Front center
table
Our “social
director”, a long-time fan of the band, put together a group of 30+, so the
evening was notable not only for the music but also for the chance to catch up
with some current and former Westatians whom I don’t get to see all that often.
We got prime seats (the three centermost tables in the front row, plus the
center table in the second row), plus some other goodies. The salmon entrée,
which I’d had before, was once again very good – fortunately for me, since
several other folks at my table also ordered it based on my recommendation.
AMP’s tag
line for Sosa was “Afro-Cuban alchemist of jazz”, which is a pretty good
summary, as he incorporates electronic, world music, and even hip-hop into his
musical mix. The band emerged one at a time, led by Sosa, for the opening
number, which was closer to free-form jazz than anything else; it sounded like
it might totally fly off the tracks at any moment, but somehow managed to hold
together. Most of the show was from the band’s most recent CD, ilé, although they also included some
more uptempo material, including one great audience sing-along. All four members
of the Quarteto AfroCubano – Sosa on keyboards, Ernesto Simpson on drums, electric
bassist Childo Tomas and multi-imstrumentalist Leandro Saint-Hill – were wonderful
as musicians and as showmen, and both the band and the enthusiastic audience
had a great time. Given that the show was a sellout, I certainly hope that they’ll
return.
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