August 27, 2002
Contact: Susan Gwynne
(805) 893-2098
e-mail: gwynne-s@sa.ucsb.edu

The Calle 54 Concert—a scintillating evening of Latin Jazz inspired by the Miramax film—comes to UCSB Campbell Hall

Summary Facts:

• The Calle 54 Concert
• Brings together some of the best artists in Latin jazz
• Inspired by the lauded Fernando Trueba concert film and Grammy-nominated soundtrack
• Legendary Cuban pianist Bebo Valdés
• Brazilian pianist Eliane Elias leads her elegant trio
• Spanish pianist Chano Dominguez leads a fiery flamenco-jazz fusion group
• Wednesday, October 9 / 8 pm
• UCSB Campbell Hall
• General: $40/$35, UCSB students: $19/$16
• Tickets/information: UCSB Arts & Lectures at 893-3535

Nine exciting Latin jazz stars, touring as The Calle 54 Concert after appearing in the lauded Miramax movie from two years ago, will present a thrilling evening of music on Wednesday, October 9 at 8 pm in UCSB Campbell Hall. This performance will illustrate the engaging diversity and enthralling breadth of Latin jazz, from Cuban hardbop to Brazilian samba to Spanish flamenco-jazz fusion. According to his website, Academy Award-winning director (for La Belle Epoque) Fernando Treuba made the film Calle 54 as “my way of repaying a debt of gratitude to Latin jazz—music that has made me enjoy myself and helped me like no other. It discovers in jazz its most noble, jubilant, sophisticated and exuberant expression.” This live concert tour carries on that celebration with the incredibly talented trio of Bebo Valdés, Eliane Elias and Chano Dominguez on piano, Pablo Martin and Marc Johnson on bass, Guillermo McGill on drums, and the flamenco trio of percussionist Israel Suárez, singer Blas Córdoba and dancer Tomás Moreno.

BEBO VALDÉS

A top-notch pianist/composer/arranger, Bebo Valdés (father of pianist Chucho Valdés, whom UCSB Arts & Lectures brings to Campbell Hall on April 6) was the musical director at the famed Tropicana nightclub in Havana in the 1940s. Valdés is considered one of the giants of Cuban music, arranging many recordings, composing mambos and organizing Afro-Cuban jazz jam sessions with all the legends of the era, including Peruchin, Cachao and Benny Moré. Unsympathetic to the revolution, Valdés left Cuba in 1960 for Sweden, departing the world jazz scene. In 1994 Paquito D'Rivera called Valdés out of retirement to record Bebo Rides Again, and he belatedly gained recognition as one of the creators of Cuban jazz. About his most recent CD the Washington Post raved, “El Arte del Sabor (roughly, “The Art of Swing”), is a music history lesson, a heck of a dance record and a musical testament all rolled into one. If sabor could be taught, this would be the textbook.”

ELIANE ELIAS

Labeled “the Diana Krall of Brazil” by the Baltimore City Paper, Eliane Elias exhibited her musical talents early on as she was transcribing Bud Powell and Art Tatum solos by age 12. In the U.S., Elias has recorded or worked with Steps Ahead, Joe Henderson and Herbie Hancock plus her fellow countrymen Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. Considered one of the great interpreters of Antonio Carlos Jobim's music, Elias has starred in numerous “Tribute to Jobim” concerts in recent years, wowing audiences with her silky vocals and impassioned piano playing. The Boston Globe asserts, “Eliane Elias has displayed an uncommonly wide range in her recordings which have featured straight-ahead jazz, classical-influenced solo and duet works and the music of her native country. She has never been less than totally convincing in any style.” Elias will perform in a trio with Marc Johnson on bass and Guillermo McGill on drums.

CHANO DOMINGUEZ

Chano Dominguez is one of the major exponents of piano-based flamenco jazz, infusing the mythical soul or duende of Spain with influences ranging from Paco de Lucia to Thelonious Monk. Although his love for flamenco comes from his parents, Dominguez first came to prominence leading CAI, a leading light of the Andalusian Rock movement in the late 1970s. Since then he has worked with a variety of artists, exploring and extending the flamenco tradition. At the Santa Barbara concert he will be accompanied by frequent collaborators Pablo Martin on bass and Guillermo McGill on drums. His charged and exotic performance also features Israel Suárez, who slaps the rhythm box he sits on for percussion, Blas Córdoba, who sings in the traditionally throaty flamenco style, and dancer Tomás Moreno, whose precise heel-toe movements add yet another vivid rhythm.

On the evening of the performance concertgoers may enhance their experience by attending a tasty Latin American buffet served by the UCSB Faculty Club at 6 p.m. The dinner is $18 per person; reservations must be made by October 2 by calling 893.3096.

The Calle 54 Concert is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures and sponsored by K-LITE 101.7 FM and the Daily Nexus. It is funded in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Tickets are $40 and $35 for the general public and $19 and $16 for UCSB students (limited availability).

For tickets or more information,
call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535.

Editor: For photos, please call
Susan Gwynne at (805) 893-2098.