Since its beginning, Festival Mozaic (best known for its chamber music) has featured an eclectic mix of excellent performers in a variety of genres. And this summer’s season is no exception.
Two recent performances of what could be called “world music” stand out: Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai and the Cuban mambo big band Orquesta Akokán. Both of these outstanding musical artists delighted Central Coast audiences with their playing “from the heart.” As a matter of fact, “Akokán” means “from the heart” in the Yoruba language from Africa, one of those “involuntary imports” during the Spanish Colonial slave era.
Native American Music and Traditional Wisdom
Imagine a clear, sunny sky, with temperatures in the mid-70s and a gentle breeze. Many large trees and greenery all around. A modest-sized but decorative gazebo facing a well-maintained sward. This is what greeted the 300-plus attendees of the concert of nine-time-Grammy-nominated Nakai at the See Canyon Fruit Ranch in Avila on Sunday, July 20.
What better venue could be found for an evening of Native American music and traditional wisdom? Small wonder that the program was sold out.
Nakai told the gathering that for many years he had been a symphonic trumpeter until an accident curtailed his ability to play the instrument. Once he picked up the cedar flute, his life took a turn when he learned to “play from the heart.” Saturday’s concert included a number of improvisational pieces along with a selection of familiar songs from his roughly 50 albums.
Pairing up with master ethnic percussionist Will Clipman (as he has for decades), Nakai treated the audience to a number of sensitive and moving acoustic panoramas, performing on several varieties of indigenous flutes, drums, rattles—judiciously seasoned with subtle electronic enhancements, mainly reverberation and echo-delay.
Clipman’s sonic brushstrokes included instruments such as djembe (an African “talking drum”), cup rattles, finger cymbals, and an udu, an unusual porcelain drum favored by the Igbo people of Nigeria.
Their performance was preceded by an endearing rendition of songs from the local acoustic vocal trio cover band, Rosewood & Honey. Vocalists Jenny Grasseschi and Jessy George, along with vocalist-guitarist Danny Grasseschi, displayed tight harmonies and excellent blend with a series of songs that included covers of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Homeward Bound” and John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery.”
The concert was performed on the ancestral land of the yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini (ytt) Northern Chumash Tribe, and a brief intermission was followed by a welcoming ritual from tribal leader Wendy Lucas, along with members of her family. This truly helped set the mood for Nakai’s event. I use the term “event” because Nakai interspersed his musical improvisations with stories and wise sayings from the Navajo tradition and his own personal history. He even invited the audience to dance, yell and/or make animal noises to join in harmony with nature, which we did.
The trees, birds and squirrels approved.
Leave Your Troubles Outside and Dance
The following Thursday evening, July 24, welcomed a large audience to the opulent, Streamline Moderne-style Fremont Theater in downtown San Luis Obispo for a lively performance of music from the Afro-Cuban Mambo tradition that originated in Cuba in the 1930s.
The upbeat, jazzy sound-canvas of the 12-member Orquesta Akokán, hailing from Cuba and New York, was punctuated by colorful, modulating lighting and a fog-machine. The effects enveloped the crowd with a from-the-heart “leave your troubles outside and DANCE!” atmosphere.
By the end of the evening, what looked like half the audience had taken to the dance floor in front of the stage to sway to the totally infectious beats.
Conductor and arranger Michael Eckroth directed the exuberant ensemble from his digital piano in a variety of works flavored with sounds and spicy rhythms like mambo, cha cha cha and suave.
Highlights included the peppy tenor voice of José “Pepito” Gómez on songs like “Suave, Suave” and “Caracoles,” which he punctuated with a lively guiro. Baritone sax player Evaristo Denis enthralled us with solos covering the full range of the instrument, and percussionists Yuya Rodriguez on congas and Roberto “Tato” Vizcaino on timbales, cowbell and wood block provided the dynamic rhythms that had the dancers begging for more.
All in all, these two musical events provided welcome relief from a day’s trials and tribulations with provocative songs from the heart.