2004 Chicoy not only had the experience of being Halifax during Hurricane Juan, he came to N.S. in Feb and saw the aftermath of White Juan. His first time in the snow, first time in Newfoundland and his first place ECMA. HavanaFax won the East Coast Music Award for best jazz recording. The band was also featured in the CBC nationally broadcast TV show, as a 16 piece celtic salsa band and performed Jeff Goodspeed’s composition, Ceildhli Cubano.
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2004 was also the year of the documentary. Lara Cassidy (Curve Media) followed the Canadian Primos to Havana and Cienfuegos to meet up with Los Aragoncitos. A ten-day musical study tour! They did some fun stuff too like, ride a sugar cane train, swim with dolphins and hang on the beach. They played concerts in Teatro Amadeo Roldan, Havana and Teatro Terry in Cienfuegos. (see the gallery). The cameras were there for all of it and even the occasional jam sessions with some of the great musicians you see everywhere. Nine-year-old Will Hansen never misses an opportunity to sit in! Here he wow’s these Cienfuegos musicians with his incredible technique.
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After the success of the Los Primos 98 tour, it was time to learn a bit more about Cuba. Jeff applied to the Nova Scotia Arts Council to travel in Cuba to investigate the music and the music education system. In early 1998 Silvio Pupo moved from Holguin Cuba, to Dartmouth bringing his incredible piano chops with him and Halifax has never been the same. Silvio met up with Jeff in holguin and together they toured the island. After 2,500 km in a rental car Jeff was starting to get a feel for the island. They dropped in on music schools everywhere including this school in Santiago. Diving down a side street in the eastern city, they heard some great jazz coming from a window. Inside they found Carlos and Daniel. Music is everywhere in Cuba and everybody loves music. |
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