I haven’t been to New York for a few years now, but I have my return trip planned in my head already. Music would fill every night of the week, and a few days if I could make it happen. Over the past few years, I’ve encountered so many fantastic recordings from New York musicians, and I simply can’t wait to hear them live. Some of these musicians have traveled to the West Coast, so I’ve had the opportunity to hear them perform. Still, something different happens to musicians when they create music in their home base, and its usually much more exciting. I’ve discovered the regular Latin Jazz hangs, so now there are a list of clubs that I would love to see, hear, and experience. I’m ready to see the crowds, taste the food, and sit in the rooms that trigger intense amounts of creative energy in New York’s Latin Jazz scene. There’s always something about the surroundings that bring certain sounds to the forefront of a musical scene, and you just can’t understand it until you experience it firsthand. There are countless musicians that I would love to interview; making that face-to-face connection that simply doesn’t happen over the phone. I’d love to sit-in on their rehearsals, take lots of pictures, record performances, and shoot plenty of video, collecting the whole experience for later inspiration. I’ve got big plans for my trip to New York; as I learn more about the city’s musicians and clubs, my trip evolves into a month long journey through the birth place of Latin Jazz.

As I continue to plan my dream trip, I’m keeping Thursday nights reserved for Latin Jazz at the Nuyorican Poetry Cafe. Established in 1973, the Nuyorican was originally a salon that served as a creative space for a growing collective of poets. The work became more essential and the poets decided to take their work into a public sphere. Their performances met tremendous success and they jumped between several different locales until they settled upon their current home. The group formed a non-profit organization aimed providing a multi-cultural venue for all sorts of artistic ventures, with an emphasis upon the vital yet under-represented art forms in our society. Latin Jazz certainly fits that description, and as a result, Nuyorican Poets Cafe developed a regular Latin Jazz night. The organization prides itself upon quality, and they’ve kept their standards high when booking their Latin Jazz night. The Thursday night event regularly features some of the best Latin Jazz musicians on the city’s busy scene, including Chembo Corniel & Grupo Chaworo, Willie Martinez y La Familia Sextet, Hector Martignon, and the Curtis Brothers. Every month the club hosts Bobby Sanabria’s Afro-Cuban Jazz Band from the New School, giving college students studying Latin Jazz a fantastic spotlight. The Nuyorican Poetry Cafe sounds like an incredible venue, and it sits on the top of my list for a future New York trip.

I’m still saving my pennies for that trip, but fortunately we’ve got some incredible LJC readers there already. Our LJC reader of the week award goes to pianist Barry Hecht, who checked out Hector Martignon at Nuyorican last week. Today’s Latin Jazz Photo Album will focus upon that show with some shots that Barry took of Martignon and his band. According to Barry, Martignon put on an inspiring show, and the pictures give us a glimpse of that. Thanks to Barry for sharing his experience with all of us here at LJC . . . especially those of us who are only dreaming about going at this point! Enjoy!

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Hector Martignon Performing At Nuyorican Poetry Cafe.

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Looking for more from Hector Martignon? Check out some of his previous albums:

Refugee

The Foreign Affair

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Do you have pictures to contribute to the Latin Jazz photo album? I’d love to have everyone in the Latin Jazz community contribute! I’ll be posting five to ten pictures a week - I’m looking for live performance shots, not promo pics. I’d like to keep them centered around one artist per week, but if you’ve got another idea, let’s talk. So come on Latin Jazz photographers, musicians, and fans - let’s put some more memorable pictures in the Latin Jazz Photo Album! Get my contact info HERE

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Check Out These Related Posts:
Latin Jazz Photo Album: Charlie Sepulveda
Latin Jazz Photo Album: Bobby Sanabria & The Manhattan School Of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra
Latin Jazz Photo Album: Chembo Corniel & Grupo Chaworo, Part 2
Latin Jazz Photo Album: Greg Diamond

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