GROOVIN' HIGHER -- ARTURO SANDOVAL AT THE VIPER ALLEY
LINCOLNSHIRE ILLINOIS, OCTOBER 5, 2012
(Photos and review by Bill Tilford, all rights reserved)

This may sound a little self-serving, but maybe Arturo Sandoval saw us coming.  We got the amazing Bebop we were expecting to hear after the release of Dear Diz, all right, but he also threw some of the hardest-hitting, pull-no-punches Cubano material at us that we've heard him do live in a long time.  He brought Ed Calle on sax, Alexis Pututi on drums, Samuel Torres on percussion, Dennis Marks on bass and Kemuel Roig on piano, and this proved to be a monster combo for both the straight ahead material and the Cubano book. 

This version of his live show was remarkable in the sense that it delivered a knockout punch to virtually everything that any of his critics have ever thrown at him in the past.  Too much time in the stratosphere?  He was up there of course, but he also went deep into the abyss of the lower register, hitting some notes that this writer has produced on trombone and tuba over the years. Doesn't swing quite like a real Bop master, you say? Sorry folks, case dismissed, see both Exhibit A,  the recent Dear Diz recording,  and Exhibit B,  the live set. Holds back a little something on the Cuban material because he's worried about somethingorother you think?  Not this time.  If this particular group wanted to, it could walk into a studio and crank out a recording that would probably make us stop missing Irakere-in-its-prime once and for all (Arturo is a multi-instrumentalist and put in some quality time on synthesizer for this set, leaving most,  but not all, of the regular piano work to Kemuel Roig.).   Naturally, everything we've come to expect normally from his shows  was there as well - the variety, the humor and the energy, but he and his group were at their peak  for this performance.   If you've never seen this live, you've never truly met the man or his music.  

As if that weren't enough, this truly was a group performance in the full sense of the term.   Ed Calle's sax work would have been worth the price of admission all by itself.    Ed has a musical range and sense of humor that complements Arturo's perfectly. The rhythm section was killer throughout, and a key point in the show was a cameo by Samuel Torres on maracas in duet with Arturo on piano.  If our back had been turned to the stage, we would have assumed that a shekere virtuoso was at work, but no, it was maracas with the same effects and more.   

Arturo also took the audience to school regarding why the term "Salsa" was really inappropriate for the dance music. We agree, but even we have found that we have to humor the term with some groups reluctantly because so many bands insist upon using it.  Perhaps if more of the masters like him would speak out on the subject, we would start to see the rhythms called by their real names more often again (who knows, maybe that would even help bring back some of the many dances that once went with them?), but the bands themselves will need to play an active role in any serious effort to make that change.  

A trio called Panimal Cracker opened for Arturo with some enjoyable fusion based on steel drum, trap drum and bass.  

A word about the venue is in order.  Viper Alley opened last year and is a beautiful room for acts like Arturo's.  The acoustics were excellent, there are video monitors at strategic locations in case you happen to be walking about for whatever reason (drinks etc.), and it's not that far from the tollway.  The drive is about 40 minutes, mas o menos, from downtown Chicago.   This room has the potential to become a firmly-established suburban destination for acts like this.  It is already well on its way there after its first year.  

For the rest of Arturo's touring dates in the US this fall, click here. 

Click on the thumbnails below to enlarge them.  All photos were taken at Viper Alley on October 5 by Bill Tilford of Timba.com.   (Panimal Cracker is the top row, the remaining rows are all Arturo Sandoval.)