Latin duo “Calle Sur”: Anniversary Celebration and Album Release will take place in the form of a Hybrid Concert on May 23, 2021 at 2pm CT (Chicago)

In the midst of the Covid pandemic, Latin duo “Calle Sur” celebrates its 20th year with a dose of resilience and the release of “Cancún,” a fresh mix of jazz piano added to their original and traditional Latin repertoire

Anniversary Celebration and Album Release will take place in the form of a Hybrid Concert on May 23, 2021 at 2pm CT (Chicago)

Sometimes a concert is much more than music.  Sometimes it’s a celebration of a special milestone, in this case the 20-year trajectory of Calle Sur, a Latin duo based in the Midwest, comprised of Panamanian Edgar East (vocals, Latin percussion, guitar, flute, trumpet, Venezuelan quitiplás bamboo tubes) and Colombian Karin Stein (vocals, guitar, Andean zampoña pan flutes, Colombian gaita flutes, Venezuelan cuatro). The COVID-19 pandemic nearly halted their 20th anniversary celebration plans, but Karin and Ed decided to start 2021 with renewed hope and the release of a 20th anniversary album, “Cancún,” an exciting variation on their usual repertoire of Latin folk and popular music infused with jazz piano. 

Home studios and an appetite for collaborative musical adventure led Ed and Karin to invite four jazz piano talents – Bob Washut, Steve Shanley, and Yazmin Bowers based in Iowa and Wisconsin, and Gianny Laredo, a Cuban living in Cancún, Mexico – to add their individual touches to a collection of original tunes written by Karin, including the title track “Cancún”; traditional music such as the “Alabao de San Antonio” from the Pacific coast of Colombia; and some of the duo’s favorite covers, such as the classic “Alfonsina y el Mar,” by Argentinean luminaries Ariel Ramirez and Felix Luna (1969), and “Smaragdos margara,” by Nicaragua’s duo Guardabarranco (1995).   These new arrangements were complemented on bass by Alex Pershounin and Dartanyan Brown, the latter an Iowa jazz-hall-of-famer.  The result is, as the cover art of the “Cancún” album suggests, a musically exciting and colorful reflection of the multi-layered backgrounds of the two musicians who comprise Calle Sur.

There will be special guests in attendance at the hybrid 20th anniversary concert on May 23 to help Ed and Karin celebrate and say hello to the virtual audience:   members of Chile’s legendary ensemble Inti-Illimani; singer/songwriter-turned-YouTube-phenom Katie James from Colombia; legendary harpist Alfredo Rolando Ortiz from Cuba and the U.S.A.; Costa Rican singer-songwriter Juan Carlos Ureña; and others.  All of these artists created arrangements and music videos of some of Karin’s compositions, and those music videos will be premiered at the celebration, along with six official music videos from the “Cancún” album.  Karin and Ed will also perform a couple of songs live and interact with the audience.

Concert Information

What

Hybrid concert: album release and 20th anniversary celebration

When

Sunday, May 23rd, 2021 – 2 p.m. Central (Chicago, U.S.A.) Time

Where

Zoom (if interaction with artists is desired) and Facebook Livestream

Request to be in the Zoom audience at www.callesur.com or via email to music@artes-latinas.com