On Thursday, Sept. 18, the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, in collaboration with the Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center (PRLACC), hosted Cuban pianist Jorge Luis Pacheco’s trio in a tribute to Buena Vista Social Club and Cuban music.
Jorge Luis Pacheco, Gerson-Lazo Quiroga, and Reinier Mendoza play live at the Jorgensen on Thursday, September 18. Photo courtesy of The Daily Campus.
Buena Vista Social Club was a Cuban musical ensemble based in Havana, Cuba. It was responsible for the resurgence of traditional Cuban music, combining several Cuban styles to create songs that popularized Cuban music and culture globally. These songs inspired a new generation of artists to engage with traditional Cuban music. Though many of the original members of Buena Vista Social Club have passed, their legacy lives on in the 1999 documentary “Buena Vista Social Club” and the recent Broadway musical of the same name.
Jorge Luis Pacheco is an award-winning Cuban pianist, composer and singer who has been performing genre-bending works for over a decade now. He is known for incorporating jazz, classical and Afro-Cuban rhythms in his music and has shared his breathtaking compositions globally, particularly in his hometown of Havana. He has created over seven albums and is set to release two more in the coming months.
The Pacheco trio — composed of Pacheco, Gerson-Lazo Quiroga and Reinier Mendoza — performed several songs by Buena Vista Social Club over the course of the night, as well as some of Pacheco’s own compositions and famous Cuban works like “Yolanda” by Pablo Milanés and “Guantanamera” by Joseíto Fernández.
“I’m really really happy to be here and to come to this area of the United States for the first time and of course play here for the first time,” said Pacheco while opening the show. He remarked that it was a joy to see students engaging in appreciation for live music and to be able to share Cuban music with the community at Jorgensen.
Pacheco’s love for this music was unmistakable in his performance. Between each song, he’d pause to relay to the audience stories of why this music mattered to him; his personal experience with each melody made the show much more intimate. His knowledge of his instrument is also profound, shining through in the way his hands fly down the keys and in his confidence to even reach inside the piano and pluck the strings himself to extract unique sound. Often, the energy of his performance would be so electric that it’d lift him out of his chair. “Don’t be scared,” he told the audience, in reference to this energy. But he didn’t need to — it was enthralling.
Quiroga’s and Mendoza’s talents cannot go unnoticed, either. Quiroga’s bass playing was smooth, with each pluck purposeful, while Mendoza’s control over the drums was emotional and crisp. The chemistry between the trio as a whole was palpable; from banter during songs to Pacheco’s compliments of his fellow members after every significant solo, their friendship emanated from the stage. Pacheco seemed unable to keep from smiling after every glance at his bandmates.
Pacheco engaged the audience not only through his tales, but by making the show interactive. The audience, which ranged from students to community seniors, was at times instructed to participate in the songs — clapping the beat, vocalizing a tune, singing key words or dancing along.
“I didn’t know what to expect from Cuban jazz, but Jorge and his trio brought energy and passion to the stage with every note,” said student Laura Park. Many in the audience seemed to agree; the trio received hefty applause and cheers throughout the show and a standing ovation after the final song.
Pacheco began the show by teasing the audience about what language he should use — Spanish or English — and eventually settled on Spanglish. This is what the trio’s performance encapsulated: the sharing of Cuban culture and rhythm in an American setting, expressing both a thanks to Buena Vista Social Club for their contributions to Cuban music and a reassurance that that music lives on through modern musicians and is being shared with the wider world.