Omara & Chucho

Omara Portuondo and Chucho Valdés are back together with their second album titled "Omara & Chucho". They continue their exploration of the emotive power of simplicity. They present a selection of tunes that bear personal meaning to them, and present these songs unadorned, naked. With the exception of Wynton Marsalis on "Esta Tarde Vi Llover" and Rossio Jimenez Blanco with backing vocals on "Huesito", the album is just Chucho's piano and Omara's voice. They are two people completely exposed, sharing an intimacy with their listeners. The music is primarily a mix of boleros, trova moving into fílin. This is not salsa, but music to be listened to as you sit drinking a glass of wine with your loved one a warm summer evening or a cold winter night in front of the fire.

Listening to Omara and Chucho, you get the sense that the interplay between these two old friends is an effortless dance where each knows when it is their moment to step forward and when time has come to let the other shine. This is beautifully embodied by the opening and closing of the album.

Chucho & Omara together again

It begins with Omara singing 70 seconds of "Noche Cubana", a cappella. While many young divas today believe that they bring passion to a song by practically yelling out the vocals and throwing in R&B trills, Omara send them all back to school. She completely dominates her instrument demonstrating unmatched vocal control and an ability to intimate emotions through the slightest changes in volume, tempo and phrasing. She shift easily from a heartbreaking ballad to a jazzy "Me acostumbré estar sin ti" to a heartbreaking "Si te contará".

Chucho's piano does not just accompany Omara but is the other half of a whole. Exploring the full range of his musical expression, he begins "Claro de Luna / Llanto de luna" with a touch of Beethoven and "Alma Mia" with Rachmaninov, while in other songs his prowess as a jazz pianist is discreetly demonstrated. The album end as it began, this time with a 2:14 piano solo of "Noche Cubana".

Simply Chucho's hands and Omara's voice

permalink | Share