Sue Miller joined the audience at the London's Barbican for Eliades Ochoa in Concert. Support came from the London Lucumi choir led by its creator Daniela Rosselson and Cuban singer and dancer Martha Galarraga with a bata drum ensemble led by Dave Pattman.
Cuban traditional music is incredibly rich with a diversity of styles from Son to Rumba to Chachachá, Mambo, Danzón and Bolero, as Eliades said before launching into a bolero half way through his set of customary Cuban Son numbers, with a cheeky aside that this bolero 'Junto a ti' is usually used as a soundtrack for lovers but that the audience would need to wait until after the concert if they wanted to do likewise! In many ways the first support act by the community London Lucumi choir was very different to his Cuban Son music, being a presentation of Afro-Cuban religious songs to the Orishas (saints) from the Yoruba and Dahomey traditions. Yet the connection between these genres lies in the interplay between the spiritual and secular in Cuban music, where call and response are at the heart of everything.
In fact Eliades has a conversational style all of his own that makes a large auditorium like the Barbican seem like an intimate gig at Santiago de Cuba's Casa de la Tradición. A consummate storyteller with his engaging vocals and guitar solos he talks about his music in Spanish and still manages to connect with the whole audience in a relaxed and confident manner.
His red-shirted band started the proceedings off with the percussionist striking up a solo groove to be shortly joined on stage by Eglis Ochoa on maracas, followied by José Angel Martínez on bass, a very smiley rhythm guitarist, a pianist (a new addition to the band's line-up) and two trumpet players playing fiery mambos until Eliades took to the stage dressed in black to strike up the first number 'Llora mi Nena'.
"as they say in Cuba 'no hay dos' (there's no one like him)"
More great Son tunes ensued such as 'Ay Papacito', 'Estoy Como Nunca', 'El Carretero', 'Pintate los Labios Maria' and 'Caminito de Sassa'. His guitar solo on 'Estoy Como Nunca' opened in a similar way to the one recorded on the album of the same name but then took a new direction that was motivic and conversational in style but which nevertheless built up in density and energy in a seemingly effortless manner. His vocals combined the coolness of a third person narrative with experience and passion. His voice is so distinctive you immediately recognize it as his when you hear it on record - as they say in Cuba 'no hay dos' (there's no one like him).
With his 'monte a dentro' improvised 'pregones' and his playful, rhythmic and melodic guitar soloing he remained the focus of attention on stage despite great support from his band with their climactic solos and great showmanship towards the end of the set.
That said Eglis Ochoa's voice blends beautifully with Eliades's voice and that man's maraca playing is up there with the Orishas! When Eliades's guitar string broke at one point in the performance there were a few tuning problems that were rectified in a no fuss way as he plucked on the offending string in a rhythmic fashion until the tuning was re-adjusted. Lamenting the lack of dancing space the audience were encouraged to stand up and dance to a joyous rendition of 'Arrimate Pacá' (Come closer to me) followed by Buena Vista Social Club favourite 'Candela'.
For the first encore we were treated to a playful guaracha 'La Gallina o el Huevo' (Which came first the chicken or the egg?) and as the standing ovation continued the crowd were given 'Guantanamera' as a second encore as Eliades wanted the audience to join in singing this well known tune. This guy likes audience participation just like the conversational music he plays -that is, music that is connected to all humanity and in his own words goes out to 'La Grande Familia' of Cuban music lovers all over the world.
Eliades Ochoa appears at WOMAD 2009
Review by Sue Miller
