DESCRIPTION:
We are going to be playing the first Blues, which we are dedicating to our friends, who do play traditional Blues, and sometimes Fusion Blues. And this blues, totally Cuban, and with a little Swing as well, is dedicated to one of the greatest Cuban artists, Benny Moré, “Blues with Montuno”, this time with Afrojazz, and these young musicians that you can see here: Jesús Anduz at the trumpet - with only 16 years-old and 100 Fº of fever, and yet he decided to come for he knew that this was a very important encounter both for you and us-; Christian Pimentel on Tenor Saxo; Dayron Rodríguez on Congas, Juan Carlos (El Peje) Rojas on Drums… a master; Rafael Aldama, on bass; Robertico Carcasses, on the piano, and this servant of yours.

Now, this song, what it does, it’s to create the conditions so that you can feel, from now on, the real Blues, the originals, those who came from the Gospels, the Ragtime, the Spirituals, and then derived into the Blues, which then derived into the definitive Jazz. But tonight, we have the pleasure to introduce to you these masters of the blues. Among them, there are musicians who have played with the best musicians of the Universe: for instance, the Sax player Ed Maina, was a member of Shakar Kan, performed with Frank Sinatra, Maynard Ferguson and many others, and in the same way, the rest have had to do with the greatest musicians of the Universe. Specifically, Tony Loeffler, who is not only a Blues, Jazz and fusion musician, but also a pastor who is active, and comes to Cuba periodically: 3 or 4 times a year for many reasons; not only for his contact with the churches in Bauta, but also to bring donations of music instruments. To his friends and those who are in trouble, he comes to help them… to give them spiritual presence. It seems that in a former life he was a Cuban, for he has such a kinship that he demonstrates at every moment. Yesterday we took a few photos at Bosque de la Habana… they went to the Capitol building area, since we are making a DVD to reflect the presence of this group of American musicians in our country, and we are very excited for all that is taking place here. Now, let’s introduce you to Mr. Tony Loeffler and his group of Fusion Blues with your loving applause.

Bobby Carcasses

During an interview in Cuba, I was asked, Do you think that this most recent visit and the exchanges you had with Cuban musicians can open up a new type of exchange between the US and Cuba?

Absolutely! Music has often been referred to as the universal language and naturally brings people together for the best of humanity. I remember performing at the Sur Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland where we had six to nine languages on stage. Musicians could not communicate verbally but musically there was not a problem. Music seems to transcend the world of divisions in some manner. I believe that a musical collaboration can provide a new type of exchange between our nations and it would be great to see some American artists posted on the wall of the Nacional Hotel again like there were in the past.

Tony Loeffler