If you can manage to be in more than one place at a time and you happen to live in Miami these days, congratulations, next weekend is made for you. The rest of us, mere mortals, if we like music, we’ll have to make some hard choices. Below, a few lines on Omar Sosa, James “Blood” Ulmer and Sammy Figueroa, all appearing in the area this weekend. (Also, DJ Le Spam and the Spam Allstars, another personal favorite, present Trans-Oceanic, their 10-years-in-the-making new recording, at the North Beach Bandshell, Saturday. More on that later.)

So, for your consideration …

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Gonzalo Rubalcaba (left) and Chucho Valdés at a rehearsal for their piano duo tour. Photo by Joao Rubalcaba ©

On Monday, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced that the worldwide celebration of the  6^th International Jazz Day, on April 30^th,  will culminate with an all-star concert at the Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso.
Pianists, composers and bandleaders Chucho Valdés and Herbie Hancock will serve as artistic directors of the event, which will be broadcast live on Cuban television and live-streamed by UNESCO.

Watch for Valdés and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, the two major pianists in modern Cuban jazz, appearing together for a still-unannounced duo performance. It will be a preview of their upcoming worldwide tour, which starts at the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy, in July.

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Dance of Time
Eliane Elias
(Concord Jazz)

**** (out of 5)

Perhaps you can go home again.
Brazilian pianist and singer Eliane Elias established her jazz bonafides in the early 80s as a member of Steps Ahead  after moving to the United States. Once she embarked on a solo career,  Elias set her course by tacking between pop and jazz, bringing to bear her Brazilian roots.
Dance of Time, a follow up of sorts to her GRAMMY-winning Made in Brazil (2015), plays like a celebration and thank you note to some of the artists and styles that shaped her music.

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