Jolie and La Barriada - Vengan con Fuerza! 
Nassau, Bahamas, September 21, 2002

By Kaysee 

The latest thing in Cuban music, (la bola, as Manolín used to say) seems to be THE GIRL SINGER. Los Van Van have Jennie; Vannia and Haila keep pumping out the songs despite the Bamboleo / Azúcar Negra split; even smaller bands like La Caro sing and swing from the feminine side. On Saturday September 21, 2002 at the Rainforest Theatre on Cable Beach in Nassau Bahamas, the up and coming Cuban singer Jolie, backed by a limited edition of the Cuban band La Barriada, illustrated to the enthusiastic audience why the female formula is so popular in Cuba today.

Although Jolie made a guest appearance at the La Barriada concert held here last February, she really came into her own with this performance. Wearing a revealing peach costume that contrasted with the unrelieved black of the band while complimenting the bright costumes of the talented dancers who gyrated and demonstrated their skills across the stage, Jolie demonstrated an impressively wide range of musical styles. From salsa to merengue, to guaguancó to cha-cha-chá, to combinations of rock, R&B and reggae, Jolie placed the stamp of her husky mid-range voice on it, making each song unique and interesting.

She wasn't boring to watch either; she worked the better part of the stage in choreographed moves with her dancers, at times singing from a vantage point high above the stage as one of the male dancers raised her above his head, at others demonstrating the latest steps from Cuba or the more traditional ones associated with Cuban song.

While the songs themselves didn't have profoundly life-changing lyrics, they did emphasize that music - and life - is for enjoyment and dancing. Moreover, they effectively showcased Jolie's stylistic abilities and vocal range. The first few numbers, somewhat of a pan-Caribbean tribute, were designed to make the audience sit up and listen - and, incidentally, enjoy the excellent dancing of the stage performers. The dancers gyrated to a merengue which contained notable use of the steel pan sound, then danced their way to the tops of huge stage "blocks", where they strutted their stuff to the reggae en español sound of "baila bailador".

In a change of pace, the music leaned towards the more mellow. A more straightforward salsa number was followed first by a rather touching balada by Jolie and then a duet "Love Came to Us", between Jolie and Antonio, one of La Barriada's two male vocalists. Here the pop-rock transitions between verses added an interesting touch, and the timba-style mambo had audience members on their feet and dancing in the aisles with its infectious grooves.

By the time she got around to the one cha-cha-chá number in the concert, however, Jolie was ready for some real audience participation. Within a moment or two, the stage was lined off with people "learning" to do the cha-cha-chá in three easy lessons. As the show neared its climax, Jolie supplied her attractively Cuban accented voice to a medley of 70's English tunes (remember "Dancing in September" and "Dancing Queen"?) that obviously reminded some members of the audience of younger days. After a short break, during which La Barriada provided the audience with an enlivening Latin Jazz instrumental, Jolie came out to thank the audience, concluding with a lively guaguancó / conga that again drew audience members onto the stage. Certainly Jolie pleased and satisfied her audience's tastes, regardless of what they were.

All in all, the first part of the night's music was an excellent foretaste of what to expect from this talented and lovely young lady. All I will add to this is: Shakira, Miz López, Thalía, et al, look out!

* * *

I've heard it said that La Barriada is not quite a first rate band, more of the type one might encounter in the tourist hotels in La Habana. Having had the good fortune to hear this band twice for the year, I'd have to say that such comments, true or untrue, are certainly a thing of the past for La Barriada. The quality and versatility of the band's performance as experienced at the Introducing Jolie concert on Saturday September 21, 2002, definitely puts them in the category of bands on the move, one to be watched and heard.

While the band definitely was not at its full strength (pared down to one keyboard, bass, conga, drumkit and 4 horns for this trip) the sound was certainly very powerful indeed. The addition of Jolie's sister to the lineup of singers adds interesting harmony to the coros; the horns were spot on, with very little of the shrillness experienced at the previous event (I am even further convinced that sound problem had more to do with the sound board than the musicians). The bass player is, I am convinced, their secret weapon. He has a funkified and progressive style of playing that elevates some of their pieces from the ordinary to the sublime. I continue to enjoy Juan Kemell's use of harmonies and incorporation of non-Cuban elements and musical ideas into what is otherwise very Cuban music, a technique which continues to the sense of surprise and pleasure experienced when listening. I also noticed that the keyboard player, has been replaced, though whether this is temporary or permanent we have yet to determine.

Once Jolie had retired, and after a short break, the band performed only three additional timba pieces, but this last 30 minutes of the show was in some ways its highlight. This is partly because, when compared with February's performance, it was obvious to see the improvement in smoothness and cohesiveness between band members. Additionally, the group performed three new pieces, giving a tantalizing suggestion that there may be something interesting album-wise in the not-too-distant future.

It is important not dismiss La Barriada as some second-rate also-ran. This band can play, and they definitely swing when it comes to timba. Go see them if you get the opportunity!

 

 

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This page last updated on 07-Mar-2005