Boston, MA – It’s hard to cha-cha or salsa under summer temps without a refreshing breeze and plenty of room to dance. The Tito Puente Latin Music Series takes place in July and August at outdoor locations across Boston, cool backdrops for sultry experiences. The six-concert series is an infectious soundscape of timba, mambo, bolero, Cuban and Afrorican jazz mixed with funk, soul, and groove music. Performers include Berklee faculty, students, alumni, and world-renowned artists from Puerto Rico, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Cuba, Argentina, Israel, and Brazil.
The Tito Puente Latin Music Series kicks off Thursday July 8 at Mozart Park in Jamaica Plain, then moves to O’Day Park in the South End for July 15, 22, and 29. The series takes a turn with a City Hall Plaza extravaganza on July 31 before concluding at the East Boston Greenway Caboose on August 5.
The free concerts are from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Call 617-927-1707, or visit berklee.edu/events/summer for information. All locations are wheelchair accessible. The O’Day Park concerts move inside to Villa Victoria Center for the Arts when raining. All others are canceled with no rain dates.
Berklee College of Music, Villa Victoria Center for the Arts, ParkARTS, and the Mayor’s Office of Arts, Tourism and Special Events present the sixth-annual series.
July 8 – La Timbistica at Mozart Park, 10 Mozart St, Hyde Square, Jamaica Plain
La Timbistica is a contemporary Latin band with some of the best young Berklee student and alumni musicians on the East Coast. It was named 2008 Jazz Group of the Year in the collegiate category by Down Beat magazine. Members have performed or recorded with such prominent Latin figures as Paquito D’Rivera, Victor Manuelle, and Kevin Ceballo.%u2028%u2028 The band’s repertoire ranges from Afro-Cuban and Brazilian classics to modern salsa, timba, and original compositions. La Timbistica is a mainstay in the Boston music scene with regular gigs at the Havana Club, Mojito’s Lounge, and Wally’s Jazz Café. The band recently appeared at the Duke Ellington and Monterey jazz festivals.
July 15 – Son de Madre at O’Day Park, 85 W. Newton St, Boston’s South End
Son de Madre is a Latin band based in New York City with members from Cuba, Argentina, Israel, and the United States. The band’s international flavor is a blend of Cuban music (son, mambo, bolero, timba) infused with jazz, funk, and Brazilian influences. Son de Madre and its members are on the top of the Latin music scene and have performed or recorded with artists such as Celia Cruz, Paquito D’Rivera, Victor Manuel, and La India, and on the most prestigious stages in New York’s jazz scene. The band’s second recording is on its way.
July 22 – Fausto Cuevas y su Orquesta la Moderna at O’Day Park, 85 W. Newton St, Boston’s South End
Fausto Cuevas is currently on tour with Stevie Wonder, and is flying to Boston from Norway for this concert. A drummer from Brownsville, Texas, he made his way to Berklee where he discovered his love for percussion, and studied with masters Giovanni Hidalgo and Horacio «El Negro» Hernandez. From Boston, Cuevas traveled to Los Angeles where he currently resides. In addition to performances at the famed Playboy Jazz Festival and the Blue N
