Three master congueros, each with a distinctive style, lend the Conga Kings’ accelerated pulse, but the name is meant to highlight the heart of the group, not describe the entire body. As do all the top percussionists in Latin jazz, this conga drum triumvirate displays a deep sense of context…
Detroit is known for producing its share of renowned musicians. Rock-star bad-asses Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop and Motown legends the Temptations and Diana Ross all paved the way for what would become known as “good music” today. It’s no wonder that the Detroit Cobras — hailing from such fertile…
Way back before the King Khan and BBQ Show ever began, Mark Sultan (a.k.a. BBQ) and King Khan (then referred to as the Blacksnake) were in a Canadian garage band known simply as the Spaceshits. Ten years and several continents later — after Khan had fostered a faux-celebrity explosion in…
Like some unseen beast that emerges only in shadows to claim its prey, indie rock stalks Miami with as much Omaha, Nebraska soil between its toes as sand. Four-piece Whatever Happened to the Dinosaurs and their compatriots in Blue Moon, both from Miami, do their absolute best to channel Bright…
Awe-inspiring traditional African beats fuse with contemporary reggae-rock sounds when Ba Cissoko and his group decide to jam. Born into a musical family in West Africa’s Guinea-Bissau, Ba Cissoko is a master of the regional 21-string harp-lute called the kora. Kourou Kouyaté, Sékou Kouyaté, and Ibrahim Bah round out the…
In an era when political correctness is pursued to unyielding extremes, singer-songwriter Randy Newman is an astute observer, immune to any notion that social commentary should refrain from satire and stereotypes. Eight years after Three Dog Night earned him his first chart success by covering his song “Mama Told Me…
Hailing from the Netherlands, 32-year-old Ferry Corsten has been an international circuit DJ since he was fifteen. Touring in support of his recently released second studio album, L.E.F. (which stands for Loud, Electronic, Ferocious), Corsten imprints many of his mixes with his mantra “Create your own path, be yourself, and…
Indulgence in all things retro has almost always been a modern staple of cool, and Raw B Jae and the Liquid Funk are no exception. For more than a decade the ever-changing eight-member group has embraced Seventies soul sensibilities while eschewing disco cheese. Psychedelic guitar man and local band-hopper Buffalo…
Thanks to the ever-present Aquabooty crew, Osunlade is a familiar face in these parts, traveling down from New York every so often to spin records. The man behind dance classics like Eric “Erro” Roberson’s “Don’t Change” and his own Paradigm album is a prime force in Afro-house, from his fierce…
Since giving his first solo recital at age eight and making his orchestral debut at twelve, Ben Kim has gone on to become one of the most acclaimed young pianists in the world. Kim is a master of demanding works by Brahms and Schumann and is especially noted for his…
Octogenarian Cuban musician Candido Camero, who celebrates a birthday with a return engagement in downtown Miami, works today at the same job he has had for the past 65 years: A-list conga player and innovator. He needs no resumé. But if he did, it would read something like this: Previous…
Old-school house heads know King Britt for early-Nineties smash dance hits like “Tribal Confusion,” coauthored with Josh Wink in 1993, as well as his latter-day DJ sets of deep, jazzy beats. As for everyone else — well past their teen years, that is — they probably remember “Cool Like That,”…
ArtOfficial delivers a sound that shatters the line between jazz and hip-hop. The unification of the remnants of local hip-hop group Soul What? merged with reggae funk band Defoncé, spawning rich lyrics and instrumentals. Danny P., Ralf Valencia, Manny Patino, Keith Cooper, Newsense, and Afterlogic make for an interesting, inspirational…
The Waterford Landing was voted Best Pop Band in this year’s New Times “Best of Miami” issue. In 2005 it was selected as a Personal Best, won the Readers’ Choice award, and picked up Best Electronic Group. But Alex Caso, keyboardist and singer, remains somewhat mystified about the acclaim. “I’ve…
Metal signifiers prominently figure into the music of Italian duo Ovo: Bruno’s snare ‘n’ tom bash-dash underscoring Stefania Pedretti’s strained (sometimes churlish), demon-possessed vocals bring to mind Linda Blair in The Exorcist and Old Time Relijun’s Arrington de Dionyso alike. Yet metal they aren’t, really. On their latest recording, the…
Putumayo’s reach is truly global. What began as a clothing line has morphed into a world music label that for more than ten years has been producing compilation albums that highlight artists from nearly every continent. Named for a Colombian river valley, the label has enjoyed a hearty serving of…
Continuing to build on his blues-tinged foundation after collaborating on an album with the legendary B.B. King titled Riding with the King and compiling a full-length of Robert Johnson covers, the British guitarist and former frontman for timeless bands such as Cream, the Yardbirds, and Derek and the Dominoes will…
In accordance with the museum’s thematic exploration of the relationship between video and music, Miami Art Central hosts “Images from the Composer’s Eyes: A Concert of Works for Video and Video with Instruments,” a mélange of musical compositions entwined with video from Florida International University’s NODUS Ensemble. Although the title…
Bossacucanova is a premeditated fusion of European electronica and Brazilian bossa nova. The group — DJ Marcelinho DaLua, bassist Márcio Menescal, and keyboardist Alexandre Moreira — offers a wild live performance that includes the beautiful vocals of Brazilian singer Cris Delano. Uma Batida Diferente, the band’s latest album, features guest…
Second-guessing the state of commercial hip-hop could become the next no-budget ESPN thing once Celebrity Poker buggers off. You’d need look no further than Slow V and Retrospect to find a couple of locals eager to expel some froth on cable or anyplace else. “Today’s clubs, to me, are like…
Bebo Valdés, the supremely gifted 87-year-old pianist, master arranger, and star of Miami’s Calle 54 Records, joins the powerful Arturo O’Farrill-directed Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra to perform “Suite Cubana.” Valdés describes his grand, Grammy-winning composition as “the realization of a dream.” Valdés radiates a friendly confidence that carries through to the…
Although Brittany Murphy’s attempt to raise temperatures with her sex-o-licious purring on Paul Oakenfold’s latest single, “Faster Kill Pussycat,” is bound to score with postadolescent Maxim readers, anyone who has ever set foot in a club knows it takes more than heavy breathing to heat up the dance floor. The…
