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
  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!