Episode #3 is an exciting show - we've got over an hour of interviews, music, and thoughts on Latin Jazz, walking you deep into this wonderful style of music.

We start the show by kicking off the new year with five thoughts on how you can support Latin Jazz in 2012. It's a great time to look ahead and see what we all can do to keep the music thriving - a mission that we all need to take seriously. I've tried to come up with five easy and fun ways to show your support for Latin Jazz that can make a difference. The year looks bright, so let's do everything that we can to take the music to another level in 2012!

In the second piece of the show, we take a closer look at the outstanding 2011 release from Brazilian Jazz band Grupo Falso Baiano, Simplicidade: Live At Yoshi's. It's a stellar sophomore release that balances the group's rich understanding of choro with the spontaneity of live performance. It also features a special guest performer in pianist Jovino Santos Neto, who inspires the group to reach even further heights. You'll get to hear part of an interview that I did with percussionist Ami Molinelli about the album and then check out a fantastic track from the recording, "Feira Livre."

You can check out more of my interview with Ami Molinelli on the Latin Jazz Corner.

If you haven't heard Grupo Falso Baiano, you're going to be hooked after this track. Make sure that you go over to the Grupo Falso Baiano website for more on the band and then support them by picking up Simplicidade: Live At Yoshi's.

The final portion of this podcast episode features an interview with flautist Mark Weinstein, where we discuss his latest album El Cumbanchero. This album is another fantastic chapter in Weinstein's creative exploration of Cuban music, where he mixes jazz with danzon in a charanga setting. Cuban pianist Aruán Ortiz provided the arrangements, which simply overflow with beauty - these magnificent works in combination with Weinstein's flute performance make El Cumbanchero a masterpiece.

Weinstein is an important voice in Latin Jazz - from his time with Eddie Palmieri's La Perfecta to the essential album Cuban Roots and his modern recordings, Weinstein is someone that you need to hear. If you want to get the full scoop on Weinstein's career, check out the extensive interview with him that I published on LJC - you'll want to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

El Cumbanchero is really a fantastic album that brings together all of Weinstein's experience into an important statement. You don't want to miss this one - here's a link to pick up Mark Weinstein's El Cumbanchero.

Remember, you can stay up to date with the latest happenings in the Latin Jazz world and on LJC:

You can LIKE the Latin Jazz Corner Facebook page.

Welcome to Episode # 2 of the Latin Jazz Corner Podcast, we've got a lot of great things packed into this show, all suited for the Latin Jazz community.

We start out by talking about a yearly tradition on the Latin Jazz Corner site, the Best Of The Year Awards. As this episode comes out, we are knee deep in the voting for the Best Of 2011 Awards - it's an exciting time where we look back and celebrate the outstanding music that we've experienced throughout the year. Here's a couple of links so that you can dig a little deeper into the Best Of The Year Awards.

Here's the main page for the Best Of 2011 Awards. Voting runs between December 8th, 2011 and December 23rd, 2011 - if you're checking this out between those dates, head on over and place your vote! Otherwise, you'll be checking out the results.

The LJC Best Of The Year Awards have been running since 2007, so a lot of great music has been recognized. Take the opportunity to go back through the years and check out the music - start of the main page for the LJC Best Of The Year Awards.

In our second segment, we take a look at the new album from Alexa Weber Morales, I Wanna Work For You. There's a snippet of an interview that I did with Morales as she was putting together this album, where she talks about the idea behind the album and we listen to a track from the recording, "Catastrofe De Amor."

You can check out the transcription of the full, three part interview that I did with Morales - here's Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

After hearing this track, you're definitely going to want to hear the whole release - here's the site for Alexa Weber Morales' I Wanna Work For You.

The last piece of the podcast focuses upon percussionist Sammy Figueroa and his latest album, Urban Nature. There's a piece of an interview that I did with Figueroa that delves into his career as a bandleader and digs into the creation of Figueroa's album Urban Nature. It's a great insight into one of the modern Latin Jazz world's very important artists.

When you take a look at Figueroa's career, you'll be impressed with all of the amazing music that he's been a part of - to get the full picture, head on over to Sammy Figueroa's website.

You've also got to take a listen to Urban Nature - it's really an outstanding piece of Latin Jazz. Here's a link where you can pick up Sammy Figueroa's Urban Nature.

Remember, you can stay updated about all the great things happening in the Latin Jazz world and the LJC site by hitting LIKE on the Latin Jazz Corner Facebook page.

Enjoy!

I am pleased to introduce the next phase of Latin Jazz Corner with the first episode of the LJC podcast.  I'll be delivering a regular audio show that will be extending the LJC experience and giving you yet another way to indulge your passion for Latin Jazz.  Some of the familiar elements that you know and love in LJC will find their way into the podcast - in particular, I'll be integrating the Latin Jazz Conversations into the podcast.  While you won't be reading the interviews on the site, you'll be hearing them in the 

podcast.  I'm hoping that this will provide a fuller experience for you as you hear the artists' voices and get a better idea of the meaning behind their words.  There will also be some new opportunities to hear music and get a sense of what's coming onto the scene now.  I'm excited at all the possibilities lying there in the podcast; I hope that it can become another great resource for the Latin Jazz community.

In our first episode, I'll be introducing the podcast and giving some background on its creation, I'll be talking about Latin Jazz and the Grammys, digging into some information on pianist Bill O'Connell's career, and then presenting my interview with O'Connell where we talk about his latest album, Triple Play Plus Three.

For more information on some things that we discussed in this episode of the podcast,  check out the links below:

Latin Jazz Corner

Bill O'Connell's website

LJC review of Bill O'Connell's Triple Play Plus Three

GrammyWatch

Remember, this is a podcast for the Latin Jazz community, so if you've got ideas, thoughts, or comments, please send me a message and let me know.  You can send your podcast comments HERE.