Documenting the personal travels and musical research of producer-director J. Plunky Branch and executive producer Alvin Bailey, Under The Radar - A Survey of Afro-Cuban Music, takes viewers on a rare musical tour inside Cuba today. The documentary, winner of 2005 Independent Black Film Festival Audience Award has been released on DVD by N.A.M.E. Brand Records and is available online at the film's website, www.undertheradarfilms.org, at filmbaby.com and Amazon.com.
For more than 40 years the United States has maintained an economic blockade against the Island of Cuba, restricting travel, investment and cultural exchange between Americans and their Caribbean neighbors just 90 miles south of Florida. Still, Afro-Cuban music is recognized as some of the most vibrant and influential rhythmic music in the world. Under the Radar -- A Survey of Afro-Cuban Music introduces viewers to the distinct music of Cuba and examines the enigmatic island's current music scene. The film documents the in-country travel and recordings of jazz saxophonist, J. Plunky Branch, and features the arranged and impromptu collaborations of Afro-Cuban rumba, son, salsa, timba, rock, changui and hip-hop musicians and rappers.
Tags: Cuba music salsa saxophone Afro-cuban
