ONCE UPON A TIME IN MacARTHUR PARK

They say flamenco bands are a dime a dozen in Spain (actually they don’t say that; I say that), so why do they all sound the same- two Spanish guitarists and three people clapping and clogging to the rhythm, with assorted throw-away vocals? Well, this is good interesting stuff to be sure, but can’t somebody do something new and original with it? Enter the Gypsy Kings, basically doing a double-or-nothing, twice the guitars and twice the vocals and bam! They’ve got hits and top billing and a high-five artists’ fee while the rest wallow in anonymity. But still, can’t somebody take flamenco and do something really original? They can; and have. You’ve even heard them, but you probably didn’t notice. They’re Del Castillo and they were the nuts and bolts of Robert Rodriguez’ ‘own rock band’ Chingon (I won’t translate) in the third installment of the ‘Mariachi’ trilogy. The sound they create is so memorable and classic that you assume it’s always been around. Maybe it has, but only in small snatches. Imagine a combination of Spanish guitar, Flamenco flavor, Santana stylings, and Mana’ pop hooks, and you’re getting the pic.

These guys have really got something, and any notion that Rodriguez himself might deserve the credit is undermined by the fact that these guys predated Erase Una Vez en Mexico. If it were the ‘Rodriguez sound’, then you would’ve heard it on previous ‘Mariachi’ installments. You didn’t; you heard Los Lobos. The band is anchored by suave Spanish speed guitarists Mark and Rick Del Castillo and fronted vocally by Mexican bad-ass Alex Ruiz, a brilliant convergence of the different Spanish and Mexican personalities. This is Tex-Mex music at its best. This is why you go to Austin. These guys come out of the same milieu that has spawned such innovators as Anglos Doug Sahm and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Espanoles Charanga Cakewalk and Maneja Beto, and hybrids Alejandro Escovedo, Los Lonely Boys and Flaco Jimenez. It’s fitting they showed up at McArthur Park in the Central American barrio only days before Salvadoran independence day. It’s a shame few people showed up. It’s not cutesy cumbia after all, and it’s really not designed for dancing, though I guess you could. It’s for listening and letting your mind wander over high plains and fields of saguaro, sensitivities heightened and mentally alert. If there’s any vicarious thrill to being a music promoter/aficionado, it’s discovering something new and different, maybe right before your eyes but invisible until you took the time to notice. Del Castillo could be the next Los Lobos. Have I said enough good things yet?

Latino music took a totally different turn with Quetzal Guerrero as part of the Fresh Roots Jazz Festival at Cal Plaza’s Grand Performances Friday night. This is smooth violin-laced jazz with a Brazilian feel, sung in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. I was pleasantly surprised. This is music for caressing your lover, getting out of your rut and sliding into a groove. I’ll expect more from Quetzal G with or without his eponymous warriors. There’s always room for a good jazz violinist. Latino music took a more familiar path with Bobby Matos’ (Afro) Latin Jazz Ensemble at LACMA on Saturday. There’s a lot of salsa and Latin jazz in this town. You gotta’ be tight. The confusing profusion of band names under which Mr. Matos plays may reflect some confusion in the delivery of such. I’d give him big credit for adding violin and flute to diversify the sound, but they might need to double up on the practice sessions. There were a few calls from the line of scrimmage and some dropped leads, and that hurts. The dancers probably won’t notice of course, but listeners do. Like I say I don’t always know where Latin jazz becomes salsa becomes cumbia becomes ‘rock en Espanol’ becomes ‘indie en Espanol’ on a scale of tightness to looseness, perhaps in inverse proportion of spontaneity to formality, but if you call yourself ‘jazz’ then you better be tight and you better wail on the leads. Perhaps there’s some confusion with half the band from LA and half from NY. Bobby’s got a long distinguished career. Cut him some slack.

Last but not least, and not even last chronologically, Thursday night was reggae night at McArthur Park with Elan, who has made a name for himself, and still does sometimes, by assuming Bob Marley’s vocal roles with Bob’s old band The Wailers. His voice does sound uncannily like that of Uncle Bob’s. Big deal; I know a guy in Chiang Mai who’s made a career out of being the Thai John Lennon. Do we love Bob Marley because of his singing voice? No, we love him because he articulated something that needed to be articulated and gave musical voice to African/American identity in the lean years between soul and rap. His current MySpace numbers verify the timelessness of his message. Fortunately Elan has got some good hooks in his own right, and his music is unmistakably reggae, both technically and spiritually, among the best of what that genre has to offer in this age of lifeless re-hash. It’s eminently listenable.

There was a lot more world music this past week that I couldn’t make, like Dengue Fever at El Rey and Nomo at Amoeba, but that’s the breaks. I’ve seen them both and DF is one of my all-time faves, but you live for the thrill of discovery. This week gives some much-needed African music into the mix with Oliver Mtukudzi and Rocky Dawuni at Santa Monica Pier and Daby Toure’ at Skirball Cultural Center. Unfortunately they’re at the same time, so you can’t see both. There should be some sort of way to avoid this. Besides that there will be plenty of other choices, including Juan Manuel Barco’s Tejano conjunto, the Dublin 4, and Chekere Latin Jazz at MacArthur Park on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday respectively. Then there’s zydeco with Lisa Haley on Thursday, Smadar Levi’s Semitic tunes on Friday, and Nocy’s guitar wizardy on Saturday night, all at the Levitt sister Pavilion in Pasadena. Cal Plaza water court downtown has Jaipur Kawa Brass Band Friday at noon and 8pm, and LACMA has got Pure Samba with Katia Moraes on Saturday evening. I love this job. When do I get paid?