Eddie Palmieri celebrates 75th!
The irresistible rhythms of salsa dura were driving people to the dance floor at the San Francisco Yoshi’s club. The sound was coming from 9 time Grammy award winning maestro Eddie Palmieri who was in town to celebrate his 75th birthday. One of the true geniuses and innovators of Latin music who has been making an impact since the 1960’s, Palmieri continues his life work by putting out dynamic recordings such as his new 50th Anniversary dvd. Powerful live performances has always been Palmieri’s speciality. This was evident as he brought La Perfecta II featuring an all-star group consisting of the great sonero Herman Olivera, trescero extraordinare Nelson Gonzalez, young bass phenom Loques Curtis, the tight percussion section of Little Johnny Rivero, Jose Clausell and Orlando Vega, the tremendous horn section featuring the trombones of Jimmy Bosch and Doug Beavers and the flute of Karen Joseph. Palmieri’s repertoire consisted of his classic dance tunes such as “Sujetate La Lengua”, “La Malanga”and “Lo Que Traigo Es Sabroso” to name a few. La Perfecta II is simply one of the finest live dance orchestras that exist…period. The interplay and communication between musicians, the sheer virtuosity of the players and the fiercest dance music to be heard on any bandstand. Eddie Palmieri was in fine form whether he was playing jaw dropping solos, leading his top-notch ensemble or cracking jokes to the audience. I wasn’t alone in thinking that I was lucky to be there to catch the master at...
Read MoreRagga Muffins Go Crazy at Mezzanine
I knew that there were many Reggaeton fans out there but fans of Reggae En Espanol? You bet! The hip trendy club Mezzanine featured 3 out of the biggest acts in the genre: Cultura Profetica, Gondwana, Los Cafres along with locally based Bayonics at the Reggae Latino 2011 Fest. The place was packed with mostly young people who danced, screamed, jumped, cheered and raised their drinks up in the air to party to their heroes on stage. DJ Stepwise kept the heads bobbing in-between the breaks. Cultura lived up to their headline status with a dynamic set featuring their potent politically charged dance music. Los Cafres’ charismatic vocalist had the crowd pumped up while the band slammed down their ragga dub beats. The Bay Area’s own Bayonics, in true chameleon form stuck to the Reggae theme of the evening, held their own with a powerful opening set. I missed Gondwana but caught a lot of the island love before I left the club thanks to Adrian Goddard of Jaffe...
Read MoreWillie Colon In The House!!
What a week! Caught Willie Colon in one of his very rare SF Bay Area appearances at the 10th Annual San Francisco Salsa Congress at the Oakland Marriott. Colon, who has a notorious reputation for being unpredictable, played a phenomenal set. Backed by a top notch band and a powerful horn section boasting 2 trombones and sax, Willie was splendid on lead vocals, trombone and bass trumpet (one of his featured instruments since the late 70’s which sounds like a trombone). He thrilled the crowd with his opening medley of his early hits with Hector LaVoe. His trombone playing was strong blasting out monas as he did 40 or more years ago. He was also in fine voice as he performed songs from various periods of his long career with passion, style and power. Colon doesn’t visit us very often but this was definitely a musical...
Read MoreLatin Grammylicious
I’m checked out the Latin Grammys on TV on Thursday night. I watched as the current crop of hot recording stars who are enjoying massive success such as Shakira, Romeo Santos singing a duet with Usher, Pitbull with Marc Anthony, Christian Castro, Pepe Aguilar and Disney rehab comeback princess Demi Lovato entertained with gusto. This 3 hour awards ceremony/spectacular is your traditional long drawn out affair with “highlights” that were either dope, corny or awful. Calle 13 accepted the award for record of the year with Residente and their crew as they seized the moment to make a political statement supporting the current student protest movements in Chile and Puerto Rico. I had to endure Alejandra Guzman and Franco De Vita as they sang an insipid ballad that was nominated for song of the year. Co-host singer/actress Lucero and the Muppets own Kermit The Frog introduced the hot Mexican norteno band Intocable. Pitbull and guest Marc Anthony performed their hit duet surrounded by an over abundance of scantily clad women..some wearing bikinis and some were being showered by water! So much for a “top notch” awards show. Oh well, there’s always next...
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