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.

Alma del violín flamenco en Las Palmas

Although both flamenco and violin have long association with Romani music, the violin never was your typical flamenco instrument. Well, this young man is about to change that. Wikipedia credits Paco Montalvo as “creador del violín flamenco como voz principal” (“creator of flamenco violin as the main voice”). I have to say that for at least a year or so I was diligently ignoring the videos of Paco Montalvo that were invading my newsfeed. Then, last December, I read that the man himself is coming to Canarias. So Timur and I bowed to the inevitable and went to see him in the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus.

We were treated to an hour and a half of wonderful music, blissfully devoid of cante (which is always a plus, in spite of sounding like a minus, as Tamara has put it). As one could guess from the name of the show, Paco played many songs from his debut album, Alma del violín flamenco, but also from his latest offering, (unfortunately, not-so-imaginatively named) Corazón Flamenco. And, if I must to give any highlights... naturally, homage to Paco de Lucía: Río Ancho [1] and La Barrosa; Tamacún by Rodrigo y Gabriela; Camarón’s Rosa María... And I was really impressed by 20-years-old Marta Guillén’s dance in El Vito Cordobés and Sevilla por Bulerias.

For encores, Paco & the band played My Way (the only one I honestly could live without) and another of Paco de Lucía’s hits, Entre dos aguas [2]. The audience, as it is usual (in my experience) in the Auditorio, were incredibly quiet and well-behaved throughout the whole performance, and only clapped along that last song... then gave a standing ovation.

Jesús Gómez: guitar Marta Guillén: dance, castanets, handclaps Paco Montalvo: violin Alberto Romero: handclaps Miguel Santiago: percussion

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1. Actually, Mediterranean Sundance/Río Ancho, as on Friday Night in San Francisco.
2. Entre dos aguas may be the most famous tune ever written by Paco de Lucía. However, according to José Torregrosa, producer of the 1973 album Fuente y caudal, it was created by pure chance. They needed «un tema de relleno» (“a filler theme”) for the album and Paco improvised this rumba along the lines of Te estoy amando locamente, a well-known song by Felipe Campuzano. The name of the composition refers to Paco de Lucía’s home town, Algeciras, which is indeed situated “between two waters”, i.e. Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea — logical enough, but something I was not aware of until last year when one of my students, native of Algeciras, enlightened me.