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STEPHEN STILLS - HAVANA 1979

January 25, 2018 – 4:44 am

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STEPHEN STILLS AND THE CALIFORNIA BLUES BAND
Havana 1979 [no label, 1CD]
Live at the Karl Marx Theater, Havana, Cuba; March 3, 1979. Very good FM broadcast.

Thanks to kingrue for sharing the show at The Traders’ Den.

kingrue noted:

After two decades, the US ban on travel to and from Cuba was lifted, creating new diplomatic and cultural exchange opportunities. Sensing the time was right, CBS Records, in conjunction with the US State Department, staged an international coup by organizing an unprecedented three-night series of concerts in the Cuban capital of Havana.

Dubbed “Havana Jam,” this historic cultural exchange took place on March 2, 3 and 4, 1979 at the 4800-seat Karl Marx Theater and marked the first time American musicians had performed in Cuba since the Castro regime gained power two decades prior.

The King Biscuit Flower Hour accompanied a plane full of Columbia Records artists as they participated in this first comprehensive music festival held in Cuba, which featured an all-star cast of musicians from a wide range of musical genres. In addition to Cuban artists, performers included Weather Report (with Jaco Pastorius); Stephen Stills (who had been experimenting with Latin music his entire career); Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge; John McLaughlin (famed Mahavishnu Orchestra guitarist) performing a one-off trio gig with Tony Williams and Jaco Pastorius; the CBS Records Jazz Allstars, which featured a wealth of jazz greats including the Heath Brothers, Stan Getz, and Dexter Gordon, in addition to the final night headliner Billy Joel. Unfortunately Billy’s set at Havana Jam was not recorded or videotaped.

The King Biscuit Flower Hour would nationally broadcast various material from these historic concerts, most of which has never been officially released.

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Lineage:
King Biscuit Flower Hour > low generation cassette (16/44 wave)
Soundforge (tracking) > Wav (Eac tested) > TLH (sector boundary aligned) Flac level 8

Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (320 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, these tracks have never been officially released on CD.

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Track 01. Introduction 1:34
Track 02. For What It’s Worth 5:14
Track 03. Jet Set (Sigh) 1:01
Track 04. Turn Back the Pages 5:18
Track 05. Love the One You’re With 5:13
Track 06. Cuba Al Fin 7:31
26 mins

Lineup:
Stephen Stills - guitar, lead vocals
Bonnie Bramlett - lead vocals
Mike Finnigan - keyboards
George Perry - bass
Gerry Tolman - guitar
Joe Vitale - drums
Joe Lala - percussion

Click here to order Stephen Stills releases.