INTERVIEW: EL NICHE GOZADOR

be forever, Miles Davis. And every day listening to these great artists made my love for music and the desire to play like them stronger and stronger. I was challenged every day to be better even though my musical career was just beginning.

What are the differences and similarities between Latin Jazz and American Jazz?

I believe one of the most notable differences between traditional American jazz and Latin jazz is the rhythmic base. The percussion of Latin jazz has a broad rhythmic base based on indigenous Latin and also African rhythms from when the slaves arrived in Cuba. We still keep alive those rhythms in our culture. Cuban or Latin jazz is famous and recognized worldwide in fact every year there is a festival in Cuba called Jazz Plaza, and many musicians from the USA and other parts of the world come. The similarities are many, because in Cuba we are influenced by the USA in all aspects of our music. Remember that we are only 90 nautical miles from Florida. And before 1959, there was a great musical brotherhood between Cuba and the US. But Fidel Castro arrived with his dictatorship and regime, and everything collapsed. It was forbidden to listen to American music. If the police surprised you, then you were sleeping in jail that day. I did not experience that but older people told me when I asked them about that time.

Can you talk a little about your creative process?

For my creative process I don't have or do anything special. I just let my ideas flow. My mind connects with my musical ancestors, with the universe, and with the spirit within me. And little by little magic happens. I transmit through my lips what I am connecting with and when my lips vibrate, they make the trumpet sound the way it wants me to play it. And that is what you hear. It is in my head at that very moment, and every second it is different. Every second I have different ideas coming through. But sometimes I have days that I don't connect a all with that

“5G network” inside of me ha, ha, ha. And that day my trumpet doesn't sound right to me. I don't do the job as it should be done. It's not that I play badly, it's that I don't feel it like I do when I’m in direct connection with the gods. For example, the day of the Music Medicine show at Yoshis. I was super connected. If they had let me play longer it would have been something more incredible. From the moment I played the first note, I felt that I was in connection with my musical gods who accompany me.

What has continued to inspire you over the years to create and play music?

What has always inspired me and will continue to inspire me to never leave my trumpet is the love and respect that I have for music. Since I was born I knew that music is love, passion, sweetness. And through music we touch the soul of people who listen to it. We must continue creating good music so that future generations learn to listen and recognize the true music quality. Because today it is being lost little by little, and the youth do not know of Thelonious Monk or John Coltrane or Dizzy Gillespie, etc. And that's why we have to work on making more programs for public schools so that children can learn about music.

What is your primary intention or purpose as an artist? And can you name what it is that you are expressing or giving to your audience through your music? As an artist my first intention and what I want most is to leave a musical legacy for the new generations. That's why I give classes to children and young people. So they can learn the art and magic of music. And I try to record music with everyone who calls me to do so. The recording remains a trace in time and someone at some point will listen to it.

Who were some of the most influential people or artists in your life and why?

The most influential person in my life has been my grandfather. Thanks to him today I'm here talking about my musical life. He was everything to me, my hero. And as I told you before, I love all the trumpet players you can imagine, but Miles Davis was unique in his time. He did things that revolutionized the way

INTERVIEW: EL NICHE GOZADOR

of playing the trumpet. I don't think he himself knew he was a genius. His warmth, versatility, and delivery when playing were unique. That is why for me, Miles will always be the most influential, together with my grandfather. My champions.

Can you talk about some of the musicians and artists that you’ve collaborated with over the years and what that was like for you?

At the age of 17, while still in Cuba, my professional life in music began. Since my grandfather had taught me Solfeggio and Trumpet at 8 years old, at 10, I started art school. Two years later I was offered a scholarship at the prestigious National School of Art of Cuba (ENA) and I was there until I was 19 years old. But I couldn’t graduate because I was already touring and earning a good income with one of the most famous popular dance music orchestras (Cuban salsa) that Cuba has produced. The orchestra was called, Manolin El Medico de La Salsa. I traveled with them to more than 15 countries on international tours. And I shared the stage with many artists, B.B. King, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Oscar de Leon, among others. In 2000 we toured the USA for a month and when the month ended, I decided to stay in this wonderful country. I stayed because I needed to spread my wings, fly higher. Little by little, I began to make relationships. In 2002, I worked under a contract for one year with the famous Cuban singer based in Miami, Albita Rodriguez. Also, at that same time I shared the stage with the Queen of Salsa, Celia Cruz. In Miami, I recorded many CD's and played with local artists. They also called me to play at shows with international artists who came to Miami, for example, the Mexican singer Emmanuel. He even had me in his videos. And in 2010, I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. There are so many artists with whom I have played and recorded with here as well. Out of all the incredibly beautiful things I’ve learned, and all the unforgettable moments I've had, the common thread is that they have all been with the public. It is the chemistry, a unique energy, between the artist and the one in front of you.

So many people know what I'm talking about. It’s that connection that is very important for an artist. As an artist, what do you consider your most meaningful accomplishments so far?

For me the most significant achievement so far in my career has been the fact that they called me to record my trumpet on a CD of children's music for children where all the musicians were from different countries of the world and that CD won the Grammy Award in 2022 for best children's album that was something wonderful but it's also something super beautiful to be able to teach my students the trumpet that's worth more than 100 Grammy Awards.

What was it like to be involved in Mickel London’s Music Medicine Benefit Concert at Yoshis this year?

For me it was an unbelievably beautiful experience. I made new friends, all with a big heart of gold. And as musicians they are exceptional. I felt super good knowing that we were contributing to a noble cause. And our art is like a little grain of sand that may have influence. Mickel is a great man, and God and the universe reward guys like him.

Are there creative projects or plans that you are involved with now that you’d like to tell us about?

Right now, I am waiting for a call back from a friend who is making a CD of traditional Cuban music. His wife is from Israel, so I said to him that it would be something exotic and unique to record her singing in Hebrew on the CD. He liked the idea, and we are working on it. Also, I want to do something with the band of musicians that I played with at Yoshis. Maybe a fusion of Latin jazz, R&B and pop. I don't know exactly what that is yet, but there is something there. Once I connect with my gods and we line up some exquisite ideas, it’s going to come right out of my little head. Thank you for this wonderful interview.

By K. E.Heartsong

Every audiophile/music lover will now and again have a musical bender. Bender? It’s that period or those periods where our audio system(s) suffers a ‘music-out’—greatly diminished high-fidelity (basement fidelity) or, perhaps, no fidelity at all. My musical bender came just after the Dot.com crash. Yes, I was still in IT at the time and working to build a new bioinformatics company. This dictated two things—frugality and focus—and these two things in tandem really don’t allow for a highfalutin’ lifestyle, audio system included, at least, not at first. Thus my system at the time was rather comical. It consisted of two fit-in-the-palm-of your-hand, single-ended-triode (SET), monoblock amplifiers (2 Watts), their cousin a fit-in-the-palm-of your-hand, passive preamplifier, and a CD player whose make I cannot remember. The speakers were two massive 5’8” monoliths, with multiple drivers— three 12-inch bass drivers per side, two-6-inch midrange drivers and a single 1-inch tweeter. The sound of the system was abysmal as the ‘monoblock’ amps could not drive the speakers. Yeah, there were certainly laughs, but when you’re a dyed-in-the-wool music lover, one does what one needs to do to have music. Had those tiny SET amps been allied with appropriately efficient speakers, it may well have been an easier time of things and a dose of musical bliss every now and again. Alas, it was not.

Everything changes. Fast forward through a number of audio systems, some SET based with appropriately efficient speakers, and many non-SET based, to arrive finally in the present. In truth, I still also hold a sweet spot for SET amplifiers and integrated amps, though the appropriate speaker has always been an issue. That is until now and the review of the Lyric Audio Ti 100 Mk.II SET integrated amplifier.

REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review will be non-sequential, as it will start with how the equipment actually sounds and not the process of physically “undressing” it and/or laying out its various accoutrement, specifications, etc. Think of this review then, as a non-linear movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Pulp