Festival Son Cuba, Freiburg Jazz House, Germany,
6th October 2002
This concert was part of the second annual tour
of Cuban musicians to Germany, Austria and Luxembourg,
taking in fifteen cities along the way. The line
up for the tour comprised sonero Felix Dima,
elder statesmen Los Fakires, new combo Son
Con Swing and the next big thing, Haila.
Set in a cellar style venue, the small crowd gathered
at the front of the stage, though I consider myself
to have been one of the wiser people in attendance,
standing at the rear of the room so as not to have
my dancing hampered. That I happened to also be
next to the bar was surely mere coincidence.
First on was Felix Dima accompanied only
by his guitar and smooth, assured voice. He produced
a nice set and it is clear why he is held up as
being one of the great living Cuban soneros. In
truth though there was little to excite, the set
perhaps being a little too folksy and laid back
to generate anything other than the polite, appreciative
applause it earned.
Los Fakires were next up and they really
set the scene for the rest of the night. Led by
saxophonist José Bringues we were
introduced to Cascarita (Martín
Chávez) on lead vocals and güiro,
guitarist José Remie and Gilberto
Abreu on Bongós. So, a nice tight four
piece combo set off with Cascarita charming
the crowd with his warm vocals, broad grin and dancing
hips, easing us gently into the proceedings with
Suavecito. Three songs in, a new guy entered
stage right and we were faced with a quintet, combined
ages now a staggering 335. Second vocalist Felo
(Rafael Valdés) immediately made his
presence felt by gesticulating his maracas suggestively
at the crowd, particularly the women for whom he
gave the distinct impression he had “an eye”
for. He also possesses one of the dirtiest laughs
I have heard in a long time and could well have
been nicknamed the "Cuban Louis Armstrong"
such was the deep throaty voice that he unleashed
on us with his opening number, Mata Siguaraya,
apparently a favourite of Beny Moré.
From
this point on the fairly static crowd may have decided
that it would be much easier to avoid the glare
of his maracas and barely concealed desires by making
themselves moving targets as dancing broke out throughout
the club. I suspect that only those that had turned
up a week early for the Susan Baca gig were left
standing still, or worse, sitting on one of the
twenty of so chairs stage left. The set was hardly
imaginative, with standards such as Chan Chan,
Guitarra Tabaco Y Ron and Mira El Bodeguero
only occasionally making way for the less familiar,
such as the lovely Dulce Desengaño.
That said, the arrangements and wandering, at times
almost Ska-like saxophone of Bringues made
for a unique musical experience. Songs you have
heard before, but presented in a sufficiently different
Santa Clara style so as to make their familiarity
irrelevant.
After a long set there was a short break before
Son Con Swing took to the stage. These guys
were much slicker, both in looks and musical selection,
having a more modern approach and their numbers
hinted at jazz, reggae and as their name demands
swing, though always maintaining a distinct Son
feel throughout. Not Timba, more Son
Plus. Quite a few a cappella moments
were thrown into the mix for good measure too. Bandleader
Cesar Hechevarria Mustelier provided Trés,
and is probably as close today as you are likely
get to the great Arsenio Rodríguez,
including the uncomfortably looking high method
in which the instrument was held and played, superbly,
throughout the set. Others in the band were Jorge
Reyes (lead vocals, maracas), José
Acosta (trumpet), Alfonso Hernández
(guitar), Arián Gómez (bongós),
Jorge Meneses (congas) and Michel Martínez
(double bass). I knew nothing about this band before
the gig but having since played their debut CD can
say with some conviction that they deserve wider
exposure.
So, the old placed directly next to the new. Winners?
Well, us really. Both put in great sets that demonstrated
a clear and unbroken line between the traditional
and the modern, a line I could quite happily dance
along all night.
Only one performer to go, Haila. Having already
read a number of reviews of her solo debut album
I was expecting great things. Get this, the reviewers
are on to something here, Haila is without
a doubt a superstar in the making. If there is any
justice in the world she will become an internationally
acclaimed artist. After a brief consultation my
eyes and ears declared that she is very much the
complete package: cracking voice, great looks, individual
style and a commanding stage presence that simply
oozes class. Supported by Son Con Swing we
were treated to a variety of numbers from the album,
which of course fly in from Cruz Central. By this
stage I was far too busy dancing to take note of
the particular songs, but I know that I heard Santa
Bárbara, Quimbara, Usted Abusó
and De Noche in there somewhere. To be honest
she could have read out the football fixture list
from the local paper and nobody would have complained,
she really is that good.
Fantastic stuff, but the ensemble was not finished
yet, Felix Dima and Los Fakires also
jostling for position on the small stage to make
up a fourteen piece big band six song finale that
will take some beating. The final song of the evening
was, well knock me down with a feather, Guantanamera.
So, with the familiar words of José Martí
ringing in my ears, the concert ended. Now, I don’t
live in Germany and happened to be in the area on
business, but next year's event is something I will
be seriously considering flying in from the UK to
experience. Check out www.son-festival.de
for future details. So, short review, “top
night”.
Slaphappy
