by the El Reportero’s staff
Ocote Soul Sounds
The 29th Annual San Francisco Jazz Festival ends Dec. 18 so there’s still time to catch some closing performances. Erik Jekabson, a free lance trumpeter who has become a staple of the San Francisco Bay Area jazz community, will remember Chet Baker, one of the coolest jazz musicians of the 1950’s.
Jekabson is a composer and educator with two CDs in the market. The Dec. 8 performance will take place at Amnesia, 853 Valencia Street, 8:30 p.m., admission $5.
Ocote Soul Sound’s arrives to San Francisco
Co-led byMartin Perna and Adrian Quesada, part of Grammy winning Grupo Fantasma, Ocote Soul Sound’s band will arrive to the Bay to warm up December with a promising afrobeat latin performance.
The tour will take the band to 10 cities nationwide, including San Francisco Dec. 10, to promote their fourth and latest studio album, Taurus.
The new production is a funk infused, Afro-Cuban musical achievement. “This time the vibrations are stronger, more muscular and confident ” stated the band. For the musicians the most important part is to continue to build on the pan-Latino rhythms they are known for, and maintaining their cosmic ambiance.
El Reportero readers can enjoy the single “Primavera” on the Internet, by visiting http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6247931/02%20Primavera.mp3 On their December 10 presentation at the Brick & Mortar Music Hall in the city, the band will also play songs like Pirata, Augua Santa, and Cumbia la Magdalena; “the most perfectly syncopated creamy grooves you’ll hear in 2011” according to BLURT, a music reviews website.
The concert is Saturday, Dec. 10 at 9 p.m. For tickets ($10 – $15) and more information go to http://ocotesoul.com.
La Peña presents concert nights
Celebrate a night of vibrant and traditional sounds with gaitas, parrandas, tamboreras and more with the Venezuelan Music Project, on Sat. December 10 at La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley.
The group (a.k.a. VMP), directed by Jackeline Rago, will present Parranda Pa’ Ti 2011, a dynamic performance full of color, energy and vitality. The ensemble combines Indigenous-Venezuelan, Spanish-European and West African influences.
The group is one of few performances with Venezuelan music roots to be found in the Bay Area, founded in 1997 by the musical director Jackeline Rubio, VMP puts together engaging and entertaining shows.
VMT will perform Dec. 10 at 8:30 p.m. Tickets from $15- $18. For more information go to lapena.org or call (510) 849-2568 ext. 17.
