Desde la bahía

Latin Beat Magazine, Oct, 1998 by Jesse Varela

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

SONANDO DURO! For three days in late August, the premier Cuban flautist Orlando "Maraca" Valle and his band Otra Vision graced Yoshi's Jazz House in Oakland with a superb serving of jazz and Afro-Cuban dance music. A collaboration between Yoshi's and The Latino Entertainment Partners, the performances were wellattended and included a Saturday afternoon Bay boat cruise on the San Francisco Spirit. I caught the last show on Sunday, August 30 and was floored by the exquisite musicianship on stage.

It opened with the obviously nervous KKUP radio personality Hector Rivera welcoming the thirteen-piece ensemble, who were radiant with matching white nehru jacket suits (with the exception of Maraca's wife Celine, who wore a white gown). Wearing the same Indian-derived fashion in gray, Maraca was a perfect host, and quickly kicked off with the title track from his latest release, Sonando. As the montuno pounded, it was obvious that what we were experiencing wasn't the funk-derived timba, but more like the neo-traditionalist "son" movement of Jesús Alemañy & Cubanismo, and Juan De Marcos González of the Afro-Cuban All-Stars. As Qbadisc's Ned Sublett, who introduced Maraca to the North American public through carly '90s releases, would say, "es la bomba!"

The 32 year-old flautist was in fine form but a little tired from the packed schedule. Yet his talent was uplifting as he unfurled clear crisp melodic lines delivered with a classical virtuosity and an Irakere-shaped jazz swing. With the exception of a few pieces, Maraca didn't play a lot of jazz, opting to deliver Havana-style dancehall virtuosity.

The tunes are tightly arranged dance structures with space for extended solos by the band's ringers: Reynaldo Melian (trumpet), Orlando Sánchez (tenor sax), and trap drummer Juan Carlos Rosa "El Peje." Singers Felix Valoy and Donaldo Flores were superb, quick-witted young soneros who pasted dollar bills from the chicas in the audience on their eyebrows. The rest of the rhythm section (piano, bass, conga, bongo) were young adults that included an 18 year-old conguero who had to get special permission from the city to perform at the 21-and-over venue.

Of the jazz pieces performed, Very Facil, a fusion Afro-jazz piece, was filled with lip-ripping runs and precise well placed breaks that defied comparison. Dedicated to our resident Cuban trap drum giant, Walfredo De Los Reyes Sr., Peje exploded with a downpour of beats and percussive colors. This guy sounds like he carne out of a carnaval comparsa band and fell into Weather Report. His style is raw with a technique that fuses a variety of styles. The excitement he exudes connects with an audience much like, say, Gene Krupa did in his day. Very impressive. Orlando Sánchez was a pleasure to listen to on tenor with a Joe Farrell-influenced tone and a fearless ability to cross harmonic boundaries. Trumpeter Melian, whose work with Gonzalo Rubalcaba is renowned, was great all night, anchoring the horn-section and plunging into some deep soninspired bebop.

But it was Maraca who shined all night. Everything he played seem to compliment and guide the ensemble. Yet in his exuberance to showcase his hand he played a minimal amount of choruses on his solos. I truly appreciate his straight-ahead musical vision uncluttered by electronics and built in chops. In his improvisations, he still searches for that perfect combination of notes to advance the conversation and stimulate interaction amongst the players. He has not yet fallen stylistically into the sonic meanderings of Dave Valentín or Nestor Torres, whose circular breathing acrobatics - while at one time unique - have become cliché.

One of the special treats of the show was a rare appearance by the legendary 83 year-old "son" singer Pio Leyva. An impish man wearing a red golfers cap, he immediately lit up the room with his humor and wit and embraced the crowd with his charisma as he sang "una opera" a capella that was nothing more than goof on an old Italian melody. After a few chuckles, the band kicked in with one of his big hits, No Me Digas Mas. With a voice seasoned by rum and cigars, and an amazing improvisational wit, Leyva sang the truths and wisdom that rises from the sonmontuno. This one was about lies and liars. Like a Cuban Cab Calloway, the singer from Moron, Cuba, led the crowd in a "hi-de-ho" style sing-along that was a lot of fun.

Showstoppers included Rumbata and Tumbao Pa' Changuito, from Maraca's upcoming album, Descarga Uno. It began with batá drums and folkloric grooves before the band and Peje reshaped it into a songo. On the tribute to the great Cuban percussionist, a slew of special guests flooded the stage to jam. The first was Omar Sosa, who jumped on piano and played a maddening montuno that accelerated the tempo considerably. Once he locked in the groove on the descarga, he began to fill the air with dissonant chordal colors before amazing us with a brilliant solo. Bay Arca percussionist John Santos was featured on timbales and took one of the best timbal solos I've heard him do in some time. But it was resident flautist John Calloway, who tore it up as he and Maraca traded riffs on flute, who peaked with them, pullíng their instruments apart and just playing the mouthpiece (cupping it to pull high-pitched tones out of it).