I saw the Afro Cuban All Stars tonight which was apart of the Portland Jazz Festival. Their were so many people there and I was happy at the attendance. Since we have had poor attendance at Salsa performances in Portland in the past “Oscar De’Leon & Victor Manuelle”.
The night was opened up by Lilla D’ Mone. She performed a mixture of Reggae, Soul, Funk, & R&B with a great band featuring Patrick Lamb & Ramsey Embick. So after standing around at the Crystal Ballroom it was time for Afro Cuban All Stars.
The band sounded wonderful. The singers were in harmony, the trumpets smashing, the trombones sliding to the rhythm. The piano player played the grand piano as if it had a symphony at his fingertips. The percussionists were tight and played together as if they were telepathically connected. Juan De Marcos conducted the ensemble with his Baton and Guiro as if he was the Latin Duke Ellington. I was so excited to be there to see all the familiar faces from the Salsa and Jazz Scene.
The band got up to play and the sound was driving me crazy. First, Terence Blanchard now this. Ahhhhhhhhhh! You can barely hear the trumpets, and the trombone. The bongo player was louder then the trumpet player trying to solo on a flugelhorn. Is it me, or am I the only one that think Portland has a problem with Quality Sound Engineers. She Rock I’m not talking about you, you know I love you.
Zapoura and I had a great time and were glad that we went. Afterward, we went to Mambo Lounge and saw Cana Son. I sat in on 2 songs to dust off my vacation chops from Hawaii. What a night!
