Joe Bataan comes back to the Bay Area!

I was surprised I was able to get tickets this late. The show will be at Yoshi's SF this Saturday. This will be my first time seeing Joe Bataan, the King of Latin Soul (who is half afro-filipino, btw) and also my first time at the Yoshis in the SF location. I usually go to the Oakland spot and the last time I went there, I saw the legendary Arturo Sandoval with some good friends of mine.

Joe Bataan makes a rare SF appearance, his second since since the late 90's. And it's about time. Joe Bataan made his run in the Latin Soul scene from the late 60's up to the 80's when he decided to disappear from the music scene and dedicate his life to children back at his community in NYC. According to British music journalist James Maycock, "Bataan is the undisputed king of Latin soul, the bridge between black soul and brown rhythms." He was a pioneer of various genres of music including boogaloo, Latin soul, salsa, and hip-hop.

Oliver Wang of Soul-Sides.com wrote a comprehensive article on Bataan here.

Joe Bataan will be performing at Yoshi's SF this saturday June 25th at 8pm and 10pm. I'll be at the 10pm showing... Holla!

Here are a couple of his songs: