Concert Review: Buena Vista Social Club, Luminaries Of Cuban Music In Durham

 

Done wowing Europe on their farewell tour, the Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club is several weeks in on the North American leg of the Adios Tour. Having soaked and stored up the sheer wonderfulness that is the Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club last night, October 26, at the Durham Performing Arts Center as part of the Duke Performances 2015-2016 season by way of Duke University’s performing arts program, I can only sigh and wish for another fix of this gold standard of Cuban music.

It was clear upon arriving last night that the concert was sold out so I didn’t need to have one of the staff tell a hopeful arrival that there wasn’t a single ticket left. With just a few dates left, I would guess that anyone still without a ticket will have to stand outside and look horribly pitiful or lay on some serious obsequious patter to those with an extra one.

Providing the backbone of the ensemble are tres player Papi Oviedo, double bassist Pedro Pablo, pianist Rolando Luna, vocalist and percussionist Idania Valdes, vocalist Carlos Calunga, bongo player Alberto La Noche, timbales player Filiberto Sanchez, conga player Coayo and trumpeter Luis Alemany. That would certainly have fans begging for more, especially with flashy bassist Mr. Pablo, the simply stunning work of Mr. Luna and the vocal riches brought by the curvy deliciousness of Ms. Valdes and the charismatic Mr. Calunga, but this tour features some of the luminaries of Cuban music made famous by the 1997 recording with Juan de Marcos Gonzalez and Ry Cooder on the World Circuit label and the 1999 Wim Wenders documentary capturing the group in performance in Amsterdam in 1998. Those luminaries featured vocalist Omara Portuondo, vocalist and guitarist Eliades Ochoa, trumpeter Guajiro Mirabal, laud player Barbarito Torres and the current director of Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club, vocalist and trombonist Jesus “Aguaje” Ramos, ramped up the talent and energy to a feverish pitch so much so that one could feel the electricity in the audience.

 

 

Fortunately, past talents behind the Buena Vista Social Club were also in attendance by way of series of revolving photographs run on a screen overhead that included pianist Ruben Gonzalez, vocalist Manuel “Puntillita” Licea, vocalist and tres player Compay Segundo, vocalist Ibrahim Ferrer, vocalist Pio Leyva, double bassist Orlando “Cachaito” Lopez, percussionist Anga Diaz and guitarist Manuel Galban. It was more than just a sweet tribute, but a testament to the riches brought about those who had a hand in musical history of Cuba and the Buena Vista Social Club.

Led by Mr. Ramos, the ensemble works its way through a couple of numbers before Eliades Ochoa appears on stage in his signature hat and electrifies the audience, especially with the favorite “Chan Chan,” but it is when Ms. Portuondo takes the stage that party really begins. Full of an irrepressible energy, despite a little trouble walking, this slip of a woman has a voice that simply took over the space and mesmerized the audience. So enthralled, we were all a little surprised when she had the audience join her for “Besame Mucho.”

 

 

Filled with the richness of the Cuban sound, taken over by the need to clap along, the Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club sings, plays and dances, including the shamelessly flirty Ms. Portuondo, astonished, dazzled, hypnotized, stupefied and generally bowled over the audience. Treated to a couple’s dance with Ms. Portuondo and her husband and tres player Mr. Oviedo, some interplay between singer Mr. Calunga and laud player Mr. Torres (who can play the laud behind his back) and some group number, this ensemble is worth any amount of begging, pleading or blackmailing you’d have to do to get a seat at one of the few remaining concerts before the Adios Tour ends.