Put some ‘Salsa’ in your Navidad
Two decades ago, pianist Oscar Hernandez dreamed of an ensemble that could expand on the legacy built by the pioneering New York Latin dance bands during the golden age of the 1940s and ’50s, when Machito, Tito Rodriguez and Tito Puente laid the foundation for what came to be known as salsa.
A widely esteemed accompanist and arranger through his extensive work with conga legend Ray Barretto and salsa star Ruben Blades’ innovative Seis Del Solar combo, Hernandez took the plunge into bandleading with the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, and three Grammy Awards later, he’s become an institution himself.
The blazing 13-piece band, which brings its “Salsa Navidad” concert around the region this week, is a bi-coastal combo that features stellar players like Venezuelan timbales master Luisito Quintero, Nuyorican conguero George Delgado, San Francisco trumpeter Mike Olmos and East Bay-reared trombonist Doug Beavers (who also produced the band’s 2019 Grammy-winning album “Anniversary”).
For Hernandez, a commanding pianist who can levitate a bandstand with an insistently percussive montuno, the orchestra embodies a tradition that has influenced music around the world.
“More than anything I’m proud of representing the best of our culture through our music,” he says. “We’re calling these concerts ‘Salsa Navidad,’ and we’ll be playing some beloved Christmas songs. That’s about half of the show, and the other half is the hard-driving salsa dura that we love.”
Details: 7 & 9 p.m. Dec. 18 at Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz; $36.75-$52.50; 831-427-2227, www.kuumbwajazz.org; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 19 at SFJazz Center, San Francisco; $50-$105; 866-920-5299, www.sfjazz.org; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 20 at Weill Hall, Rohnert Park; $25-$55; 707-664-4246, gmc.sonoma.edu.
Andrew Gilbert, Correspondent
