Benito Gonzalez, Gabriela Montero, Eliane Elias and Kenny Barron among the luminaries invited to the Gilmore Piano Festival 2024

 

Calendars For the 2024 Festival!
April 24—May 12, 2024

The 2024 Irving S. Gilmore International Piano Festival will feature the finest international pianists playing classical, jazz, and pop music. The piano will be center stage for Gilmore-commissioned world premieres, free community concerts, films, musical theatre, and so much more.

Benito Gonzalez Trio

event_noteTHURSDAY - MAY 09, 2024 | 12:00 PM

                   MAY  10, 2024

location_onCIVIC THEATRE AUDITORIUM, KALAMAZOO

Venezuelan jazz pianist, composer, and Steinway Artist Benito Gonzalez combines a lineage of American jazz tradition with rhythms from around the world. Nominated for two GrammyⓇ Awards and winner of the 2005 Great American Jazz Piano Competition, his sound is recognizable for the powerful rhythm and Afro-Latin patterns he prioritizes across his projects. The New York-based artist grew up playing traditional folk music with his family before being inspired by pianists Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, and Keith Jarrett, whose quartet he later joined. He played with saxophonist Azar Lawrence’s band and joined saxophone legend Pharoah Sanders as his pianist/musical director in 2019.

Gabriela Montero and the Calidore String Quartet

event_noteSUNDAY - MAY 05, 2024 | 2:00 PM

location_onDALTON CENTER RECITAL HALL, WMU

Gabriela Montero, piano
Calidore String Quartet: Jeffrey Myers, violin – Ryan Meehan, violin – Jeremy Berry, viola – Estelle Choi, cello

Venezuelan composer and pianist Gabriela Montero presents the world premiere of her new work for piano and strings, commissioned by The Gilmore, with the Calidore String Quartet. Also on the program: Dvorak’s Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81. Montero’s visionary interpretations and unique compositions have garnered critical acclaim and a devoted following on the world stage. Born in Venezuela, the GrammyⓇ Award-winner studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras. Founded at LA’s Colburn School in 2010, The Calidore String Quartet is recognized as one of the world’s foremost interpreters of a vast repertory, from the cycles of quartets by Beethoven and Mendelssohn to works of celebrated contemporary voices.

Kalamasoo, Michigan

Viva The Latin Jazz!!

www.jazzcaribe.blogspot.com

jazzcaribe2001@yahoo.com

The multi-talented Eric Frazier invites to the release party of the CD "That Place"

 

THAT PLACE

Musicians: Eric Frazier (congas, vocals, percussion); Gene Ghee (tenor, soprano sax); Wayne Jeffrey (guitar), Mamiko Watanbe, Benito Gonzales (keyboard); Benito Gonzales, Isaac Ben Ayala (Keyboard), Nori Naraoka, Lonnie Plaxico (bass), Lonnie Plaxico   (bass); John Cooksey  (drums); Eric Frazier (solo background vocal parts on “Bean Song”), Salimah Karim, Aisha Rivers, Umahawa Rivers, Tracey Fuller (background vocals)

Tracks List: The Panther Woman; Everything You Got to Give; Fresh Money; Mucho Caliente; You Don’t Know; Chili Pepper; It Gets Back to You; Bean Song; Graduation; In The Same Place; Mi Corazon; Fu Man Shu 

Brooklyn-based percussionist, drummer, vocalist, composer and bandleader Eric Frazier’s new recording That Place, Featuring Return of The Panther Woman, is an impressive and infectious collection that moves and grooves in multiple musical genres.
 
Frazier’s mastery of the conga, the trap drum, the djembe, and a multitude of percussion instruments, give him a wide percussive palette that encapsulates the wide dimensions of the African musical diaspora, from Afro-Caribbean beats to jazz.
 
Frazier’s wide world of rhythms span those grooves of his new album, That Place, Featuring Return of The Panther Woman. 
 
Backed by an energetic ensemble that includes bassist and former Art Blakey Jazz Messenger Lonnie Plaxico and pianist Benito Gonzales, the CD’s 12 tracks range from the bluesy, straight-ahead swing of “The Panther Woman” and “In The Same Place,” and the Asian-aired “Fu Man Shu” to the Freddie Hubbard, “Little Sunflower” flow of Frazier’s “It Gets Back To You,” and the instrumental, salsa-syncopated jams, “Mi Corazon,” and “Mucho Caliente.” The leader’s distinct vocals provide the final sonic seasoning for his musical melting pot. 
 

Born in Harlem and raised in Brooklyn in a family of 8 children, Frazier ran track and road races for 27 years. He earned a B.A. degree in Africana Studies in three years at Southern Illinois University, and two Masters Degrees and a Doctoral ABD in Education Administration and Policy from Columbia University Teachers College.
Frazier worked for three decades as a principal and school administrator in the public’s school system. He also has written journal articles on education, is an accomplished poet and was the co-host of WLIU Jazz radio 88.1 FM in Brooklyn.
 
Frazier was turned to dance by his brother, Gary Ellis Frazier, a former member of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, which led him to discover African dance, tap and percussion. He took djembe lessons from Ibrahim, the master teacher from The Dance Company of Senegal, and taught himself how to play various forms of percussion. 
 
Frazier has recorded or performed with many artists including Pharoah Sanders, Jack McDuff, Reggie Workman, Robin Kenyatta, Carlos Garnett, Stanley Banks, Danny Mixon, Dr Lonnie Smith, Jimmy McGriff, and Rueben Wilson. Frazier’s previous CD’s include: 
Live at Cecil’s Jazz Club, Vols. 1 and 2;, Live at Humphrey’s by The Bay; Count Your Blessings; Live at The Knitting Factory in NYC; In Your Own Time;  Find Yourself (Then Find Me) and Smile Inside Your Soul. 
 
Frazier’s new recording and his illustrious career revealed him to be a renaissance man in rhythm with art and life.

Viva The Latin Jazz!!

www.jazzcaribe.blogspot.com

jazzcaribe2001@yahoo.com

Dave Schumacher and his superstar Cubeye celebrate the release of their album "Smoke in the Sky"

 

SMOKE IN THE SKY

Musicians:  Dave Schumacher (bandleader, baritone saxophone, composer); Peter Brainin (sax soprano, sax tenor) Josh Evans, Jesus Ricardo (trumpet); Manuel Valera (piano); Alex "Apolo" Ayala (bass); Mauricio Herrera (congas); Joel Mateo (drums)

Tracks List: Smoke in the Sky; You Know It’s Wrong; Caridad; (No More) Smoke In The Sky; El Dilema de Chegüi Metralla; Cal Massey; Walk Spirit Talk Spirit; Poinciana

CD RELEASE SHOW

Dave Schumacher & Cubeye
Celebrate The  Release Of Their New CD
Smoke In The Sky
Friday, April 19th 7:30 pm

Clements Place
15 Washington St
Newark, NJ 07102

While Schumacher has given listeners a taste of his command of the Latin Jazz language on his previous efforts, here for the first time, leading his current working band that he’s dubbed Cubeye, he offers a full album’s worth of songs that advance the genre with an exciting 21st Century sensibility. Assisting him in firing up the music on the disc by turns heated and warm, are likeminded “musically bilingual” players – trumpeters Josh Evans and Jesus Ricardo, tenor and soprano saxophonist Peter Brainin, pianist Manuel Valera, bassist Alex “Apolo” Ayala, drummer Joel Mateo and percussionist Mauricio Hererra – each one of whom is well known for being equally skilled in playing both jazz and Latin music as one can witness throughout. Drawing upon an aggregate of experience performing with the likes of Arturo O’Farrill, Hilton Ruiz, Papo Vazquez, Yosvany and Yunior Terry, Melvis Santa and the Mambo Legends Orchestra, their combined talents are instrumental in bringing Schumacher’s cross-cultural vision to fruition.

Schumacher freely admits that two of the biggest influences on Cubeye’s musical concept are Jerry Gonzalez & The Fort Apache Band and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. The saxophonist recalls traveling with the latter’s big band to Japan in 1987 to perform at the Mt. Fuji Jazz Festival as one of the greatest highlights of his lengthy career. From the very start of “Smoke In The Sky”, the impact of those iconic bands on the group is clearly evident with blasting horns hitting hard in the Messenger tradition on top of the pulsating percussion that hearkens to Fort Apache’s relentless rhythmatism. Dave notes, “I was hearing the melody and harmony of the date’s fourth track, my ballad “(No More) Smoke In The Sky”, over an up-tempo groove. Manuel created this dramatic re-imagination of the original song.”

Dave’s arrangement of “You Know It’s Wrong” by fellow Chicago saxophonist Eddie Harris has something of the pensive sophistication of the great Wayne Shorter in its engaging melody that is played over Herrera's traditional bata rhythms before he digs in with a soulful solo, followed by Ayala’s bass interlude leading into the incendiary conga solo over vamping that brings the melody back in. Dave remembers “I first heard Eddie play this, originally a 4/4 shuffle, at Sweet Basil in the mid 80’s. It always stuck in my mind and I reframed it in a 6/8 groove.”

Valera’s tour de force arrangement of the AfroCuba de Matanzas classic “Caridad” begins with Schumacher’s brawny baritone blowing mournfully, at first unaccompanied then backed by bata drums, before the band joins in with a slow fanfare that prefaces its recitation the enchanting melody and the incendiary soloing that follows. Dave recalls “I heard AfroCuba de Matanzas live in New York twice in the mid 90’s and they had a huge impact on me. “Caridad” is a composition that I really dug from their Raices Africanas album.”

Dave proves himself to be an authoritative balladeer on his brooding “(No More) Smoke In The Sky.” He recalls the distressing tale behind the emotive song’s title. “This ballad was inspired by an image that came to my mind while on tour in Los Angeles in 1992. It was on the fateful day that the verdict was released in the Rodney King case and the city started to ignite. As I saw smoke rising above the California sky, I had a flashback to a younger self and an image I had never thought about. I suddenly saw myself on the back porch of my childhood apartment in Chicago in 1968 looking at smoke rising in the sky above the West side of the city. As an 8 year old I had no understanding of the gravity of that day which was the day that Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.”

“El Dilema de Chegüi Metralla” is Dave’s tribute to Hector Davila (aka Chegüi Metralla), his close friend and brother, the album’s co-producer and a talented musician, composer and arranger in his own right. It’s a straight ahead swinger in the Messenger tradition that features, as Blakey would say, “no one in particular,” showcasing each of the band member’s soloing strength.

The date’s three final tracks display Dave’s talents as an imaginative arranger, beginning with Stanley Cowell’s “Cal Massey,” the late pianist’s tribute to the largely unheralded Philadelphia trumpeter. He asserts, “One of my absolute favorite albums is Clifford Jordan’s Glass Bead Games on Strata East. I have spent countless hours listening to this record over the years and love many of the compositions on it. I was hearing “Cal Massey” in this groove for Cubeye and created the arrangement.”

Dave’s dynamic arrangement of McCoy Tyner’s “Walk Spirit Talk Spirit” gets started with an extended Ayala bass solo followed by a piano and percussion intro before the horns take off on the well known melody for an adventurous excursion. “I bought McCoy’s Enlightenment as a freshman in high school in 1974 and “Walk Spirit Talk Spirit” became an immediate favorite of mine,” he recalls. “I hadn’t thought about playing it for decades, but as I formed Cubeye it immediately came to mind. I wrote the arrangement and with the additional input from the cats in the band we came up with this rumba version.”

The undertaking of re-imagining the song “Poinciana” might be thought of as a fool’s journey, considering just how deeply embedded in the jazz psyche Ahmad Jamal’s interpretation of the Nat Simon composition, but Dave rises to the occasion. He admits, “Of course Ahmad Jamal’s classic version is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of “Poinciana,” but I had also been listening to a killin’ live Sonny Rollins bootleg playing it in a different vibe. My arrangement is a confluence of influences; from Israel Cachao Lopez’s “Descarga Cubana” from Cuban Jam Sessions in Miniature, Frank Emilio's “Gandinga, Mondongo y Sandunga” as well as the impact of the Sonny Rollins and Ahmad Jamal versions on me.”

Dave concludes “The vision for this group had its seed in my musical life’s experience and interests but this extremely talented group of cats have brought this vision to life. Without their high level of artistry, musical chemistry and in no small part their input to the overall settings of the music created, this musical vision that I call Cubeye would not live as it does!”

As a freelance Baritone Saxophonist, Chicago native Dave Schumacher has been active on the New York scene for more than the 30 years. As member of Lionel Hampton’s Orchestra from 1983 to 1987 he toured the Americas and Europe. He again toured with Hamp in 1988 and 1989. A highlight in Dave’s career was traveling with the Art Blakey Big Band to Japan in 1987 to perform at the Mt. Fuji Jazz Festival.

Dave was an original member of Harry Connick, Jr.’s Orchestra from its beginnings in 1990 until 2009. He has thrilled audiences touring with Harry in North America, Europe, Asia (Japan, China, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and South Korea) and Australia. His baritone sax can be heard on each of these Harry Connick, Jr., Columbia recordings: Oh My NOLA, Chanson du Vieux Carré, Only You, When My Heart Finds Christmas, Come By Me, Blue Light Red Light, Songs I Heard, Thou Shalt Not, What A Night and others.

As a freelance artist Dave was a touring member of the T.S. Monk On Monk Ensemble from 1999 to 2000 touring the U.S. and Europe, as well as touring Europe with the Tom Harrell Octet in 2000. Dave has also done freelance work with Nicholas Payton’s Louis Armstrong Tribute Big Band, Joe Lovano’s 52nd Street Themes Nonet, the groups of Jack McDuff, Eddie Gladden, Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, Chico O’Farrill’s Afro-Cuban Big Band, Tom Harrell Big Band, Lin Halliday and many others.

As a leader and composer/arranger, Dave has recorded 3 CD’s – Every Corner and from Another Life on the Amosaya Music label and Endangered Species on Summit Records. Dave has recorded as a sideman with Lionel Hampton, Harry Connick, Jr., Tom Harrell, Scott Whitfield, Jason Lindner, Mel Torme, Ben Wolfe and salsero Billy Carrion among others.

Viva The Latin Jazz!!

www.jazzcaribe.blogspot.com

jazzcaribe2001@yahoo.com

Maria Grand + Marta Sanchez = "Anohin", They celebrate women's month with this beautiful recording

 

Experience the captivating fusion of award-winning vocalist and saxophonist María Grand and the extraordinary pianist Marta Sánchez in their new project, "Anohin". Their craft is a harmonious blend of songs, spontaneous improvisations, and composed music that seamlessly merges technical brilliance with the profound essence of sound. Above all, their music is a heartfelt journey, liberating through the act of creating and experiencing sound. María Grand, the artist behind this project, aims to delve deeper into raw emotions with each album, using sound as a medium. In a duo, the performers stand alone and in unison, maintaining their unique identities while creating harmoniously together. It's a daring exploration of musical tension and intimacy, with Marta brilliantly personifying the music with elegance, agility, and an open heart. María Grand is a saxophonist, composer, educator, and vocalist. She moved to New York City in 2011. She has since become an important member of the city’s creative music scene, performing extensively in projects led by or including musicians such as Nicole Mitchell, Vijay Iyer, Craig Taborn, Mary Halvorson, Jen Shyu, Aaron Parks, Fay Victor, Joel Ross, etc. María writes and performs her original compositions with her ensemble, DiaTribe; her debut EP “TetraWind” was picked as “one of the 2017’s best debuts” by the NYC Jazz Record and her full-length album Magdalena was praised by major publications such as the New York Times, Downbeat, JazzTimes, Billboard, JazzIz, and others.. The New York Times calls her “an engrossing young tenor saxophonist with a zesty attack and a solid tonal range”, while Vijay Iyer says she is “a fantastic young saxophonist, virtuosic, conceptually daring, with a lush tone, a powerful vision, and a deepening emotional resonance.” Madrid-born pianist and composer Marta Sanchez has been making her mark on the New York scene for some time now with her creative, contemporary and original music. Recent years have also seen her garner international recognition placing her among the most interesting emerging Jazz talents of our time. Sánchez landed a Fulbright scholarship enabling her to move to New York in 2011 to take a Master’s Degree in Jazz Piano Performance at the NYU. Since then, she has released four albums with her quintet: Partenika (2015), Danza Imposible (2017), El Rayo de Luz (2019) and SAAM (Spanish American Art Museum) (2022). All were acclaimed by the North American critics and press, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fresh Air, WBGO, DownBeat, All Music and All About Jazz. Sánchez has toured the United States and Europe, having performed on prestigious stages and at festivals such as the Madrid Jazz Festival, Eurojazz in Mexico City, Eurojazz in Athens, the Vitoria-Gasteiz Jazz Festival, New York’s Winter Jazz Festival and festivals in Nicaragua and Guatemala, among others. In the USA she has played at famous venues, including Dizzy’s Club, Jazz Gallery, Village Vanguard, Birdland, Blue Note, 55 Bar, Smalls… Viva The Latin Jazz!! www.jazzcaribe.blogspot.com jazzcaribe2001@yahoo.com

Miguel Zenon Quartet, Danilo Perez Trio y Ana Carla Maza: They gave Latin flavor to the Bergamo Jazz Fest 2024!!

 

Miguel Zenon Quartet: Luis Perdomo (piano), Miguel (alto sax), Hans Glawischnig (double bass) and Dan Weiss (drums) at Teather Donizzetti.

Bergamo, located some 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Milan, is a beautiful city for a jazz festival. Or rather cities plural, as the medieval and fortified Città Alta (‘upper city’) located on a hill is very different from the solidly modern Città Bassa (‘lower city’).

In 1780 the Donizetti Theater was designed by the architect Giovanni Francesco Lucchini and at that time it was known as Teatro Nuovo or Teatro de Fiera.

After its destruction in 1897, its original architect redesigned it and it began to be called Donizetti Theater in honor of the famous composer and the centenary of his birth.
Adjacent to the monumental theater they gave life to a beautiful park in honor of Gaetano Donizetti.

Last week the Bergamo Jazz Festival 2024 was held on this important arts stage and the performances of the Latin guests received constant ovations.

The media also highlighted the fabulous musical art displayed by Miguel Zenon Quartet, Danilo Perez and Ana Carla Maza.

Miguel Zenon (as) and Luis Perdomo (p) who recently won the Grammy for the best Latin Jazz album with "El Arte del Bolero V 2" always very well identified with Hans Glawischnig (db) and Dan Weiss (d), provided a fiery set in which Latin jazz and bebop thrilled an audience thirsty for joy and color.

Zenón proved a generous leader, giving his band plenty of opportunities for solos. For example, the second number started as solo piano, joined by bass and drums for a trio performance only occasionally interspersed with melodic fragments from the saxophone. The Quartet showed manifest energy in their presentation and a great class rhythm section.

Danilo Perez (p), John Patitucci (db, eb) and Adam Cruz (d) began with a jaunty tune called ‘Whistle Through Adversity’, and other tunes included ‘Alternative Realities’ (dedicated to the activist Angela Davis) and ‘Beloved’ (dedicated to Toni Morrison). I was expecting a straight-ahead jazz set and we certainly got some of that, but the performance often strayed into fusion and rock territory: synth/organ textures, electric bass and driving drums on more energetic numbers; but electric bass carrying the melody underpinned by synth washes and subdued drums for a Wayne Shorter dedication called simply ‘Wayne’. Top-level musicianship all round – but for me the highlight was the encore, an expansive all-acoustic ‘Round Midnight’ of delicate piano, lovely bass solo and subtle brushwork.

Concert three was billed as ‘Caribe’ (the Spanish for ‘Caribbean’) and featured Ana Carla Maza (cello and voice) as leader, Norman Peplow (piano), Marc Ayza (drums) and Jay Kalo (percussion). Maza is a Cuban singer and classically trained cellist, but this concert was all about creating a pan-Caribbean musical experience: from the clavé rhythms of Cuba and Brazil, to bossa rhythms, to the reggae of Jamaica. Rhythm and dance being key, Maza often danced with her cello, plucking rather than bowing, as if her cello were a scaled-down double bass. Throughout the concert, she sang with gusto and an almost relentless cheerfulness. An early equipment malfunction meant that Peplow’s synth keyboard or laptop irretrievably failed to work, but the music worked just fine as purely acoustic.

Partway through the concert Maza made a very valid point: that despite her studying cello for more than 15 years in Paris, not once was it proposed that she play a composition by a woman – so she hoped that her next composition, ‘Astor Piazzolla’ (inspired of course by the great Argentinian composer best known for his tangos), would inspire other women. It therefore felt like a missed opportunity when she resorted to tricks more suited to a pop concert, such as instructing the audience to clap and sing along, and even to wave their phone torches in unison. It made me think of Vanessa-Mae only for jazz: a musician (and supporting band) of abundant talent who shouldn’t need such gimmicks. But most of the audience got into the spirit, rewarding the group with standing cheers and enough lights from phones to fill a planetarium.

It is an honor to have Ana Carla Maza as "Lady of Latin Jazz".

Viva The Latin Jazz!!

www.jazzcaribe.blogspot.com

jazzcaribe2001@yahoo.com

Xavier Padilla: with its latest production "Paradigma" contributes to expanding the horizons of Latin Jazz

 

                                           PARADIGMA 

Musicians: Xavier Padilla (eb, compositions, arrangement); Philippe Slominski, Christian Martinez (flg);  Nicolas Folmer (t); Allen Hoist (as); Thierry Farrougia, Leandro Guffanti (ts); Pierre Mimran, Bobby Rangell (f); Julio Font (p. fr)), Mario Canonge ( p 4), Vinh Le (p 6), Franklin Lozada (p7); Roldan Peña (g); Luis Augusto Cavani, Stephane Lambotte, Daniel Garcia Bruno, Luis Augusto Cavani (d), Rafael Mejias, Minino Garay, Luis Viloria (perc)

Tracks List: Utopia; Bridges; Paradigma; Conga Town; Firmamento; Smiling Ape; Sukhumvit Av.; Membra Disjecta

Comments on each of the musical pieces by Xavier Padilla himself:

Aldemaro Romero: "Father of Venezuelan Jazz", born 96 years ago

Aldemaro Romero was born in Venezuela in 1928 and established himself internationally as a pianist, composer, author and arranger.

At the age of 22 he signed a contract for RCA in New York as an arranger.

The following year he released his most successful album, "Dinners at Caracas”, which became a best-seller in America.

His notoriety continued to grow and over the years he was invited to work with orchestras and great artists including Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Stan Kenton, Ray Mc Kinley, Machito, Noro Morales, Miguelito Valdés and Tito Puente.

While he was in Italy, Romero composed many soundtracks among which stood out the one for "The Saga of Simon Bolivar”, a film by Alessandro Blasetti with Maximilian Schell and Rosanna Schiaffino, that won the Peace Award at the Moscow Film Festival in 1969 .

His greatest contribution to music was certainly the introduction of a new genre, called "Onda Nueva", which became the main theme of the Caracas Music Festival from 1971 to 1973.

The artistic director of the event was Aldo Pagani, a dear friend and exclusive editor of Romero.

As conductor and arranger, Romero won numerous awards including the First Prizes at the Mallorca Music Festival, the Music Olympiade in Athens and the Latin Songs Music Festival in Mexico.

In 1979, Romero fulfilled a long-pursued dream: he became conductor of the Caracas Philharmonic Orchestra.

The orchestra was composed of 90 musicians from all corners of the world and the chorus of 150 voices was conducted by Elaiza, Romero's daughter.

Romero also founded a music conservatory in Caracas.

In the following years he conducted some of the most important orchestras in the world, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Philarmonic Orchestra and the Roumanian Radio and Television Orchestra.

In his career as a composer, Romero wrote for orchestras, choirs and ballets and, later, he also dedicated himself to the composition of some concerts.

In 2002 Aldo Pagani founded the "Aldemaro Romero Best Soloist Award", in association with the "Piazzolla Music Award".

In 2002 and 2003 the competition took place in Italy, while in 2004 it moved to Caracas, with the participation of 4 orchestras, numerous soloists and conductors of international fame.

The later editions took place in Japan and in the United States of America.

Romero was also involved in writing, publishing several books on music and collaborating with various music magazines, including “El mundo de Caracas” and “Notitarde”, and regularly presented radio programs.

He was appointed Life Senator of the Venezuelan Congress and became a member of the Tourism Committee and of the Administration and Public Service Committee of the Congress.

He founded PACI, the Congressman Friends Association of Italian Culture.

He died in Caracas in 2007.