Desde La Bahia - breves notas musicales - TT: From the Bay Area - TA: brief music notes - Columna

Latin Beat Magazine, March, 2001 by Jesse "Chuy" Varela

WOMEN IN SALSA: For years, the exclusion of women in roles other than as singers and dancers in Latin music has been notorious. But it hasn't stopped the cadres of talented female instrumentalists who create their own platforms with all-female bands to play música latina and swing as hard as their male counterparts. In addition to such groups as Orquesta Anacaona, Latin Fever and Son Damas, Bay Area bands like Chévere, Orquesta Sabrosita and Azucar y Crema have forged their own trajectory and tradition.

A great example was revealed on a soggy rainy night, on Thursday, January 25, at La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley, as a packed house came together for a Bay Area summit of "Women in Salsa." Spearheaded by Marina Garza, an Albita-look-alike trumpeter from Texas who leads the impressive Orquesta d'Soul, the three-hour long benefit was held to raise funds needed by her group to produce a recording. With a little help from her friends --Once11 and Dulce Mambo-- they got a nice turnout and a solid show of financial support.

Orquesta d'Soul opened with two sets of original music, featuring its charismatic leaders' whirling trumpet, as well as vocalists Gloria Amaral and Juliana Muñoz, swaying like a Mission District answer to the Spice Girls and creating nice group harmonies in a bilingual mix of urban love themes and driving "get your booty in gear" dance beats.

The tunes Insomnia, Trailor Boy and Victim of Bad Love feature horn-oriented, super-charged montuno sections, but to call Garza's music salsa is a misnomer. It's more akin to Chicano-Latino Groove (ala Los Mocosos), filled with originality and a daring spirit that fuses reggae, cumbia, rock, funk, rap and Latin grooves.

Popular KPOO Salsa DJ Chata Gutierrez got up and said a few well-chosen words in between bands. Chata brought up the sense of community and support necessary to make this music happen, and also raised appreciative applause as she introduced the performers.

The salsa-Latin jazz band Once11 (led by trumpeter Tami Ellis) came on for a brief set and did a couple of Marina's songs, as well as an instrumental called Black and Blue. This seasoned crew, which includes Mara Fox (trombone), Klaudia Promessi (tenor sax) and the rhythm section of Susan "Suki" Kaye (congas), Michelle Goerlitz (drums and timbal) and Cathy Ramos (bongó), were solid on the clave and helped the crowd to get lost in the music with their driving tempos. There's a spark to this band that is charged by the experienced musicality of its members, who have been part of Conjunto Céspedes, Wild Mango and Azucar y Crema. Tami Ellis, the daughter of San Francisco trumpet ace Joe Ellis, led a band which drew heavily from contemporary Cuban timba music combined with straight-ahead jazz and salsa roots. She's also been part of an entrepreneurial movement to advance their sound by targeting women. Their performances at the Montclair Women's Club in Oakland have been packed, and another gig is scheduled there on Saturday, March 31.

Dulce Mambo (with Gloria Amaral on lead vocals) put a nice finishing touch to the whole affair. With upbeat vehicles--Un Baranquillo and a super rendition of Eddie Palmieri's Adoracion, great moments abounded, as exemplified by Amaral's passionate and expressive delivery, as well as a sizzling bongó solo by Sylvia Sherman and the stratospheric high notes of Ellis. No rolling blackouts here, the place was supercharged! What this band has is groove and the Chicana/guarachera spirit of its lead singer/founder, who pushes the band to produce music that mesmerizes dancers. What was impressive about this evening was not the fact that they were women playing salsa, but that these were musicians coming of age in the arts and business fields. By creating new organizational structures that encourage their fans to finance and support their work, they are establishing a network and a product that will attract a greater number of folks. For more on what these talented mujeres (women) are up to, check out the websites of Dulce Mambo, Once11 and Orquesta d'Soul. All dot-com.

MARIA MARQUEZ: One of the artistic highlights of 2000 in the San Francisco Bay Area was the release of singer Maria Marquez's Once Cuentos De Amor - Eleven Love Songs (MFM), an album drawing from the golden age of the Venezuelan bolero. Gems like Cuando Yo Te Quería (a super duo with Omar Sosa on Fender Rhodes piano), Golondrinas Del Tiempo (with renowned folklorist Jackeline Rago), and Bolero (with John Santos on bongó), turned this delicious bite of romanticismo into a regional hit for its "íntima y sentimental" moods. A self-produced effort, the CD had only been available in the Bay Area, but recently Márquez signed an agreement with Palm Pictures who will re-release the CD under its Ryko Latino subsidiary. It's a great opportunity for the rest of the world to now discover her superb talent and the richness of her voice and heritage, filtered through a jazz heart that brought her to this country to study at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in the 1980s, a few years before moving to the West Coast, where she has since graced a number of groups including the popular Wild Mango, from which she recently departed. At this stage in her career, Márquez is no longer a show but an experience, and merits far-reaching exposure.