A family-led operation, the Machito Orchestra was established in 1939 and continues to attract some of the best-known musicians in Latin jazz. The New York-based group comes to town on Thursday, January 15 in a celebratory mood. The show pays homage to three departed legends of the genre: the Machito Orchestra's founder and conductor, Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo (Machito), and the great percussion icon of the genre, Tito Puente.
The searing sounds from the Knight Concert Hall stage will also form an
unstated tribute to Mario Bauza, Machito's brother-in-law and the
ensemble's original music director. From 1941 to 1976, Bauza wisely
insisted that Machito hire jazz arrangers for tunes like "Blen, Blen,
Blen" and "Dejame Explicar." Current music director and bandleader
Mario Grillo, Machito's son, continues the orchestra's jazz traditions
and has developed a sound that is as effortless as it is intricate.
The supporting cast, too, is star-studded. Among the players in the
night's lineup are trumpeters "Chocolate" Armenteros and Arturo
Sandoval, timbalero Orestes Vilato, flutists Nestor Torres and Dave
Valentin, percussionist Sammy Figueroa, and singer Albita.
The
night won't be all high art, though. Vocal numbers will likely
showcase, for example, the fondness that many Latin lyricists hold for
tropical root vegetables. (Only the most innocent of souls, or perhaps
a stray botanist in the audience, could miss the double entendres).
It's well, however, not to be overly distracted by any coy sexual
references, nor by the star-shine of the Miami-based, heavy-hitting
Latin jazz guests. Let's remember that this orchestra traces a direct
lineage to Machito and his Afro-Cubans, one of the first ensembles
anywhere to fuse Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz improvisation. And that's
what this party is really all about.
Friday, January 16. The
Knight Concert Hall at the Adrienne Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd.,
Miami. Show starts at 8 p.m.; tickets cost $25 - $125. 305-949-6722,
www.arshtcenter.com.
-- Andres Solar
