Free live music and stuff in Las Palmas, June 2026

Some stuff that we saw in June.

• 5 June: «Match de impro» @ Teatro Guiniguada, Plaza F. Mesa de León, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  The second (of three) performances by Escuela Vives Impro lead by Romina Vives. Presented as a match between two teams who had to improvise their lines according to the words or phrases provided by the audience and randomly selected from the box. On this occasion, the green team won. The Saturday show was supposed to be a final (that is, a competition between the winners of the previous two) but I went to see Mestizo in Parque Doramas. Part of VII Muestra de Teatro no profesional.

  

• 6 June: Mestizo @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas
  Feauturing Danny Martínez (guitar), Pedro Izquierdo (timple), Marcel Montcourt (cuatro venezolano), Samuel Ortiz (clarinet, vocals), Kiko González (percussion), Luis Rivero (bass), Adrián Brito (vocals) and Claudia Álamo (vocals).

  

From 12 to 28 June our city celebrated its Fiestas Fundacionales. Here are some events we’ve attended:

• 12 June: «Pangea» @ Castillo de la Luz, Calle Juan Rejón
  A work by the Galician composer, musicologist, luthier and multi-instrumentalist Abraham Cupeiro (flutes, horns, bagpipes, carnyx) performed by the author and La Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria conducted by Juan Roda Sapiña.

  

• 13 June: «60 años de soul en el Atlántico» @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  The City Dock Band featuring Cristina Ramos paid a tribute to Los Canarios and American soul artists. With guest appearance of Teddy Bautista (via video) and Toba.

  

• 14 June: «Música en el corazón de Vegueta» @ various locations
  This time, the traditional Vegueta festival took place on Sunday morning. I liked this arrangement better than usual Saturday evening one. This is what we’ve seen (the full programme is available here):
  • Archinautas @ Colegio de Abogados
  • Súbito Koral @ Casas Consistoriales
  • La Musicleta @ Plaza del Pilar Nuevo
  • Barrio de Tango @ Plaza de San Agustín
  • Son x Tres @ Plaza de la Real Sociedad Económica Amigos del País
  As an extra bonus, in the patios of Vegueta the visitors were supplied with Tirma chocolate bars.

  

• 17 June: Mingo Quintana and José Artiles @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles, Calle Benito Pérez Galdós 4,
  A double bill from the cycle 12 noches de autor.

  

• 19 June: Performance «Cuerpo a tinta» @ Centro de Artes Plásticas, Calle Colón, 8
  A result of the workshop taught by Sandra March, this perfomance complemented the exhibition Engravers for Peace (see below).

  

• 19 June: «La costa de los cantares» @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  Olga Cerpa & Mestisay with guest singer Eneida Marta and invited artists Ricardo Campos (bass) and Cristiano Pinto (guitar).

  

And exhibitions:

• 25 February — 28 June: «Alma de nacar» @ Casa de Colón, Calle Colón, 1
  Presenting enconchados created in Mexico in the 17th and 18th centuries.

  

• 4 June — 3 July: «Grabadores por la Paz» @ Centro de Artes Plásticas
  The collective exhibition Engravers for Peace, coordinated by the Canarian-Palestinian artist Fátima Suleimán Afonso, brings together creations of some 60 artists from different countries, including a work by Tamara.

  

Goodbye, June, I’ll miss you.

Carol

a film by Todd Haynes
based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith
screenplay by Phyllis Nagy

There’s not an ounce of guilt, there’s not an ounce of regret, over the nature of their attraction for each other. I also found Highsmith’s notions of what makes a good mother to be quite radical — the choices that people have to make in order to make the lives of their children better <in 1952> seemed really fresh, and radical. And still do, to this day, actually.

Phyllis Nagy (2015)

A beautifully atmospheric and stylish drama starring Cate Blanchett as Carol and Rooney Mara as Therese. According to Wikipedia, it took about 19 years to make this movie (1996 through 2015) while actual “filming was completed after 34 days”; it was shot on Super 16 mm film.

Carol continues the cycle Diversidad, Igualdad y Cultura by Filmoteca Canaria and Instituto Canario de Desarrollo Cultural.

And Then There Were None

a film by René Clair
based on a novel by Agatha Christie

To me, this 1945 movie — the first cinematic adaptation of the classic novel — was not as much a mystery, let alone film noir, as a (black) comedy. According to Wikipedia, this is what René Clair wanted to make all along. Jolly good fun throughout.

The film is full of familiar faces; alas, I couldn’t recall where exactly I saw them.

Diez negritos opened the cycle Nada es lo que parece. 50 años sin Agatha Christie organised by Asociación de Cine Vértigo. Curiously, the Spanish title is faithful to the original title of the novel although the film features figurines of Indians (and was released in the UK as Ten Little Indians).

Free live music and stuff, March—April 2026

Some stuff that I saw in Valencia, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Vitoria.

• 15—19 March: Las Fallas de Valencia, various locations
  This year, compared to the first time I’ve been to the Fallas, I was able to see more and better, thanks to the weather. Even so, I spent most time away from the crowds in the centre, lost in the barrios of Benimaclet, Cabañal and Malvarrosa.

  

  More photos of Las Fallas @ Shutterstock.
• 31 March: «Grito de Mujer 2026» @ Casa de Colón, Calle Colón, 1, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  A part of the worldwide festival Grito de Mujer. With the participation of Proyecto Interculturalízate, a group of migrant women (with musical collaboration of the Thioune Brothers); writers M.ª del Pino Marrero Berbel, Rosario Ibrahim, Rubén Mettini, Pepa Molina, Carolina Landino, Bönaí Capote and Aghlahoum-Poeta saharaui-Tinduf; singers-songwriters Sara Brito, Daniel Cano, and Virginia Ruiz “La Niña de la Calle”. Presented by Ana Cendrero González.

  

• 8 April: «Somethin’ Stupid» @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles, Calle Benito Pérez Galdós, 4, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  If you want to hear Billie Jean, Don’t Worry, Be Happy, The Entertainer, La Fiesta, Let It Be, Meet the Flintstones, Tears in Heaven and yes, Somethin’ Stupid in one concert, look no further. A splendid performance of Yul Ballesteros (guitar) and Germán López (timple).

  

• 10 April: «Sinfonía de sinfonías» @ Plaza del Pilar Nuevo, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  The final performance of the graduates of the Advanced Conducting Programme (the class of Dr. Ignacio García Vidal) based in the Canary Islands, with La Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Unfortunately the show was interrupted by rain just when the second part started. This is what we heard:
  • Ludwig van Beethoven, Egmont: Overture — conducted by Óscar Manuel Sánchez Benítez
  • Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade I. The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship — conducted by Anna Kucherenko Parikova
  • Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade III. The Young Prince and the Young Princess — conducted by Javier López Peña
  The full programme of the concert as it was intended is available here.

  

• 18 April: «Puto amor» @ Centro Cívico Langraiz-Oka, Tres de Marzo Parkea, 1, Nanclares de la Oca / Langraiz Oka
  A monologue by Dora Gálvez.

  

• 25 April: A Contra Blues @ Plaza de la Provincia, Vitoria-Gasteiz
  A fantastic band featuring Jonathan Herrero (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Víctor López (drums), Héctor Martín Díaz (electric guitar), Matías Míguez (electric bass) and Alberto Noel Calvillo (electric guitar) was performing as part of the Fiestas de San Prudencio. I liked their originals but I was most impressed by the covers of Sinnerman and Triana’s En el lago.

  

And exhibitions, all in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria:

• 27 February — 27 March: «Hacer(se) Tierra. Arquitectura del arraigo» @ Centro Cultural CICCA, Alameda de Colón, 1
  Paintings from the collection of La Fundación La Caja de Canarias, including works by Miró Mainó, Alberto Manrique, José Comas Quesada, Pedro del Castillo Olivares and Juan Betancor.

  

• 5 March — 10 April: «Prohibido Escuchar» @ Centro de Artes Plásticas (CAP), Calle Colón, 8
  A project by Anarcos and Rosa P. Almeida, with invited artist Pedro Déniz.

  

• 19 March — 30 August: «ART AL QUADRAT. Memorias colectivas / Represiones cotidianas» @ CAAM — San Antonio Abad, Plaza San Antonio Abad
  Works by the Valencian arists Mónica and Gema del Rey Jordà, aka Art al Quadrat.

  

Bring on May.

Bright Size Life

by Pat Metheny

Metheny’s debut LP, released 50 years ago today, remains one of my desert island jazz albums. Almost everything about it is, well, bright. Bob Moses on drums and pre-Weather Report Jaco Pastorius on bass shine throughout, and the man himself is not bad either. I said “almost”. I’m not a fan of “traditional” hollow-body jazz guitar sound which is too dull for my taste. IMHO a purely acoustic guitar or a solid-body electric guitar would make Bright Size Life even brighter. (Later, Metheny would develop the taste for guitar synthesiser which I also don’t care for; luckily, no such abomination here.)

If I had to choose my favourite tracks, I’d go with Midwestern Nights Dream, Ornette Coleman’s Round Trip/Broadway Blues and the title composition.

A Dry White Season

a film by Euzhan Palcy
based on a novel by André Brink
music by Dave Grusin

Donald Sutherland, Susan Sarandon and Marlon Brando notwithstanding, A Dry White Season was a box office flop. As the director put it, “That’s the terrible thing about being a pioneer”. I have to admit that I never heard about this film until now. So thank you La Filmoteca Valenciana for enlightening me.

It’s not an easy watch, and why should it be? But watch it, you won’t regret it. Featuring the flugelhorn of Hugh Masekela and songs by Ladysmith Black Mambazo; also starring Zakes Mokae, Thoko Ntshinga, Winston Ntshona, Jürgen Prochnow and Janet Suzman.

Танго и вальс

by Various Artists

Here’s another LP that my mum often asked “to put on”. I don’t know who and when bought it. By all accounts, it was a weird compilation. Only on five (of 16) tracks the performers were credited, one of them incorrectly; the rest of the songs was played by an anonymous “orchestra”. Some of the titles were translated in a funny way (how A media luz even can be «Твоё имя»?) and some not translated at all (El Choclo = «Эль чокло»). But my mum loved this album and, re-listening it now, I realise that I liked it too. What not to like? After all, it delivers what is says: a waltz after a tango and a tango after a waltz, and comes with a psychedelic cover artwork.

Side A Mama, yo quiero un novio (Ramón Collazo) Angelica (Rolf Zimmermann) Il pleut sur la route (Henry Himmel) — Yoichi Sugawara Květ Aloe (Vlastimil Kloc) La Paloma (Sebastián Iradier) La Valse à mille temps (Jacques Brel) — Jacques Brel A media luz (Edgardo Donato) It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie (Billy Mayhew)	1 сторона Мама, я люблю (Коллацо) Анжелика (Р. Циммерман) Дождь идёт (Ц. Биксио*) — Еити Сугавара Цветок алоэ (Клоц) Голубка (Ирадье) Всё о вальсе (Ж. Брель) — Жак Брель Твоё имя (Донато) Скажи мне правду (Мейхью)
Side B Gruß aus Paris (Ralph Stüwe) Tango Italiano (Walter Malgoni, Bruno Pallesi, Luciano Beretta) — Marino Marini Song of the Islands (Na Lei O Hawaii) (Charles E. King) Confesión (Enrique Santos Discépolo) Sous le vieux Pont des Soupirs (Marguerite Monnot, Jean Broussolle) — Lucienne Delyle El paso (Jürgen Hermann) Les Bicyclettes de Belsize (Les Reed, Barry Mason) El Choclo (Ángel Villoldo)	2 сторона Привет издалека (Р. Штюве) Танго итальяно (Мальгони) — Марино Марини На далёких островах (Кинг) Признание (Дисцеполо) Всюду звучит вальс (М. Моно) — Люсьена Делиль Шаг за шагом (Ю. Герман) Тандем (Л. Рид) — Том Джонс† Эль чокло (Вилольдо)

*	I’ve no idea who it is but it’s not the composer of the song.
†	Definitely not Tom Jones. The song was recorded by Engelbert Humperdinck but on this compilation it’s somebody else.

The Köln Concert

by Keith Jarrett

Can you think of any jazz album that has not one but two films dedicated to it? I can’t either. Unless it’s The Köln Concert, that is.

Köln 75 is a German drama focused on Vera Brandes, a (then 18-year-old) German producer who was responsible for the concert taking place at all. The film was actually shown in mainstream Spanish theatres, sometime in July, but it passed me by. Damn.

And Köln Tracks, aka Lost in Köln, is a French documentary tracking (or losing?) that notorious Bösendorfer piano played and hated by Mr Jarrett on 24 January 1975. It is supposed to be released about now.

So these are tributes that I didn’t see. What about The Köln Concert itself? I discovered it about 30 years ago, thanks to The Penguin Guide to Jazz which I used to borrow from the Leeds Central Library on a regular basis. The Guide gave the album four stars of four and said ^*:

This is perhaps Jarrett’s best and certainly his most popular record. ECM has been dining out or, to be fairer, recording others on the proceeds for over a decade^†. Made in conditions of exceptional difficulty — not least an audibly unsatisfactory piano — Jarrett not for the first time makes a vurtue of adversity, carving out huge slabs of music with a rare intensity. His insturment does sound off-puttingly bad-tempered, but his concentration on the middle register throughout the performance has been a characteristic of his work throughout his carreer.

Armed with this knowledge, I embarked on a search — and found the CD in the very same library. The concert didn’t disappoint. And the piano didn’t sound half that bad. Some years later, I bought my own copy directly from ECM, further contributing to the album’s bestselling status.

It so happened that on the 50^th anniversary of the concert, Friday 24 January, I was listening to the Sólo Jazz programme of Spanish Radio Clásica. Curiously, the authors of this golden jubilee programme chose to play the concert in the following order: Part II c; Part I; Part II b. The result? I heard the old concert with new ears, and it was as beautiful.

I can understand why Jarrett himself is not a fan: a true artist rightfully refuses to be defined by a half-century-old LP as if he didn’t record anything decent since. But I am not Keith Jarrett. I love this “huge slab of music”. If the author wants to disown it, let him do it. I’d put it on the next Voyager Golden Record as an example of what an (anonymous) human musician can do.

*	Cook, R. and Morton, B. The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP and Cassette, 2nd Ed. Penguin Books, London, 1994, p. 682.
†	In later editions, “for over a decade” was changed to “for two decades”; see e.g. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings, 8th Ed. Penguin Books, London, 2006, p. 697.

A Night at the Opera

by Queen

Squeezed uneasily between Sheer Heart Attack (IMHO the best Queen album, period) and A Day at the Races (the first Queen album I heard in its entirety so I can’t be objective), A Night at the Opera is that proverbial “second part of the trilogy”: grandiose but ultimately disappointing. Besides, it has a fatal flaw, for a prog-rock record anyway: a hit song that everybody knows, to the detriment of the rest of the album. (You might recall I said the same about Machine Head, and I’ll say it again.) Luckily for those of us who still listen to rock albums in correct order, you can stop it right after Good Company. Try it.

The opener, Death on Two Legs, is a diss track par excellence. I loved it before I could understand the lyrics. (Now that I do understand it, I prefer Rata de dos patas.) I’m in Love with My Car is a great number by Taylor (is that the “open car” he was asking for in Tenement Funster, I wonder). ’39 is a space shanty all future astronauts should learn in kindergarten. The Prophet’s Song is an epic. Cheesy lyrics notwithstanding, You’re My Best Friend actually has got soul — check out the Astro Samurai cover for that soul dimension. The same could be said about Love of My Life, except this latter practically asks to be made fun of by a barbershop quartet. This Russian-language parody from the 1986 Soviet TV show «Весёлые ребята» does just that.

My favourites though are the three retro songs (they were retro already 50 years ago): Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon, Seaside Rendezvous and Good Company.

As for Bohemian Rhapsody, it fared really well for a single, so I think that’s how it should have stayed. Perhaps naming a 2018 biopic after it was not the best idea but it perfectly illustrates that by now — and this “now” has started long time ago — it’s more a cultural reference than a song. There are zillions of covers but for me the Father Noel Furlong’s version and that by Chirigota Los Quemasangre are the best.

Retratos de Jazz

by Haruki Murakami and Makoto Wada
translated by Juan Francisco González Sánchez

I saw this brand new book in the library and couldn’t just leave it there. But what’s this? First edition, March 2025? Spanish translation, © 2025? Is that correct?

Yes, it is. This is the first Spanish edition. The Catalan version, translated by Albert Nolla, also appeared this year. The book, as ポートレイト・イン・ジャズ (Pōtoreito in jazu), was first published in 1997 by Shinchosha and so far hasn’t been translated to English.

Even though the order of the authors on the cover may imply otherwise, the book is not a collection of writings by Murakami illustrated by Wada. Just the opposite: a series of portraits created by Wada to which Murakami provided short essays, with a recommendation of one album, from his vast collection of vinyls. The first edition of the book contained 52 portraits, and the for the second edition the authors added three “bonus tracks”, that is, portraits of Art Pepper, Frank Sinatra and Gil Evans.

What I found surprising is how unsurprising is the selection of the musicians. All featured artists are American, apart from Django Reinhardt, Oscar Peterson and Gil Evans, and then both Peterson and Evans spent most of their lives in the United States. This is not to say that I dislike any one of Wada’s choices. Besides, it’s the music both authors were growing with.

Of course, the same argument could be applied to album recommendations, although in this case they were chosen by Murakami. I was pleased to see there Ella and Louis Again, Full House, The Sidewinder, Waltz for Debby and Maiden Voyage; I completely agree with Murakami that the latter album is indeed the Herbie Hancock best work. I thought so in the 1990s, I still think the same in 2025. But I am puzzled why no original recordings by Tony Bennett, Glenn Miller or Fats Waller were recommended. There seems to be no good explanation apart from that the corresponding tribute albums just happened to be in Murakami’s collection.

As a curiosity, Murakami says that he wrote South of the Border, West of the Sun being convinced that he heard the version of South of the Border by Nat King Cole. In reality, this song was never a part of Cole’s repertoire. One of the albums that Murakami recommends is ¡Olé Tormé! which, indeed, contains South of the Border. I couldn’t find a confirmation that George Gershwin based character of Sportin’ Life on Cab Calloway, but it’s a good story anyway.

I like Murakami’s sense of humour, like, for example, here:

Desconozco cuántos fans de Eddie Condon quedan hoy en día, pero tengo la impresión de que no deben de ser demasiados. <...> Trataba de mimetizarse con la escenografía para no llamar la atención, y por mucho que uno aguzara el oído, no lograba entender qué estaba tocando exactamente a la guitarra.

Or writing about Oscar Peterson:

Su discografía no conoce obras fallidas; toda ella mantiene un nivel considerablemente alto, y, sin embargo, debo confesar que no me entusiasma demasiado, no como para correr a comprar sus discos. Es cierto que en casa tengo más de cincuenta de sus álbumes como solista...

The translation by Juan Francisco González Sánchez is a pleasure to read, albeit I have to say that the use of the words cedé (for CD) and elepé (for LP) irritated me a lot. There is a number of typos, such as Kind of Blues instead of Kind of Blue, and some catalogue numbers are wrong, although those could have come unchecked from the Japanese original. I hope they will be corrected in the future editions.

Soundtrack

• Chet Baker: Chet Baker Quartet (Pacific Jazz PJLP-3, 10″) 🔊
• Benny Goodman: Benny Goodman Presents Eddie Sauter Arrangements (Columbia CL-523)
• Charlie Parker: Bird and Diz (Verve MGV-8006) 🔊
• Fats Waller → Herb Geller: Fire In The West (Jubilee JGM-1044) 🔊
• Art Blakey: Les Liaisons dangereuses (Epic LA-16022)
• Stan Getz: At Storyville Vol. I (Roost LP-2209)
• Billie Holiday: The Golden Years (Columbia C3L21)
• Cab Calloway → Chu Berry and His Stompy Stevedores with the Cab Calloway Orchestra: “CHU” (CBS/Sony SOPL-123)
• Charles Mingus: Pithecanthropus Erectus (Atlantic 1237)
• Jack Teagarden → Bobby Hackett and his Jazz Band: Coast Concert (Capitol T-692)
• Bill Evans: Waltz for Debby (Riverside RS-9399) 🔊
• Bix Beiderbecke: Bix Beiderbecke 1927—1929 (CBS/Sony 20AP-1804)
• Julian Cannonball Adderley: Cannonball Adderley Live! (Capitol ST-2399)
• Duke Ellington: In A Mellotone (RCA Victor LPM-1364)
• Ella Fitzgerald: Ella and Louis Again Vol. 2 (Verve MGV-4018) 🔊
• Miles Davis: ‘Four’ & More (Columbia CL-2453) 🔊
• Charlie Christian: Charlie Christian Memorial Album (CBS/Sony 56AP-674-6)
• Eric Dolphy: Out There (Prestige/New Jazz 8252)
• Count Basie: Basie in London (Verve MGV-8199) 🔊
• Gerry Mulligan: What Is There to Say? (Columbia CL-1307) 🔊
• Nat King Cole: After Midnight (Capitol W-782)
• Dizzy Gillespie: Dizzy Gillespie at Newport (Verve MGV-8242)
• Dexter Gordon: Homecoming (Columbia PG-34650) 🔊
• Louis Armstrong: A Portrait of Louis Armstrong 1928 (CBS/Sony 20AP-1466)
• Thelonious Monk: 5 by Monk by 5 (Riverside RLP-1150)
• Lester Young: Pres and Teddy (Verve MV-2507)
• Sonny Rollins: The Bridge (RCA Victor LPM-2527) 🔊
• Horace Silver: Song for My Father (Blue Note BST-84185) 🔊
• Anita O’Day: Anita O’Day at Mister Kelly’s (Verve MGV-2113) 🔊
• The Modern Jazz Quartet: Concorde (Prestige 7005) 🔊
• Teddy Wilson: Mr. Wilson. The Fabulous Teddy Wilson at the Piano (Columbia CL-748)
• Glenn Miller → Music Made Famous By Glenn Miller. Silver Jubilee Album (Warner Bros. WS1468)
• Wes Montgomery: Full House (Riverside RLP-434) 🔊
• Clifford Brown: Study in Brown (EmArcy MG-36037)
• Ray Brown → Barney Kessel with Shelly Manne and Ray Brown: The Poll Winners (Contemporary C-3535)
• Mel Tormé: ¡Olé Tormé! Mel Tormé Goes South of the Border with Billy May (Verve MGV-2117)
• Shelly Manne: Shelly Manne & His Men At The Black Hawk Vol. 1 (Contemporary M-3577)
• June Christy with Stan Kenton: Duet (Capitol T-656) 🔊
• Django Reinhardt: Djangology (RCA RGP-1186) 🔊
• Oscar Peterson: Norman Granz’ Jazz At The Philharmonic Vol. 16 (Clef MG-VOL. 16) 🔊
• Ornette Coleman: Town Hall, 1962 (ESP-Disk 1006)
• Lee Morgan: The Sidewinder (Blue Note BST-84157) 🔊
• Jimmy Rushing: Little Jimmy Rushing and The Big Brass (Columbia CS-8060)
• Bobby Timmons → Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers: A Night in Tunisia (Blue Note BST-84049)
• Gene Krupa: Gene Krupa Plays Gerry Mulligan Arrangements (Verve MGV-8292)
• Herbie Hancock: Maiden Voyage (Blue Note BST-84195) 🔊
• Lionel Hampton: You Better Know It!!! (Impulse! A-78)
• Herbie Mann: Windows Opened (Atlantic SD-1507) 🔊
• Hoagy Carmichael: V-Disc Cats Party / Volume One Featuring Hoagy Carmichael etc. (Elec KV-115)
• Tony Bennett → The Ralph Sharon Trio: The Tony Bennett Song Book (Columbia CL-2413)
• Eddie Condon: Bixieland (Columbia CL-719)
• Jackie and Roy: Storyville Presents Jackie and Roy (Storyville LP-322, 10″)
• Art Pepper: Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section (Contemporary C-3532)
• Frank Sinatra: Swing Easy! and Songs for Young Lovers (Capitol W-587)
• Gil Evans → Helen Merrill with Gil Evans Orchestra: Dream Of You (Mercury SMX-7101)

Free live music in Las Palmas, July 2025

This is what we’ve seen this month.

• 2 July: Carlos Meneses Quartet «Collabs» @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles, Calle Benito Pérez Galdós, 4, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  Yul Ballesteros (guitar), Dani González (drums), Carlos Meneses (double bass) and Kike Perdomo (saxophones).

  

• 3 July: Barrios Orquestados @ Biblioteca Pública Municipal Josefina de la Torre, Paseo de las Canteras
  Nice to see Barrios Orquestados still alive and getting stronger.

  

• 5 July: Sofar concert @ Biblioteca Pública del Estado, Calle Muelle de Las Palmas
  With Salomé Moreno, Manu Echeva and Said Muti.
• 10 July: «Personajes de la historia» @ Plaza del Pilar Nuevo
  Meet Samson and Delilah, Caesar and Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, Ferdinand Magellan and Anne Frank — thanks to La Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria conducted by Juan Roda Sapiña. The programme included:
  • Giuseppe Verdi: Giovanna d'Arco
  • Gerard Boedijn: Caesar and Cleopatra Ouverture
  • Otto M. Schwarz: The Story of Anne Frank
  • Louis-Philippe Laurendeau (based on music by Camille Saint-Saëns): Samson et Dalila
  • Ferrer Ferran: Magallanes

  

• 11 July: Andrea Báez @ Casa de Colón, Calle Colón, 1
  Canarian cantautora presenting songs from her forthcoming album.

  

• 15 July: El Afecto Ilustrado «Britannia. Inglaterra 1650» @ Casa de Colón
  English chamber music of the 17^th century interpreted by Adrián Linares (violin), Laura Díaz (violin), Melchor García (viola), Diego Pérez (cello) and Carlos Oramas (theorbo). The programme included:
  • John Blow: Venus and Adonis
  • Henry Purcell: Trio Sonata in D major, No. 12, Z. 801
  • Giovanni Legrenzi: Trio Sonata “La Cornara”
  • Henry Purcell: Trio Sonata in G minor, No. 1, Z. 790
  • Giovanni Battista Vitali: Trio Sonata No. 3 in E Minor, Op. 2
  • Nicola Matteis: Ayres for the Violin
  • Henry Purcell: Abdelazer; or, The Moor’s Revenge suite, Z. 570

  

• 16 July: Krzysztof Kobyliński @ Casa de Colón
  Krzysztof Kobyliński (solo piano). This concert was a part of 34^th Canary Islands Jazz Festival.

  

• 24 July: Joven CanariJazz Big Band & Zuco 103 @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  Joven CanariJazz Big Band led by José Vera Bello, featuring vocalists María Zerpa, Gabriela Suárez, Vanesa Lemoine and Carlota Baldó, plus guest Rayko León on piano. Zuco 103 sounded interesting but as they started later than (I) expected, I didn’t stay for long.
• 25 July: Kennedy Administration & Patax @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  It was great to see Patax once again — nine years later! — at Plaza de Santa Ana. As for Kennedy Administration: I loved the band sound but find the singer (named Kennedy) overly intrusive.
• 26 July: «Versalles en Las Palmas» @ Casa de Colón
  Vocal and instrumental compositions of French Baroque, as could have been heard at the royal court of Versailles. Performed by the teachers of the 3^rd International Course of Early Music (III Curso Internacional de Música Antigua en Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 21—25 July 2025): Olalla Alemán (soprano), Patricia Robaina (harpsichord) and María Alejandra Saturno (viola da gamba). The programme included:
  • Marin Marais: Fantasie
  • Marin Marais: Grand Ballet
  • Michel Lambert: Ombre de mon amant
  • Michel Lambert: Goûtons un doux repos
  • Jean-Henri d’Anglebert: Prélude
  • Jean-Henri d’Anglebert: Pasacaille
  • Marin Marais: Les voix humaines
  • François Couperin: Leçons de ténèbres, Seconde Leçon
  • Marin Marais: Couplets de Folies
  • Henri de Bailly: Yo soy la locura

  

• 26 July: Luis Sánchez Quintet @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  Later the same evening: Luis Sánchez (piano) with José Vera Bello (sax), Gaspar Nogales (double bass), Rubén Bueno (drums) and Kervin Barreto (trumpet).

And that was it for July.

Free live music in Las Palmas, June 2025

This is what we’ve seen in June. Sketches by Tamara.

• 7 June: El Quinteto: «Un viaje musical inolvidable» @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  From son and boleros to landó, tango, fado, Canarian folklore and back. Featuring Fernando García (drums, percussion), Francisco García (flutes), Candelaria González (vocals), Héctor González (vocals, guitar, cuatro) and Ruimán Martín (double bass).

  

• 11 June: Julia Rodríguez «Hacia la vida» @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles, Calle Benito Pérez Galdós, 4
  Julia Rodríguez (vocals, guitar, timple, cuatro), a singer-sogwriter from Fuerteventura now based in Barcelona, accompanied by Franco Contreras (bass), Nuria Herrero (percussion) and Daniel Morales (guitar, tres).

  

• 14 June: Madama Butterfly @ Plaza del Tenor Stagno
  This year’s «Ópera para todos» was Puccini’s classic, featuring Hrachuhí Bassénz as Madama Butterfly, Giorgio Berrugi as Pinkerton, Pietro Spagnoli as Sharpless, Caterina Piva as Suzuki, Jorge Rodríguez-Norton as Goro, Isaac Galán as the Imperial Commissioner, Marina díaz as Kate Pinkerton, Julián Padilla as the Bonze and Manuel García as Prince Yamadori. Music director: Francesco Ivan Ciampa. Stage director: Carlo Antonio de Lucia. Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria and Coro del Festival de Ópera directed by Olga Santana.

  

• 20 June: Morgane Ji @ Plaza de la Música, Avenida Roberto Clemente Benijófar (next to Auditorio Alfredo Kraus)
  Six years later, Morgane Ji (lead vocals, banjo) returns to Las Palmas, with E.r.k. (guitar), Emeline Fougeray (bass guitar) and Michaël Frideloux (drums). What a show!

  

• 21 June: «Música en el corazón de Vegueta» @ Vegueta, various locations
  We went to see La Local Jazz Band feat. Miguel Ramírez (sax), Miqui Delgado (piano), Kervin Barreto (trumpet), Suso Vega (drums) and Abraham Ramos (double bass) in Casa de Colón and Yone Rodríguez Trio feat. Yone Rodríguez (timple), Néstor García (guitar) and Tana Santana (double bass) in Patio de los Naranjos.

  

Bring on July.

Free live music and stuff in Las Palmas, May 2025

This is what we’ve seen:

• 8 May: «Celebrando Canarias» @ Plaza del Pilar Nuevo, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  The first of three concerts featuring Germán López (timple) and La Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria conducted by Juan Roda Sapiña. The full programme is available here.

  

• 14 May: Yul Ballesteros Trio «Alma» @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles, Calle Benito Pérez Galdós, 4
  Yul Ballesteros (guitar), Tana Santana (double bass) and Akior García (drums).

  

• 17 May: La Noche Europea de los Museos @ Casa de Colón, Calle Colón, 1
  Gonzalo Macías (guitar) and Ana Gil (vocals, clarinet); Enri Ive (vocals) and Pablo Queu (guitar).
• 23 May: Carlos Alemán & Rayko León @ Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno (CAAM), Calle de los Balcones, 9
  With Carlos Eliseo Alemán (flutes), Rayko León (piano), Fofi Lusson (double bass) and Osvaldo Hernández (drums).

  

• 24 May: «Del bolero al son» @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas
  Flamencubeando is a band from Jaén who mix flamenco with son, bolero, tango and other Latin American genres, playing the standards such as Alfonsina y El Mar, Lágrimas negras, Nostalgias, Obsesión, Por una cabeza and, would you believe it, Ay Mi Gran Canaria in their own unique style. Featuring Curro Pérez (voice), Luís Delgado (guitar, bass guitar), Fernándo Delgado (piano) and Luis Delgado Jr. (percussion, flute, melodica).

  

• 31 May: Ernesto Rossger Trio @ Re-Read, Calle Bernardo de la Torre, 33
  One of these events that are not advertised anywhere. We only learned about it because we were visiting this second-hand book shop almost daily. So, on occasion of the eighth anniversary of the Re-Read Las Palmas, we were treated to almost 90 minutes of jazz/blues/funk/bossa nova fusion, plus beer and snacks. With Ernesto Rossger (electric guitar), Carlos Ayala (electric bass), Alejandro Ramos (drums) and a special guest Louis Moreno (vocals).

  

An exhibition of historical photography in interesting location:

• 23 May — 1 June: «Presencia Española en el Sáhara» @ Palacio Militar de San Telmo, Calle Triana, 109
  On occasion, I guess, of the 50^th anniversary of the end of Spanish presence in Western Sahara. Photography by José Luis de Pablos.

And that was it for May.