A latin jazz epiphany at The Jazz/Latino All-Stars Tribute to Mongo Santamaria

I’ve written in the past, on this space and others, about my reluctance and apprehension towards jazz music. While I can appreciate some of the livelier aspects that crop up out of dixieland jazz and other forms in and around New Orleans, for the most part I’m not drawn to it. I can appreciate its place for the most part, but have a hard time swallowing attempts to force it into contemporary listening habits.

I’ve been proven wrong on more than one occasion, and that happened again on Saturday night I had the pleasure of getting my first full-fledged exposure to Latin Jazz through the “Ahora! Latin/Jazz” program “All Stars Tribute to Mongo Santamaria” at Union College‘s Emerson Auditorium, which further exposed me to modifications of the form that I can not only tolerate, but appreciate and become fully engrossed in.

I suppose what appealed to me about the performance was its visceral nature. The percussive elements drive the pieces, and even the other instruments strike their notes with strength and determination. The result is something that bursts with life and shakes the listener into consciousness, inviting even the stiffest members of the crowd to hoot and holler with each successive stanza and solo.

The show was a tribute to famed Afro-Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaria, who throughout the 1960s and 1970s transformed Latin Jazz by fusing elements of R&B and soul. The All-Stars, led by trumpeter Ray Vega, performed mostly songs of Santamaria’s that have become Latin Jazz standards, opening with perhaps his most famous piece, “Afro Blue.” There were also other pieces, such as the Vega original “Bebop Mongo,” that served as a tribute to the man in both name and presentation.

In between songs, members of the group shared their memories of Mongo, their first exposure to his music, and in some cases their time playing with the man himself. Ray Vega, who toured with Mongo from 1988 through 1992, shared his insights into the man and his music, even providing a look into his personality with an impersonation that highlighted his enthusiasm and pronounced lisp. On the whole, though, the evening was more a celebration of the music than a tribute to the man, which is as it should be.

At one point, Vega spoke of the musical guidance he received from Mongo and mentioned him in the company of others like Tito Puente who have been lost in recent years. In his speech he mourned their loss for the void it left in the mentorship of other Jazz musicians and inferred it wouldn’t be filled. I understand his lament but disagree with the tone of the sentiment. The style of music played was a culmination of styles that was and is unique to the 20th Century. The natural order of things is that forms come and go. They can be celebrated through continuance and performance, but those moments and breakthroughs cannot be recreated and maintained at the same level. If they were, then art in our culture would truly become stagnant, adrift, formulaic and inconsequential. It is unfortunate, but also inevitable. The best we can do is not mourn the passing of these men and their time, but rather celebrate that they once lived and thrived.

Accentuating my point, the music started back up and all sense of loss was dissipated by the organic rhythms that permeated through the Emerson Auditorium’s wonderful acoustics. It didn’t find my ears so much as travelled through my body, taking up residence in the pit of my stomach and leaving a note that read “Mongo was here.”

—–

The “Ahora, Latin/Jazz!” 2011 season is presented by Jazz/Latino, Inc. The celebration continues on June 3rd with “A Tribute to Noro Morales” at 7:30pm in the Emerson Auditorium at Union College, featuring performances by Rebecca Cline and Nicki Denner. The season concludes on June 10th with “Latin Jazz: The Untold Story” on June 10th and features videos, music, and spoken word performances hosted and curated by Dr. Jose E. Cruz at 831 Jay St. in Albany. For more information on these and other events, please visit JazzLatino.org.