2005

The Canadian Primos started the year by recording a CD. There are some priceless moments on this CD for almost all of the players, but Jordan Edwards (alto, 13), Luke Domm (tenor, 15) and Will Hansen (guitar - 10) play three back-to-back solos on You Don’t Know What Love Is, that will stop you in your tracks.

There was a release party at Stayners Wharf and the CD was featured on CBC radio more than once or twice. Luke and Will were invited along with Amber Townsend (alto, 15) and John Lake (congas, 11) were invited producer Jeff Reilly up to CBC studio H to record with four members of HavanaFax. Shantay Grant hosted the resulting one-hour radio show.

2005 was the 60th anniversary of Canada/Cuba relations and we wanted to do something to celebrate. The Cubans take their friendships with other countries very seriously because some bully on the block is telling everyone to not be friends with them.
The Canadian Ambassador to Cuba, Alexandra Bugaliskis suggested that we bring the Canadian Primos to Havana for the Jazz Festival. As it turns out there is a youth jazz festival, called JoJazz, the week before the International Jazz Festival.
The Canadian Primos and the Jr Primos (now known as the Second Cousins) would go to Havana at the end of November, rehearse with Cuban music students from the Amadeo Roldan Conservatory and Manuel Saumell Middle Music School, and we would present a concert to celebrate our 60 year anniversary together.
The final concert was beautiful. The Amadeo Roldan theatre was full of Los Primos fans as they demonstrated with a standing ovation after a two and a half hour concert.

The night after our big concert, the JoJazz Festival finale awards concert was presented. Los Primos had the great pleasure of awarding four instrument prizes to young Cuban Jazz musicians who were outstanding in the festival. One trumpet was donated by Paul Barrett and imagine... everyone in the audience cheered when it was announced that “Chico Loco” was donating this trumpet. There was also a special guitar and two saxophones from the 1930’s that had been rebuilt by Musicstop into like new condition. They were the hit of the festival. All next week when HavanaFax was playing, the Jazz community was talking about the saxophone prizes.

Chris Mitchell, Silvio Pupo and David Burton arrived in Havana to join Jeff, Chicoy, Tony, Avi, Rodney and special guest Yasek Manzano (los primos 1998 & 2001) in the 2005 incarnation of HavanaFax. They too performed in a special concert to celebrate 60 years of Canada/Cuba relations! But as usual, the best music and most fun happened at the Jazz Café. We managed to get a little bit of that on video as well.