The king of Space Age Bachelor Pad Music, the wacky Mexican bandleader and self-taught pianist Esquivel has delighted us with bizarre arrangements and compositions that blended fully-composed jazz influence with mariachi, Brazilian music, twisted mambo, "exotic" percussion, an avant-garde approach to orchestral pop and he was a pioneer in the field of stereophonic recording. He remains the most important name in so-called "lounge music' and his music, being so far ahead of its time, stands as completely off-the-wall.    

Multi-instrumentalist Huddie Ledbetter was especially noted for his playing of the 12-string guitar and soulful delivery of topical lyrics. He did four stints in prison (including one for murder) and even broke out of jail once. Twice he was pardoned for his talents. He became a popular figure on the lefty folk scene ("Bourgeois Blues") and was one of the first folk-blues artists to tour Europe. Songs like "Goodnight Irene", "Midnight Special", "Black Betty", "I Got Stripes", "Boll Weavil" and others are still often covered by a variety of bands to this day.

FREE With Cuban soul and a swinging, fearless tropical sound, this trombone-driven power salsa octet, Ola Fresca, preside over our signature Latin dance party, ¡Vaya 63!, at Lincoln Center's David Rubenstein Atrium. At the helm of the group is Cuban-American singer, songwriter, arranger, and producer Jose Conde, who conjures “a state of harmonic coexistence across conventions” (Time Out New York), spiking Cuban son with New Orleans funk, Nigerian Afrobeat, James Brown rhythms, Haitian compas, New York City boogaloo, and jam-band flights. DJ Bongohead kicks of the night at 7:00 pm and plays between and after the band’s two sets. Presented...

What if Brian Wilson, Arthur Lee, Elliott Smith, Ralf Hütter, Eliades Ochoa, Nino Rota and Ennio Morricone went on a vision quest to Peru and brought a 4-track with them? What if they hung out and jammed with Los Wembler's De Iquitos at an itinerant circus in the jungle, bumped into Alejandro Jodorowsky in the midst of filming a lost epic in the Temple of The Sun at Machu Picchu, and were abducted (along with their tapes) by a sexy alien piloting a glowing UFO? Curious? Then come with C.A.M.P.O.S. on an audio journey to find out what that could...

Peace & Rhythm Crew recommends the latest album called Impredicible from the really great Peruvian band Bareto - and it is indeed "unpredictable"!! Very wide-ranging soundscontained therein! Each record they do tops their previous effort (I put a track from their Grammy-nominated previous CD Ves lo que quieres ver  on my Rough Guide to Psychedelic Cumbia  plus they did a great compendium of their last 10 years with 10 Años),  and this is their most evolved outing to date. From chicha to reggae to psychedelic folk to electronica and places in between and beyond, the band crafts indescribably beautiful original soul vibrations, meditations...