Poppa E is a bad motherfucker. Find out for yourself every Wednesday night at Casa Panza, where he has a residency, and he and his band play three or more sets of jazz, blues, and R&B songs you already know the words to.
Some people might think it's strange to put a blues night in a Little Havana venue famed for its raucous Flamenco parties, but owner Ernesto, a rock musician born in Cuba says, "When people come to this country, they gotta learn cultural values and spread them too. Music is the only way to take down barriers, because music is universal." Casa Panza looks like a Medieval Spanish tavern, full of history and memorabilia. They've got 20 years on SW 8th Street and six Best Of Miami titles.
Back in 1971 Poppa E would spend 15 hours a day in the studio with Ike and Tina Turner doing session work for their record. He also worked with Bill Withers, Motown West, other labels, and toured in a band. "We'd do nine shows a week for five weeks in a row, take two weeks off, and do it again, and that was just to pay rent." Nowadays Poppa E plays four to five shows a week, and toured 60 days last year, not bad for a dude that's 60 years old.
Poppa E and The E Band every Wednesdays at Casa Panza. Cover $5; for more information vist myspace.com/blackowlmusicmiami.
