A kind of carnival of music, happiness, joy and very dancable tunes with host Toni Basanta. www.cubanbridge.wordpress.com

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DRUMMER-PIANIST COMPOSER RUY ADRIAN LOPEZ-NUSSA TORRES on "TWO LANGUAGES" LIVE FROM THE MARTI THEATER in HAVANA. Every recording holds a story associated with it, especially in Jazz and Cuban Music. For Ruy Adrián's victorious debut album, the story is uniquely spiritual. TWO LANGUAGES (Dos Lenguajes) is the debut recording of Ruy Adrián López-Nussa Torres winner of the Tete Montoliu Composer Award in 2021.
The recording label is BIS MUSIC de Artex - that in the last 10 years is getting off the ground some of the finest artists in the island nation of Cuba. César López, Emilio Vega, Feliciano Arango, Bamboleo, Drums La Habana, Victor Goines and Janio Abreu with Aire de Concierto, and Enrique Lazaga are 7 of these groundbreaking artists, and their DVDs are already part of our music album. The subsequent title track for RUY ADRIAN's beautiful and mesmerizing recording was possible thanks to the topflight contributions from all his friends who made this album possible. Their ideas, patience, professionalism, experience, humility, camaraderie, and energy were invaluable. Each one came out of their comfort zones and their own projects to rehearse, and make it happen.
TWO LANGUAGES is fascinating beyond its title track and chief inspiration. The Duets are the literal and figurative heart of the recording, the whole session really soars, and in some cases is a DUET of THREE as Ruy Adrián plays drums and keyboards, and has a complete Orchestra on his hard drive as in LA YUKA FUNK - the Duet with violinist WILLIAM ROBLEJO, for instance. The recording opens with the ebullient H y 25 his family home address in El Vedado, on a Duet with his brother-pianist Harold López-Nussa, whose fingers find delicate and exciting ways of expressing themselves across the keys. A bevy of Special Guests also elevates the experience: Aldo López-Gavilán Junco, Mayquel González, Ruly Herrera, Ernán López-Nussa, Dayme Arocena, and Elmer Ferrer. TWO LANGUAGES contains the sounds of a blissful talent that has played on half the planet with his brother TRIO or QUARTET, and with his own Family Band.TWO LANGUAGES is just as the title says, a ride with a bunch of good friends and the indivisible López-Nussa Family.
RUY ADRIAN composed all the songs, except El Manisero (The Peanut Vendor), and Volver a Cuba (Returning to Cuba) by his uncle Ernán López-Nussa. He is motivated, inspired, ambitious, and energized, and soon we will be presenting TWO new projects named THE THREE MUSKETEERS and TRIO KACIQUE. He is a phenomenal young and busy cat, who really plays beyond his years. There is No Better example than his participation as the only percussionist on the DVD With Gourd, Peruvian Box and Piano featuring Güiro Legend Enrique Lazaga and 10 Wonderful Keys Wiz Maestros, bringing new life to Cuba's National Dance: El Danzón, already on our HFC catalogue on episode 100! No limitations, not even the sky might be the limit. Peace Is All We Need -Toni Basanta

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A carnival of music, joy and danceable tunes with host Toni Basanta. www.cubanbridge.wordpress.com. Toni Features Cuban classical music with the Third piano concierto of Heitor Villa-Lobos played by National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba with Enrique Peréz Mesa, conductor and featuring Patricio Malcolm, piano.

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Gourd, Peruvian box, and Piano - The band leader on this Concert is gourd player Enrique Lazaga internationally known as a founding member of La Orqueta Ritmo Oriental in 1956. The percussionist is Ruy Adrián López-Nussa who plays a very personal set with a Peruvian Box, cowbell and cymbal. Lazaga, Ruy Adrián, Emilio, Robertico, Ernán, Aldo, Falcón, Yadasny, and Harold, are also featured in some of our episodes. We are now honored to bring 3 new Cuban Pianists to our music album: Jorge Boulet, Roberto Carlos Rodríguez “Cucurucho”, and Orlando Pérez “Landy”. Enjoy 10 Wonderful Danzones. The Danzón is CUBA’s National Dance.
More about this episode in Toni's Blog: http://www.cubanbridge.wordpress.com

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RHYTHMS FOR A NEW MILLENIUM - In Burlington, Vermont 2009, I was invited to the First Jazz Lab as part of the Educational Event hosted by the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival. It was at the Burlington City Arts Headquarters, where I hosted my first Power Point about Cuban Drummers with the help of Eric Ford, who worked for the BCA at the time, under the title of WHAT DO ALL THESE GUYS HAVE IN COMMON ? Three years later, in Havana, in 2012, drummer Ruy López-Nussa took me to Nacho Vázquez's house to check out Rodney Barreto and Oliver Valdés CD DVD Drums Habana, that had just been released under Bis Music label.
Nacho is a friendly quintessential man; journalist, photographer, producer, translator, and HE was glad that I had visited. When HE put on the DVD and I saw these two wonderful young cats playing 9 tracks, mostly originals plus a version of Havona by bassist Jaco Pastorius, arranged by pianist Tony Rodríguez, I thought I was going to host a whole TV show with DRUMS HAVANA, and that was at MMCTV Channel 15 in Richmond. It was a success, and several Vermont musicians asked me who were those two kids that I had on that episode. They were Rodney Barreto and Oliver Valdés sided by Two Dream Bands! Since then, I thought I needed other highly visible artists to get this project going. I had read in magazines and listened to many musicians saying that CUBA is the mecca of hand-drumming, but it was Peruvian-American drums master ALEX ACUÑA's album Acuarela de Tambores (Watercolors of Drums, Tonga Productions, 2000), who began icing the cake, and now again. Although I did not host any of the acts on Acuarela de Tambores on this TV episode, they have been on my radio shows since 1989.
FROM ACUÑA's ACUARELA: Giovanni, Michito and Conte - In 1990, I saw Giovanni Hidalgo and Airto Moreira with Dizzy Gillespie leading The United Nations Orchestra at the Havana International Jazz Plaza Festival. In 1993, I saw Michito Sánchez and Kevin Ricard at the National Theater in Havana, thanks to a visit of Peruvian-American Salsa and Soul Queen Cecilia Noël and her band the Wild Clams. That wonderful night Michito and Kevin joined forces with Tata Güines and Tris Imboden. Tris was Cecilia's partner at the time, and also the drummer of Chicago, and HE played two electrifying solos on his drums. There were also musicians of Tower of Power and Irakere on stage. Michito and Luis Conte have also recorded and played live with Síntesis AfroCuban Rock Group in their albums Ancestors in Los Angeles.
INSPIRING THOUGHTS MY WAY: I should mention that 5 musicians in particular were very important to this episode: Calixto Oviedo, Ruy López-Nussa, Oscar Valdés II, Haruhiko Kono, and Horacio "El Negro" Hernández. Before this adventure, we hosted 2 DVDs featuring Enrique Pla. For this reason HE is not on this one. PLA is also on episode 26 with singer Argelia Fragoso. If you like this DRUMMERS VOLUME ONE, check out some other HFC episodes. They all radiate rhythm! Peace Is All We Need.

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A carnival of music, joy and danceable tunes with host Toni Basanta. www.cubanbridge.wordpress.com Featuring Alejandro Falcón, a young lion of AfroCuban Jazz Piano
and his own Trio, a String Quartet, The Failde Orchestra, and Rumba Kings Los Muñequitos de Matanzas.

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