Cuban Jazz Triumphs at 2009 Ottawa International Jazz Festival
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- 07 / 05 / 2009
When an irresistible rhythmic force meets an immovable weather system, something has to give.
In this case, the island rhythms emerged triumphant, as the rains finally stopped just as Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés and his quartet took the stage at Confederation Park for their TD Canada Trust Ottawa International Jazz Festival show on Friday night.
Valdés is a five-time Grammy winner and a consummate showman. Slowly and methodically, he ramped up the intensity in song after song, until the damp Ottawa audience was out of their camp chairs and on their feet, hollering, clapping and singing along with vocalist Mayra Caridad Valdez.
The night started with a medley of Duke Ellington tunes: Satin Doll, In A Sentimental Mood, Caravan. With lush block chords and the effortless fluidity of his right hand, Valdés evokes the crowd-pleasing soloing of Oliver Jones, but with an ever-present Afro-Cuban inflection.
On Poinciana, the band’s carefully choreographed arrangements earned whoops of approval from the crowd. The band then settled into an extended vamp anchored by bassist Lazaro Alarcon, featuring a spectacular solo on congas and hand-drums by percussionist Yaroldi Abreu.
Not to be outdone, drummer Juan Carlos Rojas took a star turn on the next tune, Joe Zawinul’s Birdland, while Valdés showed a more dissonant side during his solo.
After a couple more tunes, Caridad Valdez emerged from the wings to sing the venerable Bésame Mucho, coaxing the audience to sing the verse along with her. By this time, the dampness of the day and the muddiness of the ground were fading into the background, and the audience was livelier than it has been since on any night since the rains descended at the start of the week.
It was nearly 11 p.m. by the time Valdés and his band wound to a halt, after more than 90 minutes of nearly non-stop Cuban rhythms
But the night still wasn’t over – yet another standing ovation elicited an encore. Anchored by Rojas’s infectious beat, Valdés took another show-stopping solo, quoting familiar melodies like Dave Brubeck’s Blue Rondo à la Turk. Then bassist Alarcon joined percussionist Abreu at the front of the stage for a duel of gourd-shaped shakers, providing a spectacular finale that left the crowd buzzing.
Source: Ottawan Citizen
In this case, the island rhythms emerged triumphant, as the rains finally stopped just as Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés and his quartet took the stage at Confederation Park for their TD Canada Trust Ottawa International Jazz Festival show on Friday night.
Valdés is a five-time Grammy winner and a consummate showman. Slowly and methodically, he ramped up the intensity in song after song, until the damp Ottawa audience was out of their camp chairs and on their feet, hollering, clapping and singing along with vocalist Mayra Caridad Valdez.
The night started with a medley of Duke Ellington tunes: Satin Doll, In A Sentimental Mood, Caravan. With lush block chords and the effortless fluidity of his right hand, Valdés evokes the crowd-pleasing soloing of Oliver Jones, but with an ever-present Afro-Cuban inflection.
On Poinciana, the band’s carefully choreographed arrangements earned whoops of approval from the crowd. The band then settled into an extended vamp anchored by bassist Lazaro Alarcon, featuring a spectacular solo on congas and hand-drums by percussionist Yaroldi Abreu.
Not to be outdone, drummer Juan Carlos Rojas took a star turn on the next tune, Joe Zawinul’s Birdland, while Valdés showed a more dissonant side during his solo.
After a couple more tunes, Caridad Valdez emerged from the wings to sing the venerable Bésame Mucho, coaxing the audience to sing the verse along with her. By this time, the dampness of the day and the muddiness of the ground were fading into the background, and the audience was livelier than it has been since on any night since the rains descended at the start of the week.
It was nearly 11 p.m. by the time Valdés and his band wound to a halt, after more than 90 minutes of nearly non-stop Cuban rhythms
But the night still wasn’t over – yet another standing ovation elicited an encore. Anchored by Rojas’s infectious beat, Valdés took another show-stopping solo, quoting familiar melodies like Dave Brubeck’s Blue Rondo à la Turk. Then bassist Alarcon joined percussionist Abreu at the front of the stage for a duel of gourd-shaped shakers, providing a spectacular finale that left the crowd buzzing.
Source: Ottawan Citizen
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