Bruno Mars, Sting and Rhianna along with Marley's sons Ziggy and Damian....Blues rock titans The Black Keys joined by a colorful Dr. John in full New Orleans voodoo headdress along with the legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band....Jazz masters Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Kenny Garrett jammin' without a drummer...so sublime!  Who could also forget JLo's leg, Katy Perry's cleavage, Nas's cool tux, Ellen DeGeneres making Beyonce nervous, Folk revivalists Mumford and Sons and The Lumineers demonstrating why they are hot right now, Wiz Kalifa's cool take on the 80's Boy George hat, guest presenter Prince making a fashion statement in a black hoodie ensemble and carrying a silver cane and Juanes showing off his singer/songwriter side in English.  There were plenty of cheesy moments that was the subject of all my facebook friends who were wickedly putting down the badly sung songs,  the blown jokes by star presenters who should know better and all the other absurdities that was part of the broadcast.  But isn't that what The Grammys are all about?  Not really.  There were categories that we didn't see on TV that were important to some of us.  It would have been nice to see some Latin music in the mix this year.  Some of our fine local artists, musicians and producers in all genres were nominated this year.  They didn't make it to 3 1/2 hours of television glitz.  What the Grammys are is just entertainment.  The real substance behind the music and the most exciting music out today doesn't make it to our TV screens.   For a fleeting moment, host LL Cool J's throwback to hard core rap with Public Enemy's Chuck D, guitar whiz Tom Morello, dj QTip and Blink 42 drummer Travis Barker just made it before the closing credits were ran.  That's the Grammy's for you.

Under ReConstruction

Hi everyone, it's been a while since I have posted on my blog.  A lot of sickness has hit my home and I have been affected.  I haven't had a lot to say since I have been on a personal and professional reconstruction of sorts.  In some ways, it's befitting to a start of a new year: the closing of some doors and the opening of other new exciting possibilities.  The letting go of old, now toxic, things and relationships and the nurturing of new ways and roads that will support my future growth and development even at this stage of my life.   I still have a lot to say and comment on and that will be reflected on future posts.  If you are still out there, thanks for putting up with me.  I'm not dead.  I just want my posts to resonate with some weight, knowledge that I want to pass on and relevancy.  I'll be back shortly.

Casa Sanchez On A Friday Night

San Francisco's Mission District is the home of Casa Sanchez restaurant located near the corner of York and 24th Street.  Latin Jazz and Salsa is featured every Friday night starting at 7 pm in the small, cramped dining room that is full of good vibes.  Fine Mexican food is offered such as the Carne Asada Tampiquena or Enchiladas En Mole.  Last Friday, I checked out conguero Adrian Areas and his solid Latin Jazz quartet performing a spirited repertoire that included classic compositions by Mongo Santamaria and Wayne Shorter.  The colorful Chepito Areas, former Santana timbalero, was holding court at the bar among a group of friends and customers who were cheering on his son Adrian.  Only in the Mission.

Happy New Year Resolution

A New Year marks another chance to start anew.  Another shot at getting it right from the jump.   I have a feeling this year is my time to reboot this page dedicated to music and life.  It is a temptation to get lazy as one gets older so I'm challenging myself to stay stimulated and write often in this space.