congaplace.com

Folks,

I saw a fantastic show this weekend: Jean Bennett and The Spirits of Havana. If you haven't heard any Jean Bennett, check it out. I was so impressed that this will sound like an ad for her:

Jean plays soprano sax and flute. She and her husband, trumpeter Larry Cramer, have spent a lot of time in Cuba playing with the greats (Los Munequitos, Tata Guines, Poncho Quinto) and some relatively unknown locals.

For this show, she and Larry played with a great rhythm section. Three Cubans playing drum kit, congas and piano. A Bulgarian bassist. It's one of the best shows I've seen in a long time. The communication between the drummer, pianist and conga player were something to see. The kit player also sang lead. The others sang coro.

The drummer and conguero interacted really well. On some great guauancos, the drummer played some Steve Berrios like bell and cymbal patterns. However, he also hit the tumba tones of the guauanco on his toms. Therefore, the conguero played some really funky interpretations of the segundo and quinto.

I'll be suprised if we don't hear more from the drummer. His name is Francisco Malla.

Great show. I highly reccomend Jane's CDs. She's recorded with some of the best.

Zach

i think it's Jane Bunnet and Fransisco Mela.

martin

Why rag on me about spelling? Truth be told, I got a D in spelling way back in the seventh grade....I make no claims about my spelling skills.

Anyway, I've never seen Francisco's name in print, but I've got a couple of Jane's CD's. We both spelled her name wrong. It's Jane Bunnett.

Enough spelling lessons. Let's get back to the music.

Zach

yeah, just trying to be helpful to people who read your post and wanted to know more about Jane Bunnett. Sorry.... try not to take offense

No worries. Rereading this, I guess I must of had a crappy day....

Any way you spell it, the show was great. Great drumming, great melodies, great solos. I highly reccommend a Jane Bunnett CD if you're looking for something new.



Zach

that was a great show at the Jazz Bakery in Culver City, great percussion

Hi,

Now her work in cuba is available also on DVD.

To be objective from 1(very bad) to 10 (extremely good), I give to this DVD a 5.

Regards conuno