DON'T SHOOT ME, I'M JUST THE PIANO PLAYER

Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Clave: Latin Jazz Finally Gets Its Due (Larry Blumenfeld, April 30 - May 6, 2003, Village Voice)

[T]he flurry of high-profile recognition for many Cuban musicians also dances around some troubling political developments. The story of cultural exchange between the U.S. and Cuba has long been told along lines of political turmoil. Over the past two years, due to anti-terrorism initiatives as well as some specific anti-Cuban sentiment, the American government has tightened border restrictions. The standard-bearing Cuban pianist Chucho Valdes was forced to cancel a North American tour last fall due to a visa denial. This spring, the Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets tightened the regulations regarding travel for educational purposes between the U.S. and Cuba.

O'Farrill has begun to get e-mails and calls from anti-Castro Cuban Americans, some of them musicians, to make sure he's aware of the recent jailings of dissidents in Cuba. Still, like many musicians on both sides of the situation, he tries to maneuver around it. "People are always attaching political agendas when people visit Cuba," he said from his home in Brooklyn. "When I went to Cuba it had nothing to do with pro- or anti-Castro, pro- or anti-embargo. It was about culture and family, about my roots.

Wonder if he knows the Mephisto Waltz? Posted by Orrin Judd at May 2, 2003 9:30 AM