Rolling Afro-Latin Music 2025: Reggaeton, Dembow, Latin Pop, Salsa,Bachata, Bomba, Latin Jazz, Merengue, Urbano and more Latinx

Defining the music broadly here but trying to emphasize Caribbean & the Americas rooted Reggaeton, dembow, Latin pop, Salsa, Bachata, Bomba, Latin Jazz, Merengue, Urbano (more than pop-rock but occasional mentions of that genre are ok too). Hybrid music with Latin trap and Mexican Regional traditional styles combined are ok too

2024 thread here

Rolling Afro-Latin Music 2024: Reggaeton, Dembow, Latin Pop, Salsa,Bachata, Bomba, Latin Jazz, Merengue, Urbano and more Latinx

I'm in.

:Lapidus is playing tomorrow nearby. Wonder if I will get over there to see.

Hope you do.

Bad Bunny has some nice acoustic instrumentation on his new song “Pitorro de Coco.”

BAD BUNNY All in Puerto Rico. All the salsa songs are made by young kids from escuela Libre de Música. All of them are like 18, 19, 21 years old — young kids with a lot of passion and energy. Because people think, oh, now every young kid today is making reggaeton. No, there’s a lot of great, great musicians — young kids — that are only waiting for the opportunity.

From NY Times interview with Bad Bunny regarding new album

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/05/arts/music/bad-bunny-album-debi-tirar-mas-fotos.html?unlocked_article_code=1.m04.9mOr.iZ9QHh2es2DQ&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

BAD BUNNY When you really, really listen to the music from back in the day, it’s the same thing. I know that people say, Nah, music in the old days, it was different. And it’s true in some ways. But when you listen to the lyrics, when you listen to the stories, it’s the same. I’ve been listening to a lot of Chuito el de Bayamón, an artist from Puerto Rico from the ’40s and ’50s — música jíbara, música típica — and all the songs are about things I can relate to. Wait, he’s singing about this — I was living that two weeks ago

A Tribute Concert for Eddie Palmieri Sat Jan. 11 in Miami-

The South Beach Jazz Festival proudly presents a spectacular tribute to Eddie Palmieri, “The Sun of Latin Music.” Personally chosen to perform Palmieri’s legendary music by Eddie himself, this all-star lineup features Louis Fouché on alto saxophone, Luques Curtis on bass, Vicente “Little Johnny” Rivero on congas, Camilo Molina on drums, and special guest Zaccai Curtis on piano. Joining them are GRAMMY-winning trumpeter Brian Lynch and world-renowned trombonist Conrad Herwig, whom Palmieri has praised as “the best trombonist on the planet."

https://miamibeachbandshell.com/event/eddie-palmieri-and-his-latin-jazz-band/

That’s mostly one of his regular bands, with Zaccai on piano instead of Eddie of course

Yep. Eddie rarely has vocals with his bands over last decade or so

Electric cowbell promoter and DJ from dc Jim Thomson who’s buddies with Barbes owner is heading up to NYC this week — Getting ready for APAP and Secret Planet in NYC this week and weekend!
Thurs Jan 9: spinning records at Doris in Bed-Sty with specialty guests NYC Trust E’s E, Olivier Conan, & a few other TBA’s
Friday Jan 10: with Miramar at Barbes
Saturday Jan 11: Electric Cowbell and Barbes presents Secret Planet at Drom
Sunday Jan 12: Secret Planet matinee at Sala de Pepe 🇵🇷
Monday Jan 13: Tropical Vortex with Yeison Landero at Barbes!
Hoping to see many of you soon 💫💥🪇🏋️‍♂️

WPFW dj Jim Byers on his Latin Flavor Classic edition program did a Los Angeles mambo and other old-school LA related sounds special to pay tribute to Los Angeles

He noted on the LFCE Facebook page --

On tonight's LFCE, we'll lean on LA mambo history. From Pachuco pioneer Don Tosti, to Rene Touzet... from Manny Lopez and Poncho Sanchez, to Chico Sesma and Bobby Montez... From Johnny Blas, to Martinez-Cheda Orch, to Eddie Cano... we're go@everyonecus Mambo energy on LA tonight. The Latin Flavor Classic Edition airs Sundays from 6pm till 8pm e.s.t., live streaming on our website (wpfwfm.org) or on the free app, TuneIn radio.

The above Sunday January 12 6 to 8 Eastern time LFCE program is archived for 2 weeks on the wpfw website . Playlist there also
https://wpfwfm.org/radio/

Jazz critics poll top Latin jazz albums 2024-

Miguel Zenón, Golden City (Miel Music) 18
Zaccai Curtis, Cubop Lives! (Truth Revolution Recording Collective) 16
Dafnis Prieto, 3 Sides of the Coin (Dafnison Music) 16
Milton Nascimento & Esperanza Spalding, Milton + Esperanza (Concord) 15
Patricia Brennan Septet, Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic) 14
Amaro Freitas, Y'Y (Psychic Hotline) 13
Roy Hargrove's Crisol, Grande-Terre (1998, Verve) 10
Conrad Herwig, The Latin Side of McCoy Tyner (Savant) 8
Gonzalo Rubalcaba & Hamilton De Holanda, Collab (Sony Music Brazil) 7
Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti & Frank Rosaly, MESTIZX (International Anthem) 5
Etienne Charles, Creole Orchestra (Culture Shock) 4
Sergio Pamies, Time to Say (New Trad) 4
Hermeto Pascoal, Pra Você, Ilza (Rocinante) 4
Jonathan Powell, Mambo Jazz Party (Circle 9) 4
Chucho Valdés & Royal Quartet, Cuba and Beyond (InterCat Music Group) 4
Eliane Elias, Time and Again (Candid) 3
Dave Schumacher & Cubeye, Smoke in the Sky (Cellar Music) 3
Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Swing Forever (Ovation) 3
Papo Vázquez Mighty Pirates Troubadours, Songs Del Yucayeke (Picaro) 3
Donald Vega, As I Travel (Imagery/Tiger Turn) 3

List keeps going. More on the link

https://hullworks.net/jazzpoll/24/totals-latin.php

Music in NYC: Omar Sosa, Seckou Keita, Gustavo Ovalles, Zankel Hall, Feb. 1, 6 p.m.
Music in NYC: Edmond Dédé's Morgiane (1887). The first complete performance of the first complete opera by a Black United Statesian, a fourth-generation free person of color from New Orleans who triumphed professionally in France. Jazz at Lincoln Center, Feb. 5, 7 p.m.

Music in NYC: Merengue con Amor 3: El Concierto de los Enamorados, with Ramón Orlando (my collaborator in 1997 on "Ghost Riders in the Sky"), Carlos David, Ravel, Aramis Camilo, Peter Cruz, Tony Bravo and Sin Fronteras, Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, Feb. 15, 8 p.m.
Music in NYC: Kinito Méndez 35th Anniversary Concert. With Rikarena, Pochy Familia, Jandy Ventura, Magic Juan. And another Dominican concert! A co-founder of Cocoband, Kinito in the 90s was the only one to bring into Dominican pop the ubiquitously visible presence of Haiti. Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, Feb. 22, 8 p.m.

Ned S's highlights

https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-latin-music-albums-2024/manuel-medrano-perfecto-4/

Gonna miss Latin pop/reggaeton act Latin Mafia tonight because I am seeing Mdou Moctar play acoustic. Although both may be cancelled if snow predictions for dc area come true

https://daily.bandcamp.com/best-of-2024/the-best-latin-music-of-2024

I don’t think I discussed this yet. Some interesting choices, don’t ya think?

And here’s the Bandcamp Dec 2024/January 2025 post with a bunch of short write ups

https://daily.bandcamp.com/best-latin/the-best-latin-music-on-bandcamp-december-2024-january-2025

https://theclarice.umd.edu/events/2025/okan

Canada-based Afro-Cuban band Okan are at a Univ. of MD theatre tonight for $30 ($10 for students). I kinda like their Tiny Desk that is included here on the link . Maybe I will splurge

I went. They were a bit uneven, but kinda by design. They would have an Afro-Cuban son danceable part, then go Afro-folky, then jazzy . Sometimes it worked , sometimes not

So there's Guapongo dancing and huapongo dancing . Guapongo dancing is viral on tik tok

https://www.tiktok.com/@veronicacm502/video/7269596665860967685