Review (Opening night 7/9/10) ~
In a nutshell, Orquesta Revé is a fun band to dance to. Not necessarily the most musically subtle or diverse - it's pretty much one tempo and one volume the entire show, but certainly tight. However, I would say that Bay Area audiences are very discriminating and are well-aware of the enormous talent that continues to flow from the island of Cuba, so we can hope that future groups that tour the U.S. will keep the bar as high as possible. -RM
In the wave of Cuban bands coming to the US, there are a few who are completely re-vamped versions of their original formations. Such is the case with Orquesta Revé, founded in 1956 by Elio Revé and re-made following his tragic death in 1996. I met Elio in London in 1989 and enjoyed his unusual blending of charanga instrumentation with tres and trombones, which he coined "charangón" (translation: big-ass charanga band!). Despite Elio's on-stage antics and farmer-John overalls, the group featured a relentless groove that combined stylistic elements of the Cuban changüí (a predecessor of the son) with innovative instrumentation.
Well, the Bay Area will welcome the new version of the group (under the direction of Elio's son Elito) this weekend at Yoshi's in San Francisco. I'll be there to soak in the Cuban groove-churning, dance-inducing atmosphere.
Here is a behind-the-scenes view of the band playing in Havana in 2008 just to give you a glimpse of this funky, no-frills group:
Here is another live performance in Havana that shows off their trombone section along with pianist Juan Carlos Alfonso:
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