Carlos Cuevas Trio at LACMA

May 3, 2007

Last Friday I decided to go check out the Carlos Cuevas Trio at LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art). LACMA has a series called Friday Night Jazz. It's held outdoors in the Los Angeles Times Court and runs from April through November, 6pm-8pm. Each week a different artist performs. And you can't beat the price of admission; it's free!

Taking the train down to the event meant not having to fight traffic for a change. This gave me a chance to visit my old stomping grounds before the performance. Things sure have changed over the past decade or so. The Grove, being the most obvious, was not even on the drawing board when I used to hang out around the Farmer's Market area. I walked through half of the complex, stopping, irresistibly, at The Cheesecake Factory. I ordered the Kobe Beef burger. Halfway through the meal, I realized that when I saw Cuevas' trio at Spaghettini in Seal Beach, I also had a Kobe Beef burger. But I'm digressing here.

It was a nice warm afternoon, just right for an outdoor concert. Alongside the plaza, the Pentimento restaurant was open to serve patrons desiring to dine while they enjoyed their jazz. If you stood anywhere near the open door to the restaurant, you could tell without looking that seafood was definitely on the menu. From that same vantage point, you could see that the front of the piano provided for the concert had definitely taken its share of cartage battle damage. In the back of the plaza, a bar provided libations. The crowd strolled in at a steady pace and the plaza was quite full by the time the music got underway.

The trio consisted of Carlos Cuevas, pianist and leader of the group, Jimmy Branly on drums, and Dean Taba playing upright bass. Cuevas explained that this was a special performance. Since the release of his CD "Depiction" - from which he played several cuts - the trio rarely gets the opportunity to perform together. So it was a treat for them to join forces again, and a treat for the audience to experience a bit of that chemistry that Carlos and his trio share. It was like a group of old friends reuniting; which it was.

Speaking of the audience, I noticed that they truly enjoyed what they were hearing. Usually at these free concerts the conversation is quite loud, often making it difficult to enjoy the music. Not this time. I was glad to see that. Carlos and his trio were well received by this audience; they applauded enthusiastically after every selection.

One other reason this was a special evening for Carlos and trio was the special guest he announced at the start of the second half of the performance. World-renowned flautist Hubert Laws was on hand and he joined the group for one song. As twilight set in, the (what served as) stage lights came up. Laws and his gold Miramatsu flute seemed to soar. It sounded like Hubert and Carlos had been playing together for years. In fact, Cuevas just returned from a week-long tour in Japan with Laws. I wished Laws would have played a few more numbers with Cuevas but they did exactly what you're supposed to do; leave' em wanting more.

I'm sure Carlos felt quite welcome by this audience and the very positive response they gave his trio all throughout the evening. It must have been even more special for him because almost all of the selections the trio played during the concert were composed by him. It was obvious Carlos, Jimmy, and Dean were enjoying themselves and vibe from the audience. But they played some serious jazz. No question these guys could cut the mustard.

By the time the last number, "Cerveza", came up, it was already 8:00. The last set had gone by so fast that I lost track of time. I had to dash out to get back to the train in time. An abrupt end to a very nice day, to be sure. More drama awaited later on the Red Line. But that story will have to wait for another day.

Carlos Cuevas Trio "Depiction" - Highly recommended


Update: Cuevas has a new CD out entitled "Uninhibited Realm"