Pupy Pedroso makes Boston timba land
- Submitted by: admin
- Music
- personalities
- 06 / 25 / 2010
There was history in the air Tuesday night when one of the giants of Cuban music, Cesar “Pupy” Pedroso, led his powerhouse band Los que Son Son into Boston for the first time.
Besides bringing a direct-from-Havana blast of the hot Cuban timba sound he helped pioneer, Pedroso led the celebration of the 35th anniversary of local radio host Jose Masso’s “Con Salsa!” show on WBUR-FM (90.9).
The audience at the partially full Wilbur Theatre didn’t need a formal reason to celebrate. Primed to hear the man who for more than three decades served as composer and pianist for the legendary Cuban band Los Van Van, enraptured fans stood, clapped and danced from the first urgent beats of the opener, “Que Cosas Tiene la Vida.”
With the 60-something Pedroso leading from behind his electric piano, the group was a swirl of polyrhythmic fury with a dozen-plus members, punctuated by a four-piece brass section, relentlessly driving percussionists and the call-and-response vocals of three singers who took turns sharing the lead.
That the band members were at most half the age of their leader upped the energy level exponentially.
And Pedroso loved every minute of it. He grinned like the Cheshire Cat while surveying a scene of youths singing along with every Spanish lyric at stage’s edge, couples stepping to the simmering rhythms, and fans about his own age swaying as if on a tropical vacation.
Vocalists Norisley Valladares Gomez, Russdel Pavel Nunez Carmenate and Michael Perez Sotolongo were an incendiary threesome, trading leads and dancing in sync or solo as the band burned behind them.
A hyped-up brand of salsa on speed, Pedroso’s timba never let up. When the tempo slowed slightly, as it did after the seething opener on “La Bala de Billy,” it was barely discernible - kind of like a pitcher following his heater with a 92 mph changeup.
Boston even contributed to the fireworks when recent New England Conservatory grad Marissa Licata joined in on violin to kick things up even higher on “La Bomba Soy Yo.”
By night’s end the sentiment was unanimous: viva Cuba, viva Pupy and viva the timba they’ve given the world.
Besides bringing a direct-from-Havana blast of the hot Cuban timba sound he helped pioneer, Pedroso led the celebration of the 35th anniversary of local radio host Jose Masso’s “Con Salsa!” show on WBUR-FM (90.9).
The audience at the partially full Wilbur Theatre didn’t need a formal reason to celebrate. Primed to hear the man who for more than three decades served as composer and pianist for the legendary Cuban band Los Van Van, enraptured fans stood, clapped and danced from the first urgent beats of the opener, “Que Cosas Tiene la Vida.”
With the 60-something Pedroso leading from behind his electric piano, the group was a swirl of polyrhythmic fury with a dozen-plus members, punctuated by a four-piece brass section, relentlessly driving percussionists and the call-and-response vocals of three singers who took turns sharing the lead.
That the band members were at most half the age of their leader upped the energy level exponentially.
And Pedroso loved every minute of it. He grinned like the Cheshire Cat while surveying a scene of youths singing along with every Spanish lyric at stage’s edge, couples stepping to the simmering rhythms, and fans about his own age swaying as if on a tropical vacation.
Vocalists Norisley Valladares Gomez, Russdel Pavel Nunez Carmenate and Michael Perez Sotolongo were an incendiary threesome, trading leads and dancing in sync or solo as the band burned behind them.
A hyped-up brand of salsa on speed, Pedroso’s timba never let up. When the tempo slowed slightly, as it did after the seething opener on “La Bala de Billy,” it was barely discernible - kind of like a pitcher following his heater with a 92 mph changeup.
Boston even contributed to the fireworks when recent New England Conservatory grad Marissa Licata joined in on violin to kick things up even higher on “La Bomba Soy Yo.”
By night’s end the sentiment was unanimous: viva Cuba, viva Pupy and viva the timba they’ve given the world.
By: Bob Young
Source: Boston Herald
Comments