Day 9-Good Live Cuban Music!

Tonight I heard some incredible Cuban music from the band, Conjunto Progreso. They are a Miami-based group that performs older Cuban music (like from the Buena Vista Social Club). This is exactly the type of Cuban music that I am researching and studying and exactly what I was in the mood to hear. The band was supposed to perform from 7PM-9PM at the bar/restaurant MIA at Biscayne, which is right on the downtown waterfront. I arrived a little before 7PM in order to get a seat and be ready for the show. The show didn't start till about 7:45PM. There was definitely a good amount of waiting around, but once the band started playing I forgot all about having to wait...They started with Candela, and continued with such classics as Mandinga and El Cuarto de Tula. Everything they performed was great and I enjoyed every minute of the hour and fifteen minute performance. I went up to the Piano player afterwards and talked with him for a minute to ask him about taking some lessons. He gave me his number and told me to give him a call tomorrow (Saturday). His montunos and tumbao patterns (Cuban musical terminology) were fantastic and definitely the sort of thing I am looking to learn. His soloing was also amazing (very jazz-influenced...which is what has happened over time). Overall, he should be a good resource to study with. I will call him tomorrow to set-up a lesson and see how beneficial it is. Also, I will hopefully be able to meet up with Jorge Gomez from Tiempo Libre (recorded the album Bach in Havana) in the near future (he just arrived back in Miami from his concert tour today). Also, Mike Orta, the head of the jazz department at Florida International University, returned my e-mail from a few days ago. He is a jazz/latin/cuban piano player and I asked him if we could get together and chat about Cuban music. He told me that he has never really taught latin/Cuban music, it is just something he has always done, compared to Jazz, which he is very comfortable with teaching. Nonetheless, he told me that if I would like to get together with him and chat about the music, that he would be very willing to accommodate that request. I will be taking him up on that offer. I need to talk, study, and interview with as many people who are knowledgable about Cuban music as possible over the next 3 weeks. This way, I will use my time most effectively and gather enough information/research to facilitate the realistic completion of my research project in the Fall.