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Concert Review
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Caribbean nights
Jewish Community Center turns West Indies-cu ya!
Summer time usually brings the rhythms of world music to the forefront of the music scene, and this year is, thankfully, no exception.
This time around the only unusual aspect about the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center's Summer Night Music Series is that it steps indoors for this month's installment. Instead of providing dancing underneath the stars, the remaining shows in the series will be staged in the JCC's intimate Hoytt Theater. Dance enthusiasts take note that the theater boasts a sizable dance floor. And if you arrive to any of these world music shows 4S minutes before the performance start time, dance lessons are included in the price of admission: This Saturday's concert showcases traditional Cuban music as performed by Tito y su Sonde Cuba, an l1-piece band led by Heriberto "Tito" Gonzalez. Gonzatez, who plays the Tres, a Cuban guitar with strings paired in tuned octaves, studied the traditional instrument with Paoi Oviedo of Buena Vista Social Ciub. fame. Born and raised near Havana, Cuba, Gonzalez played with many bands in his home country, including Nuevo Conjunto de Arsenio Rodriguez, a group founded to preserve the music of son innovator Arsenio Rodriguez. Since immigrating to the Bay Area at the turn of the millennium, Gonzalez has continued to pay homage to the music of his homeland. We are fortunate that he decided to settle in this area and continue performing Cuban folk music because our current presidential administration has denied travel visas for most, if not all, Cuban musicians. Gonzalez has per- formed in several bands in the Bay Area, including his current incarnation, which has produced the CD Tito y su Son de Cuba: Traditional Cuban Music, Rumba, Guaracha y Son. You can sample half a dozen tracks from the band's Web site at www.titoysusondecuba.com. As is fitting for a traditional band of this size, the guitar, piano melodies and vocals are backed by polyrhythmic percussion and a sassy brass section. Something that appeals to me is Gonzalez's almost conversational tone when taking on the lead vocal. It seems that by adopting a matter-of-fact storytelling mariner,. Gonzalez feels no need to compete with the music but allows it to be the main attraction. The music swings and is oh so catchy, without succumbing to showboating or overly flashy arrangements that can detract from the heart and soul of the music. Tito y su Son de Cuba obviously reveres the music that it performs and if this music does not make you want to shake (or at least move around a bit), I will be extremely concerned about you. 07/01/06
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