Seal visits Miami during the last leg of a U.S. tour on Thursday, and he arrives in the Magic City at a critical point in his career. He hasn’t released any new studio material since 2003, and since then his sum output has been — shudder — a best-of album…
He’s Dolemite writ large and in cartoon, a big mean black guy dressed like a pro wrestler from the Sixties; the self-professed inventor of the Miami sound, writer of tracks for Betty Wright and KC and the Sunshine Band, and he’s in my face. And yours. Ladies and gentlemen, I…
Since its modest beginnings, the Friday-night party Revolver has become a weathervane of the latest in underground/indie/whatever (all contentious terms) culture, name checked by bands like the Sounds and even Rolling Stone. The weekly party has fueled hedonistic drinking and dancing from its early days as a gathering for moddish…
Bebel Gilberto fans know better than to expect the sort of bossa nova plied by her father, Brazilian guitarist and singer João Gilberto. Although there is a clear bossa influence in her style, the younger Gilberto has gone beyond it, pushing the boundaries of Brazilian music to suit her own…
The Eighties were like a virgin, touched for the very first time (Madonna was everywhere). While some of us were sporting feathered hair, sleeveless zebra-print T-shirts, and tight leather pants, others were listening to Suicidal Tendencies and skateboarding through the mall. Whether your fancy was for cock rock, punk rock,…
The New York Times may have raved about the Spam Allstars to no end. S.O.B.’s (also in New York) may have become the band members’ second home. MTV might feature them with a page of their own, and the festival circuit might have latched on to their patented brand of…
Okay, so John Fogerty won’t be there, but CCR’s original rhythm section will be. So will John Tristao, a Sixties one-hit wonderboy who actually opened for the original Revival way back when. And if you don’t know that Tristao once fronted the band People and had a hit with a…
Dulce Pontes An oral tradition that is passed on in the taverns and streets of Lisbon, Portugal, fado is the urban, bluesy musical form that gained international renown through the voice of the late Amália Rodrigues. The lyrics speak of love, longing, and the gritty life led on the streets…
Raphael, a.k.a. Don Rafael Martos Sánchez, a.k.a. Spain’s answer to Tom Jones, visits Miami this Friday for the first time in more than four years. A child prodigy from Linares, Spain, Raphael burst onto the scene in 1954 when, at nine years of age, he won the “Best Child Singer”…
First it was the Beatles, until the best musicians in that band died. Then it was the Ramones, until the Reaper wiped them out, too. Now the biggest musical reunion imaginable (at least here in Miami) has arrived. Thirteen years after its demise, Natural Causes — the beloved roots rock…
Ours, the quintet lead by New Jersey’s Jimmy Gnecco, plays Studio A on Tuesday as a prelude to the release of the band’s third album, Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy. A perfectionist known for taking his time on his albums, Gnecco spent the past three years honing…
The funny thing about snobbery is how it’s often in the eye of the beholder. Giselle Brodsky ain’t no snob, despite bearing the title of artistic director for the Miami International Piano Festival. The goal of the festival, she informs me in her rich Bolivian accent, is to lure new…
Spanish-born Maria Quiñones created the persona of Martirio (which translates as “martyr”) as an onstage alter ego, one who wears dark glasses and large, decorative combs known as peinetas. She performed with numerous groups before joining the group Veneno (Poison), which helped vault her to prominence. Throughout her career, the…
Studio A becomes hip-hop central on Thursday with the appearance of Duck Down Records artist Sean Price. Price is the artist formerly known as Ruck, half of the rap group Heltah Skeltah, and one of the lead MCs from the mighty Boot Camp Clik. In his sophomore solo effort, Jesus…
Superstar lyric soprano Renée Fleming’s tour itinerary says a lot about how far Miami has come as a cultural destination. Listed are three dates in Paris, two in Vienna, a stop in New York to sing with the brilliant L.A. Philharmonic featuring conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, then it’s off to yes,…
No, it’s not just an extended version of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” The Baseball Music Project, founded in 2004, brings together the work of talented historians, writers, composers, arrangers, and performers to present a unique look at the sport. It uses an orchestra, 73 musicians strong, for propulsion…
Dyslexic Postcards are a little bit roots punk, a little bit Pink Floyd, and a lotta Spacemen 3. But mostly the quintet is way overdue to release a CD, so catch ’em at Churchills while it’s cheap. “Right now we have nothing for sale but our asses,” says guitarist/singer Joshua…
With machines replacing instruments and songs manufactured on an assembly line, it’s hard to find the soul in music nowadays. But there was a time when bands boomed with rich brass, and singers gained notoriety for their talent without having to compete on a TV show first. This era, known…
In what’s been a Sunday tradition since February, Fourth Dimension once again offer the Jazid crowd a unique blend of reggae, dancehall, dub, and ska. The show is presented by Kulcha Shok Muzik, one of Miami’s better-known record labels. A four-piece outfit seemingly tailor-made for Jazid, Fourth Dimension offers a…
We all know that when people think Chevy, the musical genre that leaps to mind is hardcore rap? Yes, it seems our favorite macho auto company is undergoing what the pros call a little brand alteration. Gone is the down-home, redneck appeal. These days, it’s all about keeping it rizzle…
Be prepared for your teenybopper to hit up the family rainy-day fund: Chayanne’s coming to town, and hormone hell follows with him. The 38-year-old Latin heartthrob, born Elmer Figueroa-Arce, entered showbiz at age eleven when he joined the Puerto Rican boy band Los Chicos. The group set its sights on…
At age 63, Joe Chambers ranks as one of the most notable drummers and percussionists of his generation, and a staple of the venerable (and once-independent) Blue Note label. Not only have his highly imaginative compositions been covered by the likes of Freddie Hubbard and Bobby Hutcherson (with whom he’s…
