Tagged: Jazz Caliente

Pianist, composer and bandleader Eddie Palmieri will be one of four National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters honored this year on Monday January 14 at Lincoln Center.

The nominees for Best Latin Jazz Recording for the Grammy Awards in 2013 have been announced, and the winners of the Latin Grammys have already been awarded.

This is the best of the rest, the Latin Jazz that you might have missed this year, and there are some stellar performances here.  With gratitude to Latin Jazz Network and Latin Jazz Corner, let me encourage you to explore some of the lesser-known and newer artists of Latin Jazz.

There's nothing quite like a Latin Jazz celebration of any occasion.  It's the ultimate party music!  If you're in Seattle, WA or in Oakland, CA, you can spend New Year's Eve with one of the masters of the Latin groove:

Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band at Jazz Alley, Seattle

Multiple Grammy award winner, and this year's Lifetime Achievement Award recipient from the Latin Grammys, Poncho and his band mix jazz, latin and soul for a tasty and dance-able feast.

Christmas Eve is celebrated in Cuba, not Christmas Day.  

It's called Noche Buena, and it includes food, music, dancing and gatherings.

A traditional Cuban Noche Buena feast consists of plenty of roast pig (yes, a whole one), black beans and rice, fried plantains and yucca with garlic.  To wash it all down:  mojitos, cuba libres, or a sidra (sparkling hard cider).  Desserts include rice pudding and rum cake.  I can feel the food coma starting already.

This year's Grammy Awards will see the reinstatement of the Latin Jazz category that was deleted in the recent "consolidation" of ethnic music categories by the Recording Academy.

Nominated for 2013 Best Latin Jazz Album:

One of the most appealing Latin Jazz/Pop crossover artists was vibraphonist Cal Tjader (chay-der).