IBA Hosts a Night of Big Band Cumbia
This past Saturday October 24, we had the pleasure of hosting Gregorio Uribe Big Band, a New York favorite, for their CD release show, to a sold out audience right here at our Villa Victoria Center for the Arts. The band, made up of 16 musicians and led by Gregorio Uribe played classic Cumbia and other typical Colombian music through powerful arrangements using all of their instruments.
Uribe’s particular style blends typical folkloric rhythms with Latin Jazz and funk while adding the momentous sound that can only come from a band as big as this one. Having graduated Summa Cum Laude from Berklee College of Music, Uribe skillfully weaves his passion for Colombian music with his jazz influences from his time at Berklee.
During the concert he won over the audience as he sang, danced, and simultaneously played the accordion. Between songs he would pause and explain some of the lyrics, like the ones for “El Avispao,” (The Clever one) a funny commentary on our cultural knack for, as he called it, “cheating the system.”
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He also paid tribute to one of the greatest of salsa and his source of inspiration as a child, Ruben Blades. Blades and Uribe have worked together in the past during the recording of his first CD, “Cumbia Universal.”
During one of the more romantic songs a student from Berklee joined him on stage as they performed a lively duo, “¿Qué vamos a hacer con este amor?” (What are we going to do with this love?) which had off-stage couples dancing.
Almost 300 attendees danced to every single song, a lot of them even formed a conga line that snaked throughout the entirety of the crowded concert hall. The concert lasted about three and a half hours, with a short break which Uribe spent with the fans taking pictures and talking.
Unfortunately the festivities eventually had to come to an end, after one encore, Gregorio Uribe Big Band had to head back to New York City. Before they left however, Uribe introduced all of his musicians, coming from everywhere in the world, from Argentina to Mexico, Colombia of course, Texas, Canada… and even Switzerland!
The concert was a definite success, and we hope to see them back in Boston very soon. Thank you to everyone who came and shared this delightful evening with us. If you missed the concert, but would like to join in on the fun, follow us on Facebook or Twitter to stay up to date with our upcoming events....