Guitarist Bryan Vargas on His Brooklyn Neighborhood

Latin Jazz guitarist Bryan Vargas (Bryan Vargas & Ya Esta) talks to Clinton Hill Blog about what he likes about his Brooklyn neighborhood:

What I love most about the neighborhood is the general vibe. I truly feel relaxed as I walk down the streets. Other Brooklyn brownstone neighborhoods have a hustle and bustle that we just don’t have here. Folks here are CHILL. People get along. They help each other out. They play with each other’s dogs. It’s a great place to live.

I also love the food. We have some of Brooklyn’s best restaurants, and I love the fact that I never have to leave the neighborhood to eat if I don’t want to.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how much I love Ft. Greene Park. I think it’s the greatest small park in all five boroughs. It has a peaceful serenity to it that you feel as soon as you step foot on the block.

I’ll save what I DON’T like about the ‘hood for another time. For now we can stay positive!

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Tom Suozzi's Born to be Wild

Watch Tom Suozzi's 'Born to be Wild' performance at Dave Mejias' fundraiser in Farmingdale. Check out Mejias' nifty guitar playing. Nice to see the lighter side of these guys.

via Polit Bureau

Los Alegres 3, December 7th, 3-9pm, Portugues American Center, Brentwood

S.O.B.’s Presents: Spanish Guitar Virtuoso Javier Ruibal - Nov. 12th

A highly regarded singer-songwriter from Cádiz, Spain, Javier Ruibal has created a new type of modern music that blends North African sounds with flamenco and other diverse influences. His music gathers in its compositions echoes and sonorous formulas of today and the cultures of past times.

With the richest rhythms and harmony of Flamenco forming the basis of his sound, Ruibal draws his inspiration from his love of life and beautiful women, resulting in lyrics dripping with fantastic tales and evocative Spanish poems of love.

Javier Ruibal is much loved and revered by musicians and fans alike in his native Spain. The singer and guitarist from Cadiz is best known for his vocal talents and songwriting, whilst his arrangements mix flamenco music with the rhythms and harmonies of world and contemporary sounds.

Although firmly rooted in flamenco, the arrangements encompass a wider musical world, from classical to jazz, bittersweet Portuguese to upbeat calypso. African and Arabic percussion give most of the numbers a North African tinge.

Where: S.O.B.'s, 204 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014

When: Wednesday, November 12th at 8pm

Ticket info: $12 in advance, $15 Day of show; Available on Ticketmaster and the S.O.B.’s Box Office 212-243-4940.

David Crosby and Graham Nash @ Obama Rally -- Eisenhower Park

Relentless of 100 Years is Enough sent me this video he took from last night's David Crosby and Graham Nash set at the Obama Rally at Eisenhower Park (Hempstead, New York) -- a production of Yes We Can Long Island.

Crosby and Nash performed This Is My Country, a powerful call to take our country back, and the classic, Teach Your Children Well.

These guys bring back all sorts of memories from my college days at Albany State. Of course, back then it was CSNY. Southern Man, anyone?

Very nicely done.

Papo Vázquez & the Pirate Troubadours: Latin Jazz at Flushing Town Hall 9/20

" ...Papo Vázquez is central to the development of Latin jazz ...." (Ezra Gale, Miami News Times.)

"... Papo Vázquez and his Pirate Troubadours go back to Afro-Rican roots ... to taking it to the year 2050, with the most ... forward-looking harmonies .... Pirate Troubadours is ... moving toward a new sound, a new sonority ...." (Introduction by DJ Felipito Palacio at 5/6/06 Papo Vázquez Pirate Troubadours concert at the Boulton Centre.)

There's plenty more where that came from, as a computer search and Papo's own web site (http://www.papovazquez.com/) will confirm. But what does that matter, when you have an opportunity to hear for yourself the incredible excitement generated by Papo and his world-class sidekicks ... this time with a band double the size of the usual Pirate Troubadours retinue!

Papo shares his musical genuis in a concert Saturday, September 20, 8 PM, at Flushing Town Hall, located at 137-35 Northern Boulevard. Tickets are obtainable via phone (718-463-7700 x222) and web site (http://www.flushingtownhall.org/).

Hope to see you there ... let's show Papo that we appreciate and support great artistry.

Rocio Trujillo & Spanglish Radio

Ms. [Rocio] Trujillo (aka, Cio Babee)is host of the weekday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. program on La Fiesta, which is the only Latin music radio station among the nearly 20 stations based on Long Island and which began broadcasting in September.

A second-generation Salvadoran-American, she says she is encouraged by her boss, the operations manager Vic Latino, to speak in “Spanglish” to attract young people like herself who speak English on the street and Spanish at home.

La Fiesta broadcasts on two frequencies, 98.5 FM and 96.9 FM, reaching the whole of Suffolk County from Route 110, on the far western edge, to Montauk. That includes Southampton and East Hampton, where there are high concentrations of Hispanic residents, and city signals — and the next-closest Latin stations — are fuzz.

On Local Radio, an Accent on Spanglish