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World Music Exploation - Spanish Jazz-Fussion

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I had to call for assistance for this week's selections. Special thanks to Luma Zuri, one of my friends from

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 3.0, for introducing us to the music of Bebo Valdes and Diego El Cigala.

Bebo Valdes is a Grammy winning Afro-Cuban pianist, composer and arranger.

Diego El Cigala is a Grammy-nominated cantaor (flamenco singer). Their music is a fussion of jazz and flamenco. Listen carefully to the rhythm section (piano, drums and bass).

Their grooves combine flamenco and Afro-Cuban rhythms. The harmonies are typical of music both flamenco and jazz (love those "blues" intervals). The piano and drum licks? Pure jazz.

This is "Lagrimas Negros" ("Black Tears"), which is one of Luma's faves. I just love that piano intro.

I don't know about you, but thanks to Luma, I need to add Valdes and El Cigala's music to my music collection. You can explore more of Bebo Valdes music here:

(c) 2012 by Musespeak(TM), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

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World Music Exploration - Fandango by Antonio Soler

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The first time I heard the music of Soler was at the Honens International Piano Competition. The sonata reminded me a bit of Domenico Scarlatti's music.Years later, I learned his Sonata in c# minor, which was a lot of fun:

This week, I'm introducing Padre Antonio Soler to my students.

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My Virtual Choir 3.0 Experience

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Last year, a friend introduced me to the music of Grammy winning composer Eric Whitacre. Within hearing the first two notes of "Sleep", the hair on my arms stood up, as if to say, "This is really something!"

When the announcement was made about Virtual Choir 3.0, I eagerly signed up. Little did I know how eye-opening and how dramatic, the experience would be.

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Music Blog Spotlight: Dianna Denley Music Blog

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I'm slowly catching up on reading my music teacher newsletters. APTA News has started highlighting music blogs that members find helpful or interesting.

Dianna Denley's Music Blog shares music resources for the piano and violin, from music book recommendations to practice/practise helps.