Son Radical Concert Analysis

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In searching for a proper concert, I did a fair amount of research, however, I was extremely lucky to be told about the restaurant Amor Cubano in Spanish Harlem. In truth, I went to the venue knowing that the restaurant had good live performances, but I did not know just how amazing the concert would be. On the eve of the performance, we got to Amor Cubano at 7:20pm to find the restaurant packed to capacity, and despite a reservation we sat at the bar to be closer to the music. The group that performed was Son Radical, which is a unique “syncretized” ensemble combining the forces of Juan-Carlos Formell, Carlitos del Puerto, and Jimmy Branly (Washburne, Lecture 3). Son Radical fused elements of traditional Cuban music da ting back to the…show more content…
Despite paying great tribute to their roots, Son Radical showed that they were experimental and creative in that they meshed several different styles and cranked the volume to 11 without the use of electronic instruments. The vibrant flute solos would often extend for more than 5 minutes, and the percussion solos were varied in length, and would extend beyond normal fills to the extent that they were beautiful jazz influenced improvisations using tumbadoras and batás. The batá is a two-headed drum, which also goes back to the African slave roots of Afro-Cuban music (Leon n.d). Son Radical was able to form a unique synergy in keeping the rich tradition of Afro-Cuban music alive, while also incorporating American and Latin jazz and American rock techniques. Although the musical style has evolved, the medium of “son” still serves as an amazing communicator, because the rhythms and melodies of the music further enhance the vocals of Son Radical’s…show more content…
Peter Manuel, ed. Lanham, MD: University Press of America , 1-24. Bernabé, Jean, Patrick Chamoiseau, and Raphaël Confiant. “In Praise of Creoleness.” Translated by Mohamed B. Taleb Khyar. Callaloo , Vol. 13, No. 4 (Autumn, 1990), pp. 886-909 Hall, Stuart. "Créolité and the Process of Creolization," in Créolité and Creolization: Documenta 11, Platform 3. Edited by Okwui Enwezor, etc. Ostfildern-Ruit, Germany: Hatje Cantz, pp. 27-41, 185-198 2003. Moore, Robin. Music and Revolution: cultural change in socialist Cuba. Berkeley, CA: University California Press, 2004. (pdf) Moore, Robin. Nationalizing Blackness: AfroCubanismo and Artistic Revolution in Havana, 1920-1940. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997, pp.13-40. (pdf) “The next Cuban revolution…”. Accessed on February 14th, 2011.

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