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Monday, July 19, 2010

Summer concerts in Spain

Latin Soul has been airing prerecorded shows during a few weeks in June and July. I hope you have kept listening with interest, maybe reviewing some themes heard in the past, which you enjoyed and wanted to have aired once again.


While being out of Commerce, home to KETR, in Spain, I have attended a couple of concerts that I definitively would like to share with you through this blog. These concerts were offered by artists aired in “Latin Soul”, and it was a great pleasure to have the chance to assist and watch them. I was lucky they were offered in a region of Spain where I tend to be vacationing every summer: San Pedro del Pinatar-Lo Pagán in the so called Mar Menor, in Murcia. The Mar Menor (minor sea) is a peculiar geological formation formed in the Mediterranean sea that encloses a piece of sea which has a narrow pass to the main Mediterranean sea and as a result turns out to be a sort of lake by the sea, with hardly no brave waves at all and a higher level of salinity which has been appreciated by family type of tourism and the elderly alike.


In this area, the touristic town of San Javier has organized the already 13th edition of the “Festival Internacional de Jazz de San Javier”. For this edition, they had artists such as Marcus Strickland Quartet, Dr. John, or George Benson in schedule. Not far from there, some 25 miles, the old city of Cartagena, Murcia has celebrated the 16th edition of their World music festival “La Mar de Músicas”. Some artists presented in this edition were Toumani Diabate, Youssou N'Dour, Salif Keita, Os Mutantes, and Gotan Project among many others. Both festivals employ a hard working organization and resources to try to put together attractive line ups year by year, so that they have gotten to be up and running for so many years and obtaining so, a well earned prestige among the quite loaded agenda of music festivals going on in Spain in the summer time.

Next, I describe the concerts that I assisted in these two mentioned festivals.


July 8: Chucho Valdés & The Afrocuban Messengers, at the XIII Festival Internacional de Jazz de San Javier, Murcia, Spain.



The greatest piano player in Latin jazz today, Chucho Valdés, took the opportunity of presenting his new album “Chucho´s Steps” in his concert. Most of the songs performed would be belonging to his coming album, as he explained. Nonetheless, his repertoire is quite extense already and he went through it delighting connoisseurs and new comers to Latin jazz. As an example, he opened with an Irakere piece, “Misa Negra”, that very well could be the ilustration of what Afro Cuban jazz is. For the occasion (and the new album), he has gathered The Afrocuban Messengers, from whom is remarkable saxophone player Manuel Miyares gave a few brilliant solos. The main figure, nevertheless, was Chucho Valdés, of course, who would introduce to the audience and guide the whole music played; and who would extend his solos or accompany the main melody on his discretion. You could feel as the audience wanted Chucho´s solo moments above all other parts. As they were virtuous and soul healing. Percussion was also present, of course, and the blend of it with piano got high quality harmonious moments. At times, uncomprehensible jazz and Latin rhythms, alternating with more catchy standard Latin tunes, going back to pure African percussion; and start over. In the last part of the show, Chucho introduced his sister Mayra Caridad Valdés, and some vocals and dancing tunes came to concert, grasping the interest of the audience and taking their yearning for dancing real. It was the perfect ending for a show going from the cult to the popular having always the main beautiful sound of Chucho's diverse piano tunes as the main protagonist. In short, a two-hour experience of cool live Latin jazz according to one of their greatest interpreters.





July 9: Afro-Cubism (Cuba-Mali), at the 16th edition of La Mar de Músicas, Cartagena, Murcia, Spain.



“Afro-Cubism” is the Nick Gold´s (owner of label World Circuit) dreamed musical project become truth some 13 years later. In other words, Nick Gold was the executive mind behind Buena Vista Social Club, the music collaboration between Ry Cooder and the traditional long-life Cuban musicians back in 1997, which exploded and put the old Cuban music in the world map. Ever since, musical creativity from Cuba gained more respect than the one already earned (as Cuba is truly the birthplace to so many “Latin music” styles). The original idea included bringing Mali, Africa musicians to bring together sinergy from both musical schools. The Africans couldn´t make it to the appointment, due to visa and administrative reasons. This day of today in Cartagena, Spain, the only remaining member from Buena Vista, Elíades Ochoa (accompanied by his Cuarteto Patria), was the Cuban part of the project “Afro-Cubism”. On the Mali side of the show, these were the names: Toumani Diabaté, at the beautiful sound instrument kora; Bassekou Kouyate, at the n'goni, also a beautiful sound off a wooden guitar-like instrument; Lassana Diabaté, at the balafons, a sort of xilophone; Djelimady Tounkara, at the electric guitar; and Kassy Mady, vocals.

Tonight's concert at Cartagena, Spain was the presentation to the world. From here, the tour continued to Rotterdam, Netherlands, and it´s my understanding that the show is to visit the States in the fall. World Circuit is releasing the album in fall 2010. In this concert you could feel a little of what a first experience might be when you put many influences together. Having the musicians been after this show and project many months, one had the feeling that they were finding their way through the masses. Audience, on its part, was totally in for the proposal. We were expecting cool Cuban rhythms together with the kora and the n'goni. In that sense, the mix was wonderful. Remarkable when the Cuban brass section boosted it all up! The songs were being presented in a funny way by Mr. Ochoa, who was wearing his typical sombrero and black shirt. His attitude as front man and expertise at the guitar lead the show from beginning to end. Some songs were Cuban, others from Mali. In any case, long versions of all them were in use so in the evolution of the melodies, chances were given for instruments build up their dialogues. And so it happened. The wonderful cristaline plucking sound of the n'goni and the kora could go for hours and you will always feel is not enough of it. At one time, in what it seemed to be a spontaneous moment where Mr. Ochoa, Mr. Diabaté and his kora, and Mr. Kouyate and his n'goni were left alone in the stage, little by little they shaped up a wonderful version of “Guantanamera”, the Cuban classic, being so the highlight of the show. One after the other, songs came and stayed, no matter who sang if Elíades Ochoa or Kassy Mady, the instruments took over in what it seemed at times turns to show solo virtuosism. I missed, by the way, more solo moments for Mr. Diabaté and his kora, but maybe he was saving himself for his own concert the next week. All in all, a cool musical proposal full of legendary musicians, who played well on stage, worked out a show based on their expertise more than in the repertoire, making the audience enjoy from the beginning, and for some, getting the heat of the sinergy by the end, when most of the people was standing up song after song dancing whatever the music was dictating, and that´s what a good concert must be.




"Latin Soul" will be back soon in the air. Hope you are there every Tuesday at 9:00pm CST at 88.9 KETR or at ketr.org