Different Drummers
Tito Puente, Milladoiro mix things up
By Daniel Penrice
This spring, the Center for the Arts will present two
musical groups whose artistry draws upon a rich mixture of musical traditions:
the Spanish Celtic septet Milladoiro, and Tito Puente's Latin Jazz Ensemble.
In his more than fifty years on the bandstand, Tito Puente-known as
El Rey de Timbales and the Mambo King-has become legendary not only for
the inventiveness with which he has blended Latin dance music and American
jazz but also for the sheer exuberance of his performances. In the process,
he has earned comparisons with such great American bandleaders as Duke
Ellington and Count Basie, as well as this memorable encomium from jazz
saxophonist and bandleader Phil Woods: "I think pound for pound that
Tito Puente is responsible for shaking more booty than anyone in the world."
Puente, who turns seventy-six in April, grew up in "El Barrio"
of East Harlem in New York. He got his first big break as a musician during
World War II, when he joined Frank "Machito" Grillo's big band
as a drummer. When he began playing the timbals from the front of the bandstand,
and standing rather than sitting as he played, Puente gave a new prominence
to the rhythm section, which permanently altered Latin jazz. "People
don't dance to the saxophones, they dance to the drums," he observes.
"Having the rhythm section in front gives it more excitement."
In addition to playing Latin jazz, Puente has ridden the crest of dance
crazes, from mambo and cha-cha to salsa, and seen his compositions "Oye
Como Va" and "Para los Rumberos" become hits for rock musician
Carlos Santana. Yet when asked about being a successful "crossover"
artist, he laughs: "Crossover? I'm on my way back! I've been playing
this music for non-Latin people for many years. I crossed over fifty years
ago."
The very notion of "Spanish Celtic" music will come as a surprise
to many. Yet in Spain's northwestern region of Galicia-inhabited by Celts
before the Roman Empire extended its reach there-Celtic, Latin, and other
cultural traditions have coexisted for centuries. The name "Milladoiro"
itself reflects this varied heritage, denoting the piles of stones left
along the route to the Galician town of Santiago de Compostela by pilgrims
from all over Europe during the Middle Ages. "The name of the band,"
says Milladoiro's harpist, Rodrigo Romani, "refers to the symbolic
way of cultural exchange through which Galicia received and exported the
elements that formed its cultural identity."
Milladoiro was formed in 1978 from two groups of musicians, one of which
played traditional Galician music while the other experimented with medieval
instruments and sounds. To the pipes and drums on which traditional Galician
music has long been played, Milladoiro has added a wide range of instruments,
including Celtic and classical harp, bouzouki, guitar, accordion, violin,
and mandolin. In so doing, the group has both revived forgotten elements
of its native musical heritage and introduced new ingredients from, for
example, jazz and the European classical tradition.
Despite often being compared with the Irish band the Chieftains (with
whom they have recorded and performed), and having helped to introduce
Irish and Scottish music to listeners in Spain, the members of Milladoiro
insist on their specifically Galician roots. And yet, says Romani, "We
do not try to make a manifesto with our music. Our only purpose is to amuse
ourselves and others with that treasure which is the melodies, fruit of
many anonymous musicians, that we have inherited from this land."
Milladoiro will perform in Blackman Auditorium on April 23, and Tito
Puente and the Latin Jazz Ensemble on May 7. Both concerts will start at
7:30 p.m. Ticket prices are: for the general public, $15 for one concert/$20
for both; for N.U. faculty and staff, $10/$15; and for students, $7.50/$10.
Tickets can be purchased by calling 617-373-2247.
CALENDAR
THEATER
Quills, May 1315 and 1922, Studio Theatre, Curry Student Center,
8 p.m. $12; $10 for N.U. students. 373-2247 or 373-2184 (TTY).
MUSIC
Music at Noon concert series, with vocalist Martha Peabody (soprano)
and pianist Emily Corbato, April 8, Curry Student Center, noon. 373-2671.
Milladoiro, Spain's foremost Celtic group, April 23, Blackman Auditorium,
7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15; $10 for N.U. faculty/staff; $7.50 for N.U. students.
373-2247 or 373-2184 (TTY).
African-American Institute Unity Ensemble Choir concert, April 28, Curry
Student Center Ballroom, 7 p.m. 373-3143.
Music at Noon concert series, with guitarist Robert Ward, violinist
Anthony DeRitis, and flutist Jill Dreeben, April 29, Curry Student Center,
noon. 373-2671.
Music at Noon concert series, "New Directions in Computer Music,"
with associate music professor Dennis Miller, May 6, Classroom Building.
Part of the Boston Cyberarts Festival. 373-2671.
Tito Puente and the Latin Jazz Ensemble, May 7, Blackman Auditorium,
7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15; $10 for N.U. faculty/staff; $7.50 for N.U. students.
373-2247 or 373-2184 (TTY).
Music at Noon concert series student spotlight, May 20, Curry Student
Center, noon. 373-2671.
LECTURES
"Uninvited Criticism," by Wilfried Wang, architect and director
of the German Architecture Museum, Frankfurt, Germany, April 8, 320 Classroom,
5:30 p.m. 373-2347.
"Pictures, Outline, Vision, and Touch: The Sighted and the Blind,"
by University of Toronto professor John Kennedy, April 14, 180 Nightingale,
4 to 5:15 p.m. 373-3335.
The Arthur D. Little Lecture Series, a two-day event, with Harvard University
chemistry professor George Whitesides lecturing on "Unconventional
Microfabrication," May 5, Raytheon Amphitheater, Egan Center, 4 p.m.;
and "Using Capillary Electrophoresis to Study Electrostatic Effects
in Biochemistry," May 6, 129 Hurtig, 4 p.m. 373-2383.
"The Power of Design: Using Art, Communications, and Environments
to Inform, Educate, and Entertain," by Clifford Selbert and Robin
Perkins, principals of Selbert Perkins Design Collaborative, May 6, 320
Classroom, 5:30 p.m. Exhibition, April 12May 7, Ryder Hall Atrium.
373-2347.
"The Development of Languages and Their Learners: Evidence from
Studies of Sign Languages," by University of Rochester professor Elissa
Newport, May 20, Raytheon Amphitheater, Egan Center, 3:30 p.m. 373-3766.
"Holocaust Memorial in Charleston, South Carolina: Architecture,
Urban Design, Sculpture," by Jonathan Levi, principal architect, Stein/Levi
Architects of Boston, 320 Classroom, May 20, 5:30 p.m. Exhibition, May
1028, Ryder Hall Atrium. 373-2347.
ETC.
"Unity Day on the Common," an African-American Institute annual
event, April 29, Centennial Common, 11:45 a.m. 373-3143.
School of Law Alumni Weekend, featuring class reunions and a harbor
cruise, April 30May 1, 120 Knowles. 373-3819.
Unity and Awards Banquet, an African-American Institute event, May 2,
Curry Student Center, 2 p.m. 373-3143.
Return to top of
page