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Jazz Caliente: It's Latin Grammy time!

Cuban singer Omara Portuondo
Johann Sauty/Courtesy of the artist
Cuban singer Omara Portuondo

The 21st annual Latin Grammy Awards will be televised on Thursday, Nov. 19, at 8 p.m.  The Latin Grammys are incredibly complex and diverse. I encourage you to explore other categories, but for this week, Jazz Caliente samples five nominees for Best Latin Jazz/Jazz album and one for Best Contemporary Tropical/Fusion. 

She's the queen of Cuban song, and at 90 years old Omara Portuondo has stopped touring, but is still performing in Havana. Her 2020 Latin Grammy nominated album is Mariposas. 

The inventive Argentinian composer and pianist Emilio Solla puts his Tango Jazz Orchestra through all kinds of stylistic changes on the album Puertos: Music from International Waters. 

Saxophonist David Sánchez created an impressive "pan-African" multimedia project called Carib in 2018. The album has been nominated for a Latin Grammy this year.  

On Saturday, we'll also hear from Miguel Zenon's album Sonero, the Afro Peruvian Jazz Orchestra's Tradiciones, and Chick Corea's Spanish Heart Band albumAntidote, all nominated for Best Latin Jazz/Jazz Album. 

We'll start the show with short tribute to NEA Jazz Master and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner Candido Camero, the legend of Cuban percussion who died last week at age 99.  

Jazz Caliente airs Saturdays at 5 p.m. The show is hosted by Robin Lloyd and produced by KNKX Public Radio.

Originally from Detroit, Robin Lloyd has been presenting jazz, blues and Latin jazz on public radio for nearly 40 years. She's a member of the Jazz Education Network and the Jazz Journalists Association.