Last night I dreamt of Havana. They were dreams of kickin’ back on a beach-front cobblestone street, sipping a Cuba libre, smoking a cigar and grooving along to some smooth Afro-Cuban rhythms as the sun set over the ocean. Of course, being dead broke and suffocating under my weight’s worth of assignments means the prospects of getting myself over to the Caribbean anytime soon is highly unlikely. Thankfully, a little taste of Cuba was brought to Melbourne care of the Melbourne International Jazz Festival.
Chucho Valdés and the Afro-Cuban Messengers performed to an almost totally packed house last night at the spectacular Hamer Hall. At 71 years old, Chucho Valdes is one of Cuba’s most celebrated musicians, having won a handful of Grammys in his extensive career. Chucho brought his signature combination of classic Latin jazz, Cuban folk and astonishing, technical piano to the stage in a purple suede suit, oozing effortless Caribbean cool. By his side were the Afro-Cuban messengers, with Gaston Joya taking on the double bass, Rodney Barreto on drum kit, Yaroldy Abreu Robles on the congas and Dreiser Durruty Bambole on traditional Cuban drum the 'bata'.
The ensemble brought a liveliness and gusto to the performance, but Chucho always took the lead, propelling songs forth with his agile fingers working the piano, occasionally slowing down to perform some gentle, more classic jazz before the Latin grooves would emerge all over again and those hands were moving faster than what would seem physically possible. The second half featured a lot more groove-based tunes, punctuated by jazzy, mellow interludes between the all-out jams.
Naturally, the highlights of the night came about toward the end, as the lighting took on an orange and blue hue, really giving fuel to my vivid Cuban imaginaries. Gentle piano echoed around the silent hall, before the percussionists kicked in to gear and built up into exuberant Latin-jazz at its finest. A standing ovation lead to the inevitable encore, at which point one of the ensemble members took it upon himself to try to get the 2000-plus crowd to clap to a complex Latin rhythm (note: us Aussies need to learn to hold a beat). This final banger was an undeniable ode to the musical roots of their home country, with the whole ensemble really getting into their groove and busting out some salsa-esque. Mambo jives as the energy lifted the roof off – there were even somersaults across the stage!
Even high up in the balcony seats people were squirming in their seats; some fighting the urge to get up and join them while others embraced it whole-heartedly, standing up, shimmying and pulling their best Latin moves! I may have been watching the spectacle from afar and alone, but somehow these musicians managed to pull a huge crowd into a sense that we were not merely spectators paying a hefty price tag for a hugely prominent performer, but that we were part of it all. I still wish I’d been witnessing it in a Tropicana-night club the way it was originally intended, but I guess this will suffice for now.
