Issac Delgado has the Formula – Concert Review


Photo by Ned Sublette

By Kaysee

In August of 1999, before the Los Van Van furor at the Miami Arena and before Elian Gonzales' miraculous salvation, Issac Delgado was scheduled to appear in two shows on Miami Beach. Although these shows were called off at practically the last minute due to "visa problems", indirectly they had a remarkable effect on my life, inadvertently leading to some intensive show-hopping and some of the most interesting and musically exciting 14 months of my life. The culmination of this effect brought me full circle this weekend, when I found myself in front of the stage at Debbie Ohanian's Starfish Club in Miami Beach, finally experiencing the magic of El Chévere de la Salsa, Issac Delgado, live in concert.

The venue for the Miami concerts, Starfish Nightclub, is a combination of cozy seating areas and spacious dance floor (a rueda de casino of five or six couples is effortlessly performed there) which is flanked by a minute low stage area, creating an intimacy between performers and audience.  Outside, an enticingly sheltered tropical garden is glimpsed through gauzy wine-coloured drapery.  It is on a porch overlooking this area that I made the acquaintance of some the band members before Friday night's show.

Shortly after my arrival around 11:30, a friend introduced me to one of the trombone players, who in turn introduced me to several of the band members as they sat outside in preparation for the show.  During the often joking conversation which followed, it became obvious to me almost immediately that the rumours about the extensive change in personnel has some basis in fact.  One of the trumpet players, Orlando [Vázquez] told me that while the band had been together for ten or eleven years, there had been quite a lot of changes over the years.  Also, it was interesting to note that some band members' names seemed easier to recall than others, and some were more obviously nervous than others.  It turns out that the band expects to visit California, New York, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico on this tour.  I also got the impression they were less than impressed with the club as a US venue, possibly because they were expecting to have a larger audience.  Certainly there were muted concerns about the stage.  Shortly after this, the musicians were called in to get ready to start the show, so our conversation came to an end.

Once the musicians stepped inside, the crowd began to gravitate toward the stage.  I took up a position in front of the keyboard player, which turned out to be a pretty good decision sound-wise, though my field of vision was pretty limited.  The band came on shortly after 12:30, and immediately I could see the problem with the stage.  With fifteen band members, two keyboards, timbales, drum kit, congas and a baby bass standing on the stage, space went from minute to nonexistent!  I kept watching all night to see if one of the trombonists would clip Dennis Savón, the conga player, on the head.

However, this lack of space didn't seem to inhibit the band's playing in any appreciable way. They went to work with a revved up intro, and Issac and the two coristos, Alexander [Díaz] and Neuri immediately went into a medley of hits designed to get the crowd going.  By the end of the first piece, the band had settled in and they went from strength to strength as they played through a mixture of old favourites such as "Sandunguita", "Necesito un amiga", and "Amigo Juan", cuts from the new album, and standards such as "Mira Catalina", which they played on Saturday night.

I mentioned standing in front of the keyboardist, Ernesto Puentes, as a favorable place.  This was true for several reasons.  First, I could clearly hear - and see – those massively funky bass lines and riffs he was playing.  I now understand why some people are so fascinated by the keyboards.  Also, standing where I did allowed me to see several different, though limited, fields of view. Without moving I was in a line with the guitarist, the bass player, and behind him the timbalist, which was a fascinating view.  The best moments were when Raul, the guitarist, would get a little smile on his face, as if the groove was too sweet for him to contain it, and when Alfredo, the bassist, would go to work on that baby bass as if he was telling secrets to a lover that made her smile.  (This guy is fantastic on the bass guitar as well.) A shift to the left allowed me to observe the conga player and the horn section, while a small movement to the right put me in line with the singers and Rolando Luna, the piano player who is playing the piano instead of Gonzalo Rubalcaba on this tour.

(Note from Jacira:  Gonzalo Rubalcaba stood in and jammed with the group on the last night at Starfish, December 25th... it was truly memorable!)

Did I tell you this band was TIGHT???  Before the show on Friday, the trumpet players were making a joke about the trombones not playing smoothly.  Certainly the 'bone players stood up to the challenge, producing smooth, liquid changes interpolated with crisp punctuated notes as the occasion demanded.  In fact, the entire horn section was on, living up to the title of "los metales de la salsa".  Especially on Saturday, they showed real mettle, nailed hook after hook while simultaneously indicating that it was all a bunch of fun, and just totally got themselves and their audience into the groove of things.

I did move to the front of the stage in between sets on Friday night so I could get a better view of the percussion section and of Ceruto, the noted sax player and flautist, who I couldn't see at all before.  This change of position put me directly under the keyboardist's folder of charts (luckily I am short enough to keep dancing without knocking it over) with an excellent view of Dennis, who did go to town on those congas during the second set.  This set was particularly enjoyable for me because it contained a powerful version of "No Me Mira a los ojos," which rocked through quotes of "La Vida es un Carnaval" and "No Woman No Cry", and a full salsa, up-tempo version of "El solar de la California", beginning with a guitar quote of the famous refrain from The Eagles "Hotel California" as well as some fantastic piano and keyboard work. The highlight of the set for me, however, was an interpretation of "Oye como va" (it seems everyone is making that tribute to Puente this year).  Delgado made this piece completely his while remaining true to its spirit by including solo pieces from Rolando Luna, the pianist and Raul Verdecia, the guitarist, and by adding his own coros, "Tira, dame la vida", "China, lo bailaría".

After two killer sets, the second more than 1 and 1/4 hours long, Issac took a few on-stage photos with fans and left the stage, forging his way to the dressing room through the still thick and completely admiring crowd.  I stopped to observe the swift, efficient packing of the musicians which implied that now that the concert was over, they were ready to go.  But they came off the stage with the little smirks of accomplishment, and they handled the compliments of the crowd like gentlemen.

The crowd on Saturday night was even worse (or better, if you were the promoter) than on Friday.  It was so bad during the first set that I could barely sway to the music or raise my arms to write, and dancing was difficult due to the wet floor underfoot.  Nevertheless I persevered, to much greater effect as the crowd thinned. 

Overall I have to say that the band was even tighter than on Friday night.  It was as if they had worked off the first night jitters and were now really on form.  Every single song was hotter than the one before.  If I was going to characterize the two nights very generally based on the Jekell / Hyde differences of Issac Delgado's musical style, I would say Friday leaned more to the jazz side of his repertoire while Saturday went more heavily towards the timba. 

All in all, this was a great concert.  Afterwards, I took the opportunity to wish the band members  I'd met "buena suerte, buen viaje".  They were drained, but in that good sort of way, you know, that lets you sit around feeling fulfilled for hours afterwards.  Exhilarated, I walked out of the club after the show, bought an advance release copy of the new CD to keep me warm for the 30 miles down the road trip back to my hotel, and never came down until after 6 am.

This trip, unlike others I have made in the last few months, was not a spur of the moment decision.  I had been plotting for weeks how to make it happen at a time when it seemed practically impossible to achieve.  The way it all came together, however, suggests to me that my sense of culmination, of making a dream become reality, was not misplaced.  What I gained in experience and musical enrichment cannot be measured in terms of dollars.  Even if it was, what I spent was less than what is worth to me.

 Part II

OK.  Part I was the general overview for the unsuspecting public.

Part II is the nitty-gritty, nuts-and-bolts, song-by-song, blow-by-blow version for the technicians and timba fanatics among us. The less intrepid viewer may want to turn back at this point, or skip to the album review.

I'll start with a list of musicians on the tour.  I got this list from some of the musicians, one of whom assured me that my spelling was pretty accurate.  My only disclaimer is that last names were added after the fact.

Lead vocals - Issac Delgado
Coro vocals - Alexander Díaz
Coro vocals and small percussion - Neuri [??]
Congas - Dennis Savón
Drumkit - Oscar Valdés
Timbales/clave - Andrés Cuayo
Bass (standup and guitar) - Alfredo [??]
Guitar - Raúl Verdecia
Piano - Rolando Luna
Keyboards - Ernesto Puentes

Saxophone - Juan Ceruto
Trombone - Ariel [??]
Trombone - Cuní [??]
Trumpet - Pavel [??]
Trumpet - Orlando Vázquez


Thanks to the fact that I went equipped with a purse-sized notebook and pen, I can give you a full list of the songs performed on both evenings, with comments. These are divided into date and set, and I have provided approximate start and ending times.

Friday, 22nd December, 2000

First Set 12:35 - 1:40 am

1. "Luz Viajera" medley.   I picked out coros; "la felicidad . . . si quieres el secreto . . .tu eres la que eres . . .soy yo el que mando".  This was a masterful beginning to the show.
2. "Sandunguita".  This was my first live hearing, and was very much in the style of the earlier concert versions, where he slows down "ni pica, ni duele, pero tiene su cosita, se pega se pega y no se te quita, la sandunguita".  The audience had obviously been waiting for this, and they ate it up.  Also they could sing better than the people in other versions of this song.
3. "Malecón".  This is from the new album, and, depending on whether you buy it in the US or in other parts of the world, is the title track.  This song struck me as being particularly moving for Issac, and for this first concert, he sang it in a jazzy ballad format which really slowed the crowd down, moving them in a completely different manner than he had only moments before.  Then he hyped it up in one of those classic moves to the mambo section which got the crowd dancing like crazy.  I wrote during the concert "esta anda con fuerza".
4.  "Necesito una amiga".  This sounded like a whole new song at first, with a very R & B feel to the opening sections, intimating to me what I could expect from the so-called 'more jazzy feel' some have spoken of.
5. "El Pregón del Chocolate".  Talk about sexy double entendre!  All the ladies in the house went crazy when Issac started to sing (forget the verses, just this coro) "traigo el chocolate pa' ti, el dulce que a ti te gusta".  And it is a "chocolate" song, full of rich flavours, a blend of harmonies, strong driving rhythms, and bass / keyboard lines that don't quit.  This was my absolute favorite from this set in particular and from the two concerts as a whole.
6.  "La Fórmula".  This was very well received by the audience, and featured a funky set of coros to which I was too busy dancing to record.

Second Set 2:20 - 3:40 am

1. "No me mira a los ojos".  This definitely made a greater impression on me live than recorded, perhaps because of the interpretive choreography the singers performed.  Featured on this version were quotes from "Carnaval", a funky timba-reggae cut of "No woman, no cry" and "dicen todo lo que dicen".
2. "Oye como va".  This I mentioned in Part One, and arguably it can be construed as the best part of this set.  Particularly worthy of mention are the guitar solos by Raúl Verdecia and a breathtaking piano solo by Rolando Luna.  He is a fantastic pianist, and after this song he seemed to leap from strength to strength.
3. "El solar de la California".  On the other hand, this could be construed as the best part of the set.  This is a full salsa version of the song, and it starts out with a powerhouse quote from the Eagles song, rather than the ballad style opening I had heard before. Talk about contrasts!  On Friday night this song gets up swinging, but the guitarist gets full play here, and it really pumps this song up even more.  Once they get into the coro section, "baila Lola y bailo yo", things really get loose.  One gets the impression at the end that neither the band nor the audience wants to let go.
4. "El 44-30-25".  This is the first of several classic songs performed to round out the evening. Suffice it to say that the only classic thing about these pieces was the length of time Issac has been playing them.
5. "Deja que Roberto te toque".  Is this full of double entendre, or is my mind going again?  Granted, my conclusion was based on the wicked smirks on the faces of the guys in the crowd.
6. "Amigo Juan".  This one made me laugh, because nobody in the crowd wanted to do the rather risqué gyrations which Issac kept insisting went with the coro.
7. "Carnaval".  This VERY up-tempo version of the hit song rounded out what was an excellent show, and finally gave the audience what it had been teased with all evening.

Saturday, 23rd December, 2000

First Set 1:00 - 2:10 a.m.

1. "Carnaval"
2. "Luz Viajera"
3."Sandunguita".  For these first three songs the floor was so crowded that it was painful, not because the crowd was pushing or anything, but because it impossible to dance, and the songs DEMANDED that you dance!  ¡Qué cosa!
4. "El Solar de la California".  This was closer to the format I had heard before, with the ballad version followed by the version to be heard on the new CD.  I was rather disappointed because the tasty guitar licks of the previous night were much muted.  But the coro section was still up to the usual standard, and if anything even more on the timba side of things than the previous night.
5. "Díle a Catalina".  The crowd threw this out, and the band broke into it like they had been longing for the opportunity.  My goodness, where does Rolando Luna come from?  He just lit up at this point, and every tumbao, solo and other touch on those keys after this point seemed inspired.  Also, watch out for bass player Alfredo!   What a power on the bass!  Here he handled the baby bass lovingly, bringing sounds out of it that I'll bet surprised even the bass itself.
6. "Deja que Roberto te toque".  The first set ended on this note, and what a note it was!  After the previous song, the band was just grooving along, and they seemed to be passing those smirky grins around with the different parts.  They left the crowd pretty ready to go; despite the almost hour break, most of the people didn't move very far from the stage.  Everybody was waiting for the next session.

Second Set 2:45 - 3:55 a.m.

1. "No me mires".  The band just seemed to pick up where it left off and to move on to new heights with this song.  This song in particular seemed to stand on the shoulders of the previous evening's rendition.  Alfredo, the bass player, gave a masterful performance on the electric bass guitar, convincing me that he is equally adept on either instrument.  For this set I moved back to my old spot in front of the keyboardist, and it seemed that those bass lines kept jumping out at me.  It was like icing on chocolate.
2. "El Pregón del Chocolate".  This second hearing convinced me that this song had captured my heart, not only because of its tempting lyrics, but also because it got into some serious timba territory, with funky bass lines, lots of slinky brass lines.  I particularly liked it when Issac and the two coristas "played" their version of a horn line, which was then answered with a real line from the horns.  This flirtation between voices and horns seemed to highlight the sensual nature of the song.  I'd love to have this version on a recording somewhere, but it was so far down in the coro section that I don't think it will ever make it to a recording studio.
3. "Qué pasa loco".  I had been waiting for this song, and was so excited to hear it that I squealed.  The version on Saturday was very energetic, very playful, and Ernesto, the teclado player was super-hot on this one.  The part with the tren was so driving that everybody in the band had to stop for water afterwards . . . as if they really had gone "hasta Santiago a pie". Dennis was my particular hero because kept taking the pace up another notch on the congas!
4. "Malecón".  Another version of this song, with a much more standard "salsa" beginning, and moving to some serious timba sabrosa, including some of the most startlingly sweet trombone playing I'd heard in a long time.  This song has got some fantastic hooks!
5. "La fórmula".  This time around, Issac went with some special lyrics for "la Miami entera".  You can bet this got the crowd going, and the band took them all the way.
6. "Carnaval".  My recollection of this second rendition was the thought "this must be the end" but it wasn't, quite.  Also, with this version, the crowd really got into the "pa'llá" and "pa'cá" section of the song.
7.  "La fórmula" coro "tumbao pegao" reprise.  This brought an end to an absolutely fine musical event.  The crowd did not head back to the dance floor; I think Issac had brought them to a point where nothing else would suffice for a while.

Issac Delgado Official Website