La Catrina winding up summer festival 
By Bob Kelly August 15, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Chamber Music Festival
Until August 17
Various venues
www.festivalsanmiguel.com 

There’s still so much to see during this final weekend of the Summer Chamber Music Festival.

The La Catrina String Quartet, in residence this year, are busy playing and teaching right up until the festival’s final concert on Sunday. The quartet is preparing young musicians from the student program they direct for a free Saturday concert at 3pm, at La Luciérnaga. On Sunday, they join their former teachers, the Miami String Quartet, in the festival’s final concert at 5pm in Teatro Ángela Peralta.

Members of La Catrina perform with the Poulenc Trio—piano, bassoon and oboe—at tonight’s program of Mozart and Rossini and twentieth-century composers from Mexico, France and Argentina at 7pm in Teatro Ángela Peralta.

La Catrina’s violincellist Alan Daowz, born in Mexico City, appears with Poulenc in Mozart’s “Duo Sonata in B-flat major.” Jorge Martinez, viola, born in Torreon, and Blake Espy, violin, from Savannah, Georgia, join Daowz and Poulenc’s Vladimir Lande, oboe, in Mozart’s “Quartet for Oboe, Violin, Viola and Cello in F major.”

Lande, from St. Petersburg, Russia, and Bryan Young, bassoon, from Washington, DC, and Irina Lande, piano, also from St. Petersburg, next present Rossini’s “Fantasie Concertante on L’Italiana in Algiers.”

Poulenc opens the second part with “Suite Latina,” which includes a rumba, habanera and tango, by Enrique Gonzalez-Medina, born in Tijuana in 1954. He has presented works with soloists, ensembles and orchestras in Mexico, the US and Colombia.

The French neoclassical composer and pianist Jean Françaix, who died in 1997, developed a style marked by lightness and wit intended, he said, “to give pleasure.” Poulenc presents his “Trio for Oboe, Boon and Piano,” written in 1994.

Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla, who died in 1992 and has been gaining in popularity each year since, is represented by three works. La Catrina’s Daniel Vega-Albela, violin, joins Poulenc in the first, “Chau Paris.” Poulenc ends the concert with “Oblivion” and “Otono Porteno.”

The Miami Quartet presents Mozart’s “String Quartet No. 15” and Debussy’s “String Quartet in G Major” at 7pm, Saturday, in Teatro Ángela Peralta. They also will play “String Quartet No. 1” by Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera, who died in 1983. Widely regarded as one of the most important and original South American composers of the twentieth century, Ginastera combined Argentine folk rhythms and colors with modern composing techniques.

The Miami Quartet opens the season finale at 5pm, Sunday, in Teatro Ángela Peralta with Haydn’s “String Quartet in D major.” Mexican pianist Gustavo Rivero Weber joins them in “Piano Quintet in F Minor” by Brahms.

The second half reunites the Miami Quartet with their former students, La Catrina, whose members completed a master’s program at Kent State University while Miami were the artists in residence.

 La Catrina now is the quartet in residence of the Western Piedmont Symphony in Hickory, North Carolina.

The Miami Quartet is composed of Ivan Chan, violin, Cathy Meng Robinson, violin, Yu Jin, viola, and Keith Robinson, cello. They are teaming up with La Catrina for the finale in Mendelssohn’s “Octet in E flat major.”

For more details, consult the website at www.festivalsanmiguel.com. 

Yearning romance, intimacy and enchantment
By Antonio Lozoya

Concert–Jazz Brasileño
Magos Herrera and the 
San Miguel Jazz Cats
Thu, Aug 21, 7pm
Teatro Ángela Peralta
Mesones 82
50/100/200 pesos

“Magos manages to create a new style of Latin scat. It is innovative but clearly jazz and when she does her improvisations off the composed melodies it is a mind-blowing experience.”

—Rudy Garcia, The Miami Herald

Mexico’s Magos Herrera is considered one of the most beautiful voices and the most active vocalists of the contemporary Latin American jazz scene. Based in New York since 2007, Herrera has recorded with saxophonist Tim Ries for The Rolling Stones Project and for contemporary composer Paola Prestini for VisionIntoArt. Herrera is currently recording her newest CD that will be released by September 2008.

A dazzling, accomplished singer-songwriter, known for her beguiling rhythmic scatting, inflected with soulful Latin-Andalusian phrasings, Herrera is notable for her signature sound that elegantly blends her classic jazz styling with Mexican, Cuban and Brazilian melodies. Fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and English, her repertoire is filled with the yearning romance, intimacy and enchantment of Mexican and Cuban songs and boleros, and sultry, languid samba-bossa nova beats.

For over 10 years, Herrera has performed in international arts centers, festivals and concert halls such as Lincoln Center in New York, Millenium Park in Chicago, Lunario del Auditorio Nacional, Teatro de la Ciudad de Mexico and Sala Galileo Galilei in Madrid. She has four CD recordings including Orchideas Susurrantes, Pais Maravilla and Todo Puede Inspirar, two international compilations for Brazil and Japan, and is part of the acclaimed Mexican Divas CD series.

Her career started in Italy in 1988 when she decided to become professionally involved with music, and then graduated from the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles. Over the past four years, through her proactive love for music, she produced and hosted two television shows that promoted music for Mexico’s television Channel 22, and featured guest stars such as Ute Lemper, Jerry Gonzalez and Diego el Cigala.

Don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy this special concert. She is accompanied by the San Miguel Jazz Cats, which include pianist Gabriel Hernández, bassist Antonio Lozoya and drummer Victor Monterrubio.

Haunting and harmonious sounds of the ancestors
By Bill Lieberman

Music Festival
Mines and Music Festival
Sat, Aug 23, 11am
Mineral de Pozos
Meet at Plaza Zaragoza
Buses depart from Liverpool at 10am
Bus tickets, 150 pesos
Tour and concert, 150 pesos

The Tourism and Culture Association of Mineral de Pozos invites you to join a guided walking tour of centuries-old mining complexes and a concert of pre-Hispanic music. Accompanied by professional and bilingual guides Bill Lieberman and Bill Conklin, participants board a tour bus at Plaza Zaragoza and head for El Triangulo and Angustias, two of the most important and intact mining haciendas in the area.

 El Triangulo is known to moviegoers as the location for Mezcal, Godot and other films and television shows. Neighboring Angustias, little known or seen by tourists, is available via a moderate, five-minute walk.

Photographers from around the world wander the high plains of Pozos for the experience of capturing images in the abandoned ruins surrounded by maguey cactus and vistas that include the foothills of the Sierra Gordas.

Time spent in each location will allow for photography and visitors are encouraged to bring still or video cameras.

It isn’t only the visuals that are exquisite in these settings; the ancient stone walls lend themselves to an acoustic ambience that is perfect for the drums, whistles and voices of the group, Chichimeca Jonaz. Known throughout the state and region, the group headed by Pozos’ own, José Luis Cruz Martinez, performs interpretations of pre-Hispanic dance and music. A concert of the haunting and harmonious sounds of their ancestors created on instruments hand-hewn by the group will be performed in the ruined walls of El Triangulo. The concert begins after the last tour, around 1pm.

Extra time is allowed for lunch and visiting artisans and galleries before the bus returns, leaving Pozos at 5pm from Jardín Principal and arriving in San Miguel at 6pm. For driving directions from San Miguel, Querétaro and other cities, call Posada de las Minas at (442) 293-0213. Please note there are no ATMs in Pozos and most artisans’ shops do not accept credit cards so have pesos on hand.

Roundtrip tickets for bus transportation only, departing from Liverpool parking lot in San Miguel at 10am, are 150 pesos per person. Tickets for the tour, which include guide and concert, are 150 pesos and available at Galería Pérgola inside Instituto Allende and at La Tienda in the Biblioteca Pública. Tickets will be available on the day of the event in Pozos in the Plaza Zaragoza. All proceeds benefit the Mineral de Pozos Tourism and Culture Association.

While chaperones will accompany the group to ensure safety and comfort, this tour is not recommended for small children. While not overly strenuous, comfortable walking/hiking shoes, sunhat and sunglasses are suggested. Also, be advised that Pozos, with its altitude of 7,500 feet, can experience a wide range of temperatures at this time of year within a two-hour period. Murphy’s Law and Pozos regulars say, “If it can rain, it will,” meaning wear lightweight layers and bring a jacket and/or umbrella.

Ritmos calientes de salsa
By Dick Avery

Live Music
Frank Bravo y Son Soneros
Wed nights, 7pm
Mi Casa
Instituto Allende
Ancha de San Antonio 20

There is no question that San Miguel is home to many fine jazz musicians giving us great music every week, but none more so than the hot Latin jazz and salsa sounds served up by the Frank Bravo y Son Soneros (Son is the Cuban fusion of African rhythms with Spanish guitar and songs).

With an all-star quartet behind him heating up the place, Bravo serves up a broad variety of Latin jazz, including salsa, son Cubano, cha cha cha, mambo and bolero. He is the lead vocalist and plays percussion. Son Soneros is a truly international group with “Yamil” Vasquez (Cuba) on keyboards and vocals, Aaron Romo (Mexico) on bass and vocals, Kimani Carrazana (Cuba) on timbales and Julian Mendieta, who is all over the Latin music scene here in town, on the Congero Mexicano magistral and vocals.

Bravo began his musical career early, singing on children’s television shows in his native Venezuela at the ripe old age of four. He then broadened his talents by appearing in local festivals and choruses. All along, he was hearing and picking up on the salsa and son sounds that ultimately defined his music.

A foray into the theater in his teens brought him to study at the Juana Sujo Theater Institute in Caracas, one of the most prestigious in Latin America. He spent four years there, touring internationally with various theater groups, picking up singing gigs along the way.

In the early eighties, Bravo decided that San Miguel was to be his home base, so he formed a group La Propia Salsa (the “correct” salsa) and toured the country performing in theaters, hotels, bars and restaurants, constantly refining and expanding his unique sound.

The hard work began to pay off. La Propia Salsa was invited to the International Cervantino Festival in Guanajuato as well as the first and second Caribbean José Marti Festival in Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo.

A big break occurred when they were invited to the first annual Jazz Festival in Brownsville, Texas, where they appeared on the bill with Tito Puente, the legendary “King of the Timbales,” who was celebrating his fiftieth anniversary in the music business at the time. The following year, the group received top billing at the Second Annual Jazz Latino Festival also held in Brownsville.

Bravo kicked off the new century with a bang, recording his second musical production, Encuentro Sonero Venezuela-Cuba, with an amazing international group of Cuban, Venezuelan and Mexican “first call” musicians playing his original compositions and those of the supremely talented Cuban (and San Miguel-based) pianist Gabriel Hernandez. Sometime next year the group will issue a new CD of classical Cuban music with a mambo twist, including a great deal of improvisation with a big band.

Put on your dancing shoes and prepare to get your Latin groove on with Frank Bravo y Son Soneros with some ears-laid-back, driving, straight ahead, vibrant ritmo calientes at Mi Casa in the Instituto on Wednesday nights, and for the balance of the week at Casa de Sierra Nevada.

Dick Avery is a freelance journalist, music aficionado and head sipper at VinoClubSMA.

A duo of bass and voice at Viejo Topo
By Isaac Toporek

Concert
TaMo TuMa & Tyler Mitchell
Fri, Aug 22, 8pm
El Viejo Topo Café-Teatro
Stirling Dickinson 28
150 pesos

TaMo TuMa and Tyler Mitchell met in Oaxaca in the spring of 2006 when they formed their duo. Together, they explore melodies, mostly jazz songs that they convey with sensibility and inventiveness.

Their two voices flow and mingle easily through a wide range of sounds and moods and express not only the soul of these two unique musicians, but also the sensitivities of a man and a woman inviting the listener to let go and flow with the music.

The Swiss-born Mexican TaMo comes from an eclectic musical background of classical, art-rock, soul and jazz, which facilitates her original interpretation of songs. Her crisp delivery of lyrics and expressive body language are the result of training with the voice master/actor Zygmundt Molik of the Grotowski Theatre and workshops with Tage Larsen of the Odin Teatret and Gregory Hlady of the Moscow Theatre. She has produced and performed projects ranging from a 10-piece New Music band, Waamat, with some of the top Swiss avant-garde musicians such as Hans Koch, Martin Schütz, Michel Wintsch (International Jazz Festival Zürich) to solo projects.

TaMo has toured intensely in Europe and Canada with her quintet, Le Doux Partum, singing original suites, working as lyricist with pianist/composer Michel Wintsch. Performing throughout Europe with electric bassist JPS Scorpio, she presented an art-rock project which won the title of Painter of Sound (touring Italy, Spain, Germany, Theatre Pushkin St-Petersburg, Ottawa Jazz Festival and the Knitting Factory in New York City).

During the last eight years, TaMo has presented multimedia performances of her video art and installations in which she also sings, interacting with DJs or doing her own live mix: “Lone Against the Machine,” “Alphaville,” “Adrenaline,” “No to the Screen” and “My Back To Paradise” (Festival Balto Scandal Estonia, Barcelona, Arsenic Center for Contemporary Scenic Art Lausanne, Tacheles Berlin). Her art performances are inspired by reflections about life, death, love and destiny.

Son of painter Mitchell Caton, the world-renowned contrabassist Tyler Mitchell moved from Chicago to New York at the age of 23. There he played and recorded with singer Jon Hendricks, Shirley Horn, saxophonist Steve Grossman (Miles), Stanley Turrentine and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. For years, Mitchell was the bassist of Art Taylor’s Wailers, recording and touring the US, Canada, Europe and Japan. With Sun Ra’s Arkestra, he made two recordings and several European tours. His bass sound is warm and enveloping, his groove is captivating and, as a magician of rhythm, he will no doubt cast a spell on you, too.

Never too intellectual, each note Mitchell plays is true and touching. Listen to his solos and you will enjoy the new melodies this wonderful musician creates. 

Lots of locals at Viejo Topo
By Isaac Toporek

Piano Trio
Robinson, Kaplan, Chagoyan
Plus Medianoche (Latin jazz)
Fri, Aug 15, 8pm
El Viejo Topo Café-Teatro
Stirling Dickinson 28

San Miguel’s newest piano trio features composer/pianist Doug Robinson, drummer/vocalist Bobby Kaplan and bassist/guitarist José Luis “Hopalong” Chagoyan on acoustic bass playing mostly original compositions in an intimate style similar to the classic Ahmad Jamal Trio of the sixties.

The trio will play their first public concert on August 15. Since all three are gifted multi-instrumentalists, it’s likely that at some point during their concert you will see them switching up and playing each others’ instruments without missing a beat.

But the enjoyment will not end there—a second new band will perform that night. For the second half of the concert, Robinson debuts Medianoche, his new Latin jazz experiment which features Julian Mendietta and Victor Monterrubio on Latin, Brazilian and African percussion. The songs will be an assortment of originals and compositions by the late pianist Don Grolnick.

Gypsy love songs

Concert
Javier “Gitano” Estrada
Fri, Aug 22, 7pm
Sala Quetzal
Biblioteca Pública
Reloj 50A
100 pesos

Favorite local guitarist Javier “Gitano” Estrada plays an interesting assortment of gypsy folk tunes, poems and songs collected around the camping grounds of Europe. He will share love songs from the tender to the fiery, the nostalgic to the happy. Gitano has given concerts for over 30 years around Europe and Mexico.

Magical experience, masterful musician
By Lonnie Harwell

Concert
Sergio Basurto
Folk harp and flamenco guitar
Mon, Aug 18, 7:30pm
Sala Quetzal
Biblioteca Pública
Reloj 50A
150 pesos

When people ask how I can work with teenagers, I always say, “I get 10 weeks off in the summer to recuperate!” This benefit brought us to San Miguel this summer, where one can choose multiple venues to listen to local and traveling artists. My wife and I took advantage of several opportunities to sample a wide array of musical styles. By far our favorite was a local musician named Sergio Basurto. He is quiet and unassuming, a man who really doesn’t say much during his performance but rather lets his skill and musicianship speak for him. We were enthralled with his guitar playing and mesmerized when he began to play his harp. Just when we thought he was finished, he returned to his guitar and captivated us yet one more time. An evening with Sergio is an uplifting experience of enchanting music and rhythms that will touch your heart and soothe your soul—a magical experience created by a masterful musician.

Lonnie Harwell is a high school teacher and musician.