Live music and stuff in Las Palmas, July 2024

This is what we’ve seen in July. Sketches and photos by Tamara.

• 3 July: «Ecos de Canarias y Piazzolla» @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles, Calle Benito Pérez Galdós, 4, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  Trío Gabriel Rodó featuring Ana Marrero (piano), Liliana Mesa Montané (violin) and Berenice Musa (soprano).

  

• 5 July: Sofar concert @ Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno (CAAM), Calle de los Balcones, 9
  This is the very first time I went to a Sofar event and loved it, even at the cost of missing the last part of Spain—Germany football game. Featuring Kimera, Shango Dely and Nala Rami; each band played for about 30 minutes.

• 6 July: «Iron Modvm» @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas
  A show by the Barcelona-based company Iron Skulls, plus some guest breakdance battles.

  

• 7 July: «De la ópera al jazz» @ Sala Gabriel Rodó
  The concert by La Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Conductor: Pedro Vicente Alama. Soloist: Aitor Llimerá Galduf (oboe). Called “from opera to jazz”, it’s probably better described by “from Bach to Gershwin”.

  

• 10 July: «Orpheus» @ Sala Gabriel Rodó
  A live cinema event where Insectotròpics (Barcelona) reinterpret the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice by reviewing the concepts of love, life and death via the virual reality glasses. With guest (on-screen) appearance of Mr. B., Mr. G., Mr. M. and Mr. Z.

  

• 11 July: «Los Pfeiffer» @ Sala Gabriel Rodó
  A show by La Troupe Malabó (Castellón) featuring Laura Agustí (violin, soprano), Quique Montoya (clown), Mae Puchalt (violin), Sonia Tabares (viola) and Alberto Zente (cello).

  

• 12 July: «R.E.M.» @ Sala Gabriel Rodó
  A show by La Trócola Circ (Alicante).

  

• 13 July: «Invitación a la danza» @ Terminal de Contenedores del Muelle de La Luz (Grupo Boluda)
  Music by Tchaikovsky (Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake), Prokofiev (Romeo and Juliet), Johann Strauss (Voices of Spring, Czardas), plus encores: Aquarela do Brasil and Cancan, performed by La Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria. Conductor: Karel Mark Chichon. Dancers: Sae Maeda and Harris Bell, The Royal Ballet.

  

• 19 July: «Ovvio» @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos
  I saw this show by Kolektiv Lapso Cirk some five years ago in Santander and thoroughly enjoyed it. But I can’t be in two places at the same time. So Tamara and Timur went to see Ovvio and I went to see Rubén Rodríguez.



• 19 July: Notas de Verano en Colón: Rubén Rodríguez @ Casa de Colón, Calle Colón, 1
  A concert of the Canarian singer-songwriter Rubén Rodríguez (guitar, vocals) accompanied by Abraham Ramos (timple).

  

• 19 July: «Echassiers du Togo» @ Parque Doramas
  A fantastic performance by the Togolese stilt-walkers collective Afuma.

  

• 19 July: Sylphes @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  An incredibly beautiful aerial ballet from Italy provided a fitting closure of this year’a TEMUDAS Fest.

  

Three double bills from 33^rd Canary Islands Jazz Festival:

• 25 July: Perinké Big Band & Adédèji @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  Perinké Big Band led by Ximo Martínez presented their show Fiebre de Mambo feauring vocals of Marieme Herrera and Sofiel del Pino.

  

  Adédèji is an Afro-beat band from Nigeria featuring Adédèjì Adetayo (guitars, lead vocals), Ebun Arowosegbe (vocals), Mary Sobowale (vocals, violin), Abiodun ‘Wura’ Oke (percussion), Oluwasegun Adebuyi (bass), Ralph Lasisi (tenor sax), Victor Ademofe (trumpet), Samuel Obinna (drums) and Samuel Olawale (keyboards). I should have stayed longer for that one!
• 26 July: Theo Croker & Ana Popovic @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  Theo Croker (trumpet) accompanied by Idris Frederik (piano, keyboards), Miguel Marcel Russell (drums) and Eric Wheeler (double bass); Ana Popovic (guitar, vocals) with Claudio Giovagnoli (sax), Davide Ghidoni (trumpet), Corey LaDell Burns (bass), Michele Papadia (keyboards) and Jeremy Thomas (drums, vocals).
• 27 July: Jonathan Kreisberg Quartet & Polo Ortí New Project @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  Jonathan Kreisberg (electric guitar), Marko Churnchetz (piano), Luca Alemanno (double bass) and Colin Stranahan (drums); Polo Ortí (piano, keyboards), Chipi Chacón (trumpet), Samuel Kèri (electric bass) and Naíma Acuña (drums).

And an exhibition:

• 25 July — 16 August: «Exposición Gran Canaria de Series de Obra Gráfica 2023» @ Centro de Artes Plásticas (CAP), Calle Colón, 8
  ...where you can see some engravings by Tamara.

  

All the events listed here were free of charge apart from «Invitación a la danza» which cost €15 a ticket.

Free live music and stuff in Las Palmas, March 2023

This month began on a cold side...

• 8 March: «Ellas. Mujeres que cantan a mujeres» @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles, Calle Benito Pérez Galdós, 4, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  The trio of Magdalena Padilla (vocals), Andrea Baez (piano, guitar) and Gema Barragán (bass guitar, violin). The highlights included Andante, Andante, Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend and Rozalén’s anthem La Puerta Violeta.

  

• 11 March: «Bahía» @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas
  The amazing Cuban cellist, composer and singer Ana Carla Maza presented her new album Bahía. With Marc Ayza (drums), Luis Guerra (Percussion) and Norman Peplow (piano).

• 15 March: Quinteto DViento @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles
  From Baroque music to ragtime, with Marta Bautista (double bass), Carolina Marrero (flute), Gladys Pérez Molina (flute), Paulina Niemczycka (flute) and Abraham Ramos Sanchez (guitar).

  

• 16 March: Maureen Choi @ Teatro Guiniguada, Plaza F. Mesa de León
  A masterclass of jazz violin, organised by Mousikê La Laguna.

• 22 March: Bjazz @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles
  Now as a quartet featuring Samantha de León (double bass), Silvia Jiménez Hernández (trumpet, vocals), Amelia Gutiérrez (drums) and Sun-Young Park (piano).

  

• 25 March: Happy Piano Day in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, various locations (11:30—22:00)
  The fifth edition of Happy Piano Day in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria had about 40 sessions in 10 locations around the city, plus a “mobile point” in a form of city bus (line 17, Auditorio—Teatro). Timur and I went to Parque San Telmo, mostly to see Jose Alberto Medina and Javier Infante. Also, we caught the last bits of performance of Mingo Roque and Luis Moreno; then I stayed after 5 pm to listen to Samuel Labrador.
• 25 March: «Una noche entre boleros» @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas
  Later the same day, I went to Parque Doramas to see this show featuring Mara Pérez, Ángeles Pérez and Dunia Pérez (vocals) and Argelia Quesada (narration), accompanied by Misael Pérez (double bass), Daniel Gil (trumpet), Cristian Hernández (piano), Jorge Soroa (percussion) and Ricardo Yagüe (guitar).

• 27 March: Takeo Takahashi Quartet «Jazz para Hokusai» @ Paraninfo de La Universidad de Las Palmas, Calle Juan de Quesada, 30
  This was the sakuranbo on top of the opening day of the International Week of Japan. The quartet played three compositions inspired by works of Katsushika Hokusai: Sparrows and Wisteria, Ejiri in Suruga Province and Feminine Wave. Featuring Cristóbal Montesdeoca (piano), Tana Santana (double bass), Takeo Takahashi (drums) and Jose Vera Bello (sax, flute).

  

• 29 March: Beatriz Alonso Trio @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles
  The last concert of the cycle «Marzo con M de mujer», with Beatriz Alonso (vocals), Javier Cerpa (guitar) and Carlos Meneses (double bass).

  

• 31 March: Festival de Artes Marciales & Ceremonia de Té @ Campus del Obelisco, Calle de Pérez del Toro, 1
  Closing the International Week of Japan, there was a demonstration of martial arts: judo (Antonio Pérez), karate (Sergio Sanjuán), jujitsu (Martín Suárez), aikido (Víctor Pulido), shorinji kempo (Paco Brito) and ninjitsu (Ricardo Atik), followed by a tea ceremony (María J. Quintana).

...and now it’s almost a heatwave. I hope it won’t get much hotter in April.

Free live music in Las Palmas, March 2022

I didn’t see as much as I wanted this month but hey, I saw something.

• 17 March: Lucía Rey @ Teatro Guiniguada, Plaza F. Mesa de León, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  Another masterclass organised by Mousikê.

• 26 March: Happy Piano Day in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, various locations (11:30—22:00)
  The fourth (already!) Happy Piano Day in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria had 66 sessions in 12 locations around the city. I went to Plaza Hurtado de Mendoza, aka Plaza de Las Ranas, to hear Ignacio Fauri at 13:00. When I arrived, there was still a long queue of students of Conservatorio Profesional de LPGC wishing to contribute their bits of art, so Ignacio’s slot was delayed by a quarter an hour. It was worth waiting for though, even on an out-of-tune piano.

  

• 26 March: «Amor y despedida» @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas
  En-cantadoras, a vocal ensemble from Gran Canaria and Tenerife, opened the 2022 Musicando season presenting their new album Amor y despedida. The highlights included Añoranza by Luis Enrique, Cumbia del Mole by Lila Downs and Raíz by Pedro Guerra.

  

And that was it for March.

Free live music in Las Palmas, May 2021

There are twelve months in all the year, As I hear many men say, But the merriest month in all the year Is the merry month of May.

Folk ballad

The state of alarm ended on 9^th of May, and with it many annoying restrictions, such as the nighttime curfew. We went to see live music every single weekend!

• 1 May: La Local Jazz Band + Tributo Chick Corea @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  What I have misinterpreted, at the moment of ordering the tickets, as Tribute to Chick Corea by La Local Jazz Band, turned out to be a fabulous double bill:
  1. La Local Jazz Band presenting their new album Paisajes sonoros: Miqui Delgado (piano), Samantha de León (double bass), Ernesto Montenegro (trumpet), Miguel Ramírez (sax) and Suso Vega (drums).
  2. Jaume Vilaseca Trio with Jaume Vilaseca (keyboards), Ramón Díaz (drums) and Dick Them (bass) presenting their tribute to Chick Corea.
  Altogether the two concerts lasted for almost three hours.

• 2 May: Joven Borondón Big Band feat. Joan Chamorro and Elia Bastida @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos
  The concert started with Trio featuring Èlia Bastida (violin), Joan Chamorro (double bass) and José Alberto Medina (piano), the continued with Joven Borondón Big Band. Joan Chamorro was directing a few songs and then joining on sax. (You can watch the complete performance here, here, here, and here.) This concert concluded the LPA International Jazz Day, a four-day-long celebration of the International Jazz Day in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

  

• 8 May: Bohemia Lanzarote «Inmarcesible» @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos
  A 12-strong band led by Juanma Padrón presented a mix of folk songs and Latin and Spanish standards such as Gracias a la Vida, Orgullecida, Mediterráneo, Candela, Ojalá que llueva café...

• 13 May: Trinidad Jiménez @ Teatro Guiniguada, Plaza F. Mesa de León
  Another masterclass organised by Mousikê La Laguna. I don’t know how it is for the teachers who normally perform the same evening but for the attendees 4:30 pm is not the best time. I have to confess that I even briefly fell asleep during the class. Sorry, Trinidad!

• 15 May: Fabiola Trujillo «La flor de la canela» @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos
  In her new programme, Ms Trujillo, accompanied by Daniel García, Juan Carlos Sierra, Luis Montesdeoca and Ivanoff Rodríguez, revisited the repertoire of the great María Dolores Pradera, with songs like La flor de la canela, Milonga Sentimental, Ojalá que te vaya bonito, María la Portuguesa and, quite unexpectedly, very much Canarian Palmero, Sube a La Palma.

• 22 May: Cantadores @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos
  Like Bohemia Lanzarote, Tenerife-based Cantadores (formed in 2008 as Jóvenes Cantadores, obviously not as young now) presented a mixed bag of folk and Latin standards of which, in my opinion, the best were cumbias: La Piragua by José Barros, A Dios le Pido and La Gota Fría.

• 26 May: Concierto Extraordinario Día de Canarias @ Edificio Miller, Parque Santa Catalina
  La Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, conducted by Daniel Abad Casanova, with special guest Germán López (timple). The programme included:

  Alvamar Overture Nuevos Tiempos * Malagueña Embrujada * Muelle Viejo † Chipude * Arizona Nana Para Jar † De Isla a Isla * A Punto de Nieve * Folías † Nunca Me Iré de Aquí — with Ana Gil (vocal) Isa del Parralito * — with Javier Montero (cajón) Los Cuatro Gigantes * * Soloist: Germán López (timple) † Duet Germán López (timple) and Augusto Báez (piano)

• 29 May: Toñín Corujo Quartet «Raíz» @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas
  What was advertised as “Toñín Corujo Quartet” turned out to be a 11-piece band featuring Toñín Corujo (timple), Carlos Pérez (sax, flute, keyboards), Yarel Hernández (bass), Israel Curbelo (keyboards, cajón), Tony Cantero (guitar), Alex Jiménez (drums), Sergey Saprychev (percussion), Domingo Corujo (lapas, timple, guitar), Almudena Hernández, Ciro Corujo and Rubén Fariñas (vocals).

Bring on June!

Free live music and stuff in Las Palmas, February 2020

Here are some free events that I attended this month:

• 5 February: David Quevedo & Ensemble Salvaje @ Paraninfo de La Universidad de Las Palmas, Calle Juan de Quesada, 30, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  The last event of Festival en paralelo that Timur and I were able to attend (it was free but one had to pick up the tickets beforehand, and I know people who weren’t so lucky).

  The programme included

  • Llamada Tribal (David Quevedo)
  • Intro Salvaje (David Quevedo)
  • Advenimiento (David Quevedo)
  • Excuses (Manuel Bonino)
  • Wild Wild Hip Hop (Tana Santana)
  • Todo Lo Que Te Propongas (Ernesto Mateo)
  • La Ceremonia (Mario Ferrer Medina)
  • Sr. Castaño (Luis Merino)
  • Trance (Giulia Valle, arr. Toni Vaquer)
  • Folías Calmas (David Quevedo)
  • Blues Saljaje (David Quevedo)
  • Interludio para Cello y Violín (Manuel Bonino)
  • Mestizarama V.A. (David Quevedo)

  The band featured:

  Toni Vaquer (conductor), Esther Ovejero, Errol Woiski (vocals), Kino Ait Idrissen (gimbri, vocals), David Quevedo, Manuel Bonino, Ernesto Mateo (piano), Tana Santana (double bass, rap), Tom Warburton (double bass), José Carlos Cejudo (electric bass), Luis Merino (guitar), Germán López (timple), Javi Montero (drums), “Mayin” Mario Ferrer Medina, José Carlos Cubas, Nasim López-Palacios (percussion), Ana Muñoz, Carlos Alemán, Carlos López, Gustavo Montesdeoca, Ana Gil, Jairo Cabrera, Ernesto Aurignac, Kike Perdomo, Gabriel Domínguez, Juan Domingo Travieso (woodwinds), Rubén Guerrero, Abimael Ojeda, Matthew Simon, Idafe Pérez, Josep Tutusaus, Yossi Itskovich, Óscar Sanitso (brass), David Ballesteros, Matej Osap, Liliana Montané, Elisabeth Hernández, Laura Espino, Beatriz Nuez, Ismel Leal, Elena Mederos, David Cáceres, Juan Pablo Alemán, Caterina Trujillo and Miguel Ángel Gómez (strings).
• 6 February: Quiana Lynell @ Auditorio Alfredo Kraus, Avda. Príncipe de Asturias
  Before playing two dates with Perinké Big Band, Ms Lynell gave a masterclass of jazz vocal which, I think, was useful for instrumentalists too although none of them had a chance to jam (unlike, say, Aubrey Logan’s masterclass last year). There was a moment of embarrassment when in the end of the class Quiana asked “Well, who is coming to the show?” and apprently nobody in the audience was going to. “See you tonight maybe?” she tried again hopefully but then Ximo Martínez, the musical director of Perinké Big Band, attempted to save the situation by announcing that both shows are sold out, which made the moment even more embarrassing.
• 7 February — 4 March: Leonardo Da Vinci. Observa, cuestiona, experimenta @ Parque de San Telmo
  Although there are no original works of Leonardo, I found this fun interactive exhibition well worth 30 minutes of my life.
• 8 February: Carmen París “En síntesis” @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas
  Accompanied by Diego Ebbeler (piano) and Jorge Tejerina (percussion, vocals), Carmen París brought her inimitable fusion of jota, bolero, cha-cha-cha, Candombe, jazz etc. etc. with hits such as Cuerpo triste, Distancia espeluznante and Mucho Ringo-Rango. Half-way through Guaraní, the power went off but the trio continued unplugged as if nothing had happened.

• 21 February: Exposición Multiculturalidad @ Centro Cívico Suárez Naranjo, Calle Pamochamoso 34
  With the participation of Coro del Distrito Centro del Ayuntamiento de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the African Percussion workshop (including yours truly; however, we played just one African song together with a choir) and the Tango workshop.
  

• 25 February: Juanes @ Parque Santa Catalina
  After a gloomy weekend, with many Carnival events cancelled across Canaries thanks to calima, the Mardi Gras Martes de Carnaval celebrations went as planned, culminating with Juanes’ concert in Santa Catalina, attended by some 30,000 revellers. The place was absolutely packed and for a good reason. Starting with A Dios le Pido all way through Bonita, La Camisa Negra, La Paga, Volverte a Ver, Yerbatero and so on, finishing with La Luz.

Come on, let’s have Spring already.

Theatre and live music in and around Valencia, July 2019

A lot is going on in Valencia and suburbs — I wish I had more time to go around!

• 5 July: Barana Teatre @ Parc de l’hort del Comte d’Albalat, Albalat dels Sorells, Valencia
  A local mime trio presenting Mut! (“Mute!”). My favourite sketches featured rude flight assistants distributing newspapers and a chainsaw guy unsuccessfully trying to scare (also local) children running around the lawn.
• 6 July: Sés, Tesa, Amparanoia, Miss Bolivia & Tremenda Jauría @ Jardines de Viveros
  I went to this concert mainly to see Amparanoia. It turned out to be a seven-plus-hours-long celebration of feminist bands which I thoroughly enjoyed, although I wish it were less dominated by rap. Galician folk/rock/blues singer Sés (María Xosé Silvar) was a real discovery.
• 7 July: Abbas Cantadas @ Espai Cultural, Albalat dels Sorells
  Originally planned to be staged in the patio of the Castle of Albalat, it was moved to Espai Cultural because of the torrential rain. And a good thing too, for I was able to see the most of it after the movie (something I wouldn’t be able to do if the show started as scheduled). The Valencian a cappella group Octàmbuli presented the songs of ABBA as I (and probably you) never heard before. Featuring María Tamarit (soprano), Araceli Batalla (soprano), Sara Lliso (contralto), Aida Correia (contralto), Sergi Bosch (tenor), Javi Piquer (tenor), Miguel Ángel Ariza (baritone) and Agus Casanova (bass).

• 19 July: Borriana Big Band @ Parc de l’hort del Comte d’Albalat
  A big band led by saxophonist Juanjo Carratalà featuring young Cuban singer Dayana Emma (singing effortlessly in Valencian). A group of elderly ladies behind me provided additional entertainment in form of non-stop chatter and comments such as “¡Muy bien!”, “¡Otra valenciana!”, “¡por Dios!” and so on. I took it that they approved of the music.
• 27 July: Carolina Araoz @ Nazaret, Valencia
  The XXIII Festival de Jazz de València, of which I saw surprisingly little this year, for the first time arrived to the neighbourhood of Nazaret (Natzaret in Valencian). According to Wikipedia, the name of this barrio has nothing to do with the Palestinian city of Nazareth but is a corruption of a Valencian word llatzeret (lazaret), i.e. hospital for contagious patients. Such hospital indeed existed here since 1720, although by now no physical trace of it has left. In any case, this concert was an historical event. The Peruvian musician Carolina Araoz (saxophones and vocals) was accompanied by Ivan Cebrian (guitar), Aliya Cycon (backing vocals, oud), Patrick Duke Graney (percussion), Sergio Martínez (percussion), Eve Matin (backing vocals, harp), Ricardo Osorno (double bass) and Albert Sanz (keyboards).

Looking forward to more live music in August...

Free live music in Las Palmas, June 2019

Some amazing musical events took place in June — many at the same time, so I was able to see but a fraction.

• 1 June: Islazz @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  Yul Ballesteros & Friends, a true Canarian jazz “supergroup” closed this Musicando season presenting Islazz, a cycle of eight compositions dedicated to the islands of our archipelago: Fuerteventura, El Hierro, Gran Canaria, La Gomera, La Graciosa, La Palma, Lanzarote and Tenerife. Featuring Juan Bosco Arencibia (trombone), Yul Ballesteros (guitar), Jose Carlos Cubas (percussion), Sebastián Gil Armas (trumpet), José Alberto Medina (piano), Gustavo Navarro (theorbo), Gladys Pérez Molina (flute), Yone Rodríguez Monzón (timple), Tana Santana (bass), Suso Vega (drums) and Jose Angel Vera (saxophone).

• 4 June: Exsurge Domine @ Casa de Colón, calle Colón, 1
  Part of the cycle Música antigua en el patio, this recital by the Valencian musician Vicent Bru i Soler was dedicated to the composers of the times of Martin Luther and the Counter-Reformation such as Antonio de Cabezón, Arnolt Schlick, Conrad Paumann, Hans Buchner, Hans Kotter, Francisco Correa de Arauxo y Pablo Bruna. Vicent played a beautiful harpsichord, a replica of the 16^th century instrument.
• 6 June: Seamus Blake @ Teatro Guiniguada, Plaza F. Mesa de León
  The last masterclass organised by Mousikê La Laguna before the summer break.
• 7 June: Nancy Fabiola canta a Canarias @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  Every year, to celebrate the foundation of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (the official date is 24 June of 1478), our city celebrates Fiestas fundacionales. This year, they started with the opening speeches by Dania Dévora (I am sure she is a good producer but man it was boring) and then by our mayor, Augusto Hidalgo (shorter and better). The concert, when it finally started, was quite good. Nancy Fabiola Herrera (mezzo-soprano) was accompanied by Orquesta Sinfónica de Las Palmas conducted by Rafael Sánchez-Araña and guest artists Berna Perles (soprano), Enrique Ferrer (tenor), Silvia Gómez Tuñón (soprano), María del Mar Moreno (baile), José María Curbelo (piano) and Leonel Gasso (bandoneon).
• 8 June: Música en el corazón de Vegueta @ various locations (in Vegueta)
  I just learned that this is the fourth year that patios of Vegueta hosting a number of musical events. As for us, we just discovered it this year. Altogether, there were ten patios and two plazas, but we had time to visit just three. Nayaband were playing in the patio of Fundación Juan Negrín (c/Reyes Católicos, 30); Francisco Navarro (marimba and drums) at Ilustre Colegio de Abogados (Plaza de San Agustín) — jolly good building they've got there, the lawyers I mean — and Abraham Ramos (timple) at Casa de la Iglesia (c/Doctor Chil, 17).
• 9 June: Eme Alfonso @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos
  A brilliant Cuban singer-songwriter accompanied by Kiki Ferrer (drums), Santiago Greco (bass), Israel Sandoval (guitar) and Alejandro Vargas (piano).

• 15 June: Robert Jon & The Wreck and Morgane Ji @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos
  A double bill of two very different but equally impressive bands. Blues-rockers from Orange County, California, Robert Jon & The Wreck are Robert Jon Burrison (lead vocal, guitar), Andrew Espantman (drums), Henry James (lead guitar, vocals), Steve Maggiora (keyboards, vocals) and Warren Murrel (bass, vocals). The band’s former guitarist, Kristopher Butcher, defined their sound as “Southern cosmic rock’n’soul”, and I think it still holds true.
  Morgane Ji (lead vocals, banjo) with E.r.k. (guitar, keyboards, samples), Olivier Carole (bass, vocals) and Mogan Cornebert (drums), currently on their Woman Soldier tour, play catchy rock/electronica/world music fusion that makes everybody dance.

• 22 June: Lila Downs @ Plaza de la Música, Avenida Roberto Clemente Benijófar (next to Auditorio Alfredo Kraus)
  What a treat! It’s been more than ten years since I saw Lila Downs playing in London — and she is still as young as I remember her. She was accompanied by Nikki Campbell (percussion, quijada), Josh Deutsch (trumpet), Rafa Gómez (guitar), Luis Guzmán (bass), Sinuhe Padilla Isunza (jarana, quijada), George Saenz (trombone, accordion) and Yayo Serka (drums). With repertoire spanning her career, or at least from La Sandunga to her latest offering, Al Chile, Lila and the band were a pinnacle of already fantastic Fiestas fundacionales programme. I didn’t know until now that we have so many Mexicans in Gran Canaria.

Lila Downs’ concert was the last music event I went to in Las Palmas before heading to the Peninsula. It was so good that I didn’t even want to go to any other concert until my departure. Hasta luego, Gran Canaria!

Free live music in Las Palmas, March 2019

Of course, March is the month of Carnival, but there was so much more to see and to hear in Las Palmas for free!

• 3 March: Olga Cerpa & Mestisay @ Gabinete Literario, Plaza de Cairasco, 1, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  This is the first time ever that I went to the Gabinete Literario which occupies the beautiful building of former Teatro Cairasco, bang in the centre of the island’s capital. Olga Cerpa & Mestisay played a daytime concert on Sunday and the hall was full. I found myself in the middle of a queue just outside of the entrance which didn’t move anywhere: “Ta lleno.” A group of people left the queue and went around the corner. In a few minutes, I spied them within, so I followed their example and embarked on search of an alternative entrance. It presented itself as a locked door. I rang the bell (twice). Finally, a lady opened it from inside, telling me once again that it is “a tope” but still, she let me in. I found a place behind the scene and enjoyed the concert thoroughly.
• 5 March: Carlinhos Brown @ Parque Santa Catalina
  Mr Brown and his fantastic band brought the house down — well, there was no house but the main stage of the Carnival, and everybody was dancing!

  

  Carlinhos Brown in Parque Santa Catalina

  

  More photos of Carlinhos Brown @ depositphotos

• 7 March: Berta Moreno @ Teatro Guiniguada, Plaza F. Mesa de León, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  At last! Berta Moreno’s session (once again, thanks to Mousikê La Laguna) was what a masterclass should be. “Are you musicians? What do you play? Who brought an instrument?” she asked. (I didn’t bring anything.) Fortunately, there were two saxophonists and one clarinetist who joined Berta on the stage for a jam.

• 16 March: Caracoles @ Parque Doramas
  From Tenerife with rumba and love, Caracoles were presenting their new album Flores. A colourful touch: in the middle of the show, a guy with a big bag went around the audience to distribute the “flowers” of bougainvillea. The singer encouraged everybody to grab handfuls (or armfuls) of them, and then on her signal, as she sang the first word of Flores (which, incidentally, is Flores), to throw them into the air. Featuring Nuria Hernández (lead vocals), Fabián Rosquete (percussion), Pedro García (bass guitar), Germán Cuesto (Spanish guitar), Luis Pérez (drums), David González (keyboards), Nuria Herrero (backing vocals), Aborá Cel (backing vocals), Rubén Quintana (trumpet), Alejandro Cabrera (trombone) and Ricardo Melchior (sax).

• 22 March: Concierto feminista “La igualdad marca el ritmo” @ The Paper Club, Calle Remedios, 10
  I went primarily to see Flor de Canela and they didn’t disappoint! But I am also glad I’ve got to know the other artists, because they play sort of music I don’t listen that much to, and even less so live. Cintia Lund sings very stylish 1980s-feel electro-pop (for want of a better term) and has awesome and also very stylish, stage presence. She was accompanied by Yanara Espinoza (Papaya) on drums and Ricardo on guitar. By the time the last act took the stage, The Paper Club was pretty full. Tremenda Jauría (Madrid), consisting of Mc Chucho, Mc Machete, Mc Larrata and Ganga Dj, is a live testament to the fact that reggaeton, contrary to the stereotype, can be progressive and feminist. The band cleverly mixes it with sounds of cumbia and punk rock. Still, not my favourite music style, and it is a real shame that, when you really want to hear the lyrics, you can’t, thanks to the venue’s dismal acoustics. The show went from more or less 10:30 pm to 2 am.
• 23 March: Esther Ovejero “Todo sobre Almodóvar” @ Parque Doramas
  What do Cucurrucucú paloma, Ne me quitte pas and I’m So Excited have in common? Why, they all appeared in films by Pedro Almodóvar! They were presented by Esther Ovejero in her spectacular programme “Todo sobre Almodóvar”, together with songs such as En el último trago, Luz de luna, Tonada de luna llena, Puro Teatro and, of course, Volver. The singer from Tenerife was accompanied by Roberto Amor (drums), Patricio José de León (guitar), José Carlos Perdomo (double bass) and David Quevedo (piano).

• 30 March: Happy Piano Day in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, various locations (12:00—19:00)
  The Piano Day, takes place on the 88^th day of the year (due to the standard number of keys on piano), was created by Nils Frahm in 2015. This year it was celebrated on the 29 March worldwide except Las Palmas de Gran Canaria where they did it one day later... or could it be that Canarian pianos have an extra key?
  
  The instruments — thankfully, under the tents — appeared in nine locations around the city. I went for a walk to the centre and saw three of them: one in Parque de San Telmo, another on the corner of c/Triana and c/San Pedro and one more on the corner of c/Triana and c/Travieso. On this last spot they installed two upright pianos back-to-back, and Jose Alberto Medina Quintana, one of the organisers of this event, was sitting there playing a duet with Juan Espino. A great idea, I think they should put the pianos around the place more often.

• 30—31 March: Monopol Music Festival, Plaza de Santa Ana (20:00—01:00)
  The MMF was going from 22 to 31 March, but Timur and I only went to check out the closing concert on the Plaza de Santa Ana. We caught the last song of Lajalada and the first two songs of the Amsterdam-based EUT — then Timur left. I stayed to hear the first song of Mucho and went home, leaving Delafé till another occasion. Of what I heard, it was all right if not great, but the sound left much to be desired: the low frequencies made my guts vibrate way beyond comfortability.
• 31 March: Julie Fowlis @ Parque Doramas
  What a great way to finish the month: the open-air concert of Julie Fowlis and her band! Mostly Scottish and Irish tunes but also The Beatles’ Blackbird (in Gaelic) and one song in Galician. Apart from singing, Julie was playing tin whistles and Shruti box; also, telling us stories behind the songs (I guess there were not that many Gaelic speakers in the audience). “Do you want some more?” — “Yes!!!” — “We don’t know any more!” But of course they played one more, and while they were playing, Julie said her goodbyes and left the scene... only to reappear a few minutes later with a bagpipe to provide the perfectly Scottish coda to the show.

  

  More photos of Julie Fowlis @ Shutterstock

Free live music in Las Palmas, February 2019

This February I was still on a (zero) budget. But I’ve got to see all the Musicandos!

• 9 February: Con-versos with Yeray Rodríguez and Omar Santiago Fuentes @ Parque Doramas
  Academia Canaria de La Lengua defines the word verseador as “persona que improvisa versos”. The 2019 Musicando season continued with brilliant Con-versos, a programme featuring our own Gran Canarian verseador Yeray Rodríguez and Puerto Rican trovador (i.e. troubadour) Omar Santiago Fuentes. The best part, in my view, was the guest appearance of three young verseadoras who managed to outclass their older colleagues and to show that the tradition of versear is alive and kicking!

• 14 February: Pepe Bao @ Teatro Guiniguada, Plaza F. Mesa de León, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  Another masterclass organised by Mousikê La Laguna.

  “Pepe, indisputably one of the greatest bass players in Spain,” — even if he says so himself says so himself — “defines himself as pirate by vocation, self-taught by training, eclectic by conviction, funny by nature, professional by dedication, and musician ‘to the deepest of his soul’”

  — no, I was not about to miss him! As much a stand-up comedian (in spite of the fact he was sitting on a stool most of the time) as a versatile bassist with formidable technique, Pepe delivered two hours of pure low-frequency slapping-tapping bliss. I wish his voice was amplified though: the class this time was not in the foyer but in the proper auditorium.

• 16 February: Olga Cerpa & Mestisay with Joana Amendoeira @ Parque Doramas
  Joana Amendoeira (vocal) and Pedro Amendoeira (Portuguese guitar) joined Olga Cerpa and Mestisay for an evening of bolero, fado and some indescribably magical bolero-fado fusion — shall we call it falero?

• 23 February: Vivi Pozzebón “Fuego de Tambor” @ Parque Doramas
  After spending two of the three Musicando events without a seat, on Tamara’s suggestion, I took a cushion with me. Also, I came 20 minutes to nine and, to my surprise, was able to find a free chair! (Most probably, this was thanks to carnaval events in Vegeta that day. Don’t worry, the cushion went behind my back.) And so, I enjoyed this show even more than expected. The trio of Vivi Pozzebón (vocal, percussion), Helena Récalde (double bass, electric bass) and Damien Accordémon (accordion), plus guest Totó Noriega (percussion), plus women’s choir, plus batucada... About 10 pm, as revellers were returning from Vegueta (I think), the park started to fill up. The final number, Sérgio Mendes’ Magalenha, with all the guests on stage, made everybody dance.

Vinila Von Bismark and Flor de Canela in Las Palmas

I first saw Vinila alongside La Mari at the Chambao farewell and loved her performance. And what a stroke of luck, she makes a detour from her Motel Llamado Mentira tour to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria!

I’m sure Ms Von Bismark could easily fill the whole Plaza de Santa Ana with dancing and singing crowd. Anywhere else, one might think, this concert would be sold out in hours. But not here. (On the bright side, that means, I was able to get in!) Is it a lack of publicity or what? The show started just after midnight and the venue was half (or more) empty. The little audience that was there looked like they came here as an afterthought, or were too tired after a week, or something. Little by little though, Vinila got them energised.

Now Motel, released last November, is an eclectic collection of well-crafted songs; my favourites are Sólo Para Mí, Vinila Masagua and Quiero Decirte al Oído. But it just did not sound as a coherent album to me, at least on the first listen. You have to see Vinila live to appreciate what powerful voice and stage presence she has. Then it all starts to make sense, as she flows quite naturally from rock’n’roll to cumbia, from reggae to blues, from ¡Ay, pena, penita, pena! to La Llorona, in her marvellously singular style.

As for the venue: this is the second time I am in The Paper Club (the first time was a year ago, to see Mr. FeedBack) and must say that the acoustics of the place leave much to be desired. OK, I expect there is a sweet spot somewhere, it’s just me who was consistently not there.

After the show, at half past one I reckon, I spotted a tiny merchandise table with, like, one CD, a couple of vinyl(a)s and some T-shirts. The sole CD was immediately bought by a fan in front of me. Luckily, I came prepared because I brought my own copy (to sign).

And now for something completely different and yet very much related.

Isleta Sunset is a series of open-air music events organised by Fabrica La Isleta. They take place on Sunday afternoons, predictably enough, in La Isleta, so people could enjoy the music and sunset. Tonight I came there to see in action Flor de Canela, a project of our very own (where “our”, you understand, refers to all places where I ever lived) Grancanarian drummer and percussionist, Xerach Peñate. Apart from her, this band features Núria Balaguer (vocals and percussion), Marta Bautista (bass, vocals, percussion) and Paula Vegas (keyboards, vocals, percussion), all of them young and almost frighteningly talented. I couldn’t see much of a sunset, what with all this drizzle, but the concert was well worth braving the elements. Their music ranges from Latin folk (like the song that gave its name to the band) to jazz and swing, with tasty bits of salsa and samba throughout. A bit more chamber act than Vinila’s perhaps but as happy and inspiring.

Why do I write all this? Because the country should know its heroines, and this weekend I just met five of them.

Live music in Santander and beyond, November 2017

And now, dear reader, the promised last.

• 1 November: Albericola @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol 4, Santander
  A brain-child of Cuban-born Ledian Mola (double bass), this innovative ensemble features Lucas Tauzin (vibraphone), Victor Vega (trumpet), Eolo Andino (sax), Nico Alfaro (guitar), Franco Cavalleri (piano) and Nasim López (drums).
  

• 5 November: Mr. Kilombo @ Haddock Bar, Calle Valliciergo 6
  Just a man with a guitar in a tiny bar... A half of the audience (those who were to the right) turned out to be surprisingly familiar with his songs and were singing along all the way. A quarter of the audience were chatting by the bar (on the left). The remaining part were trying to listen, at the same time (unsuccessfully) shushing the others.
• 7 November: Jazztedigo @ Bar Canela, Plaza Cañadío 5
  A trio featuring Rubén Bubby Ortiz (guitar), Saúl Crespo (violin) and Germán Caprara (drums) offers a fascinating journey through the 20^th-century history of jazz.
• 8 November: El Cuarteto de Ningún Lugar @ Rvbicón
  A prog-rock band featuring Vicent Huma (guitar), Martín Léiton (bass guitar), Pablo Martin Jones Johnston (percussion) and Borja Barrueta (drums). They played one composition that lasted a bit over one hour and another one (encore?) of about 15 minutes. After the concert, I had a chat with the musician only to establish that this was their first, and probably the last ever, performance. I had it recorded on my mobile phone and thus own their complete discography so far.
  

• 11 November: Canteca de Macao @ Palacio de Vistalegre, Madrid
  A mindblowing farewell concert from my favourite Spanish (ex-)band.
• 14 November: Perla Batalla @ Rvbicón
  Perla Batalla was accompanied by César Latorre (piano) in her moving tribute to Leonard Cohen. She even made the normally silent Rubiconian audience sing Dance Me to the End of Love and Hallelujah.
  

• 15 November: The Way Out @ Rvbicón
  An avant-garde quartet from Copenhagen, Denmark featuring TS Høeg (alto saxo), Mads Egetoft (tenor sax), Jonathan Aardestrup (double bass) and Jens Lopes (drums). Free jazz is not my glass of øl as I normally get bored quickly. This was not the case with The Way Out, thanks to their virtuosity, quirky sense of humour and overall brilliance.
  

• 16 November: Osaka Monaurail @ El Almacén de Little Bobby, Calle del Sol 20
  Another world-famous band that I never heard (about) before they came to shake Santander (among other places on their European tour). “The kings of Asian funk”, Osaka Monaurail are Ryo Nakata (vocals, dance, keyboards and percussion), Kentaro Yamagata (trumpet), Taihei Awaji (trumpet), Shimon Mukai (tenor sax), Tsuyoshi Ouchi (trombone), Dan Hayami (guitar), Yuichi Ikeda (guitar), Dai Nakamura (bass) and Soki Kimura (drums).
  

• 18 November: Freedonia @ Escenario Santander, Avenida de la Constitución 39 (Parque de las Llamas)
  I saw them this August in Bilbao and they were awesome. Now I saw them a bit closer and... they were as, or more, awesome.
  

• 19 November: Shanna Waterstown @ El Almacén de Little Bobby
  One more discovery: a blues, soul and funk singer born and raised in Florida, USA, now residing in Paris, France. Shanna Waterstown was accompanied by Jay Gogan (guitar), Gianpaolo Feola (drums) and Jal Hohy (bass). The band played a mix of classics and original themes from Shanna’s new album; alas, this was the last concert of her Spanish tour and the CDs were sold out before the Santander gig. It happened to be the last live music event I had been to before moving south.
  

Goodbye, Santander. It was fun. I’ll miss the music and Dougall’s beer.