SFJAZZ presents John Santos: 60th Birthday Celebration featuring John Santos
2015-11-01
Robert M. Miner Auditorium
SFJAZZ Center, 205 Franklin St, San Francisco, CA
8:00 PM, Sunday, November 1, 2015

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2015 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2015 event list! ☸ On to the next event!

[8:04 PM lights down, announcements from Randall Kline, then John, who sets the stage for what to expect, then introduces two kids (Avelina & João Santos Salazar) to start the show]

1. [8:11 PM] ? (Chant to Eleguá)
2. [8:12 PM] Sabor a Mi
   [OFF: kids; ADD: Sextet; Happy Birthday to John, with a small cake and candles]
3. [8:17 PM] Sense of Now
4. [8:24 PM] ? Yoruba chant » Equinox » Yoruba chant (? “​Baba yoko e”)
   [ADD: Anthony Blea, Orestes Vilató, dancers Roberto Borrell & Grace Torres]
5. [8:35 PM] ? Danzon
   [OFF: AB, dancers; ADD: Destani Wolf]
6. [8:41 PM] There Will Never Be Another You (DW)
   [ADD: Raul “Lali” de la Caridad Gonzalez Brito, Jose Roberto Hernandez, Rico Pabon]
7. [8:51 PM] ? (RP poetry)
8. [8:54 PM] La Juventúd
9. [9:04 PM] You Don't Know What Love Is (DW)
   [OFF: OV, DW]
10. [9:14 PM] Tata y Cuchín (dedicated to Tata Güines & Israel “Cachao” Lopez)
    [OFF: AB; ADD: RP, DW]
11. [9:32 PM] Que Sabroso
    [ADD: AB]
12. [9:40 PM] Mi Corazón Borincano
    [set ends 9:48 PM]
     
    Encore (Sextet+DW)
13. [9:51 PM] Moanin' (DW)
    [show ends 9:56 PM; all off after a few more minutes]

• John Calloway: flutes, percussion, harmony vox;
• Marco Diaz: piano, harmony vox;
• David Flores: drums, percussion;
• Melecio Magdaluyo: baritone saxophone (t11), clarinet (t05), soprano saxophone (t03, t09), tenor saxophone (t06, t08, t11);
• John Santos: congas, percussion, harmony vox;
• Saul Sierra: contrabass.

• Anthony Blea: violin;
• Roberto Borrell: dancer;
• Raul “Lali” de la Caridad Gonzalez Brito: percussion;
• Jose Roberto Hernandez: percussion, lead and harmony vox;
• Rico Pabón: spoken word, rap vox, harmony vox;
• Grace Torres: dancer;
• Orestes Vilató: timbales, bongos, percussion;
• Destani Wolf: mouth trumpet, lead and harmony vox.

Tonight's show was certainly lots of fun, though it never really reached the raging boil that marked Thursday's dance party with Irakere. Hard for me to say how much that was due to intention (in selection of the setlist) as opposed to hours of drill and practice. My sense is that Chucho drills his bands significantly harder than a loosely collaborative effort (like augmenting John Santos Sextet with a half dozen special guests) could ever hope to match. There's still the opportunity for virtuoso flourishes like those from Anthony Blea and Orestes Vilato, but the ensemble sound must necessarily be sloppy by comparison to a dedicated ensemble.

Anyways, it was a great night of music. Here's wishing many more healthy and productive years to Señor Santos!

Andrew Gilbert posted an interesting article about the gig with Alameda Magazine.

Five years later, SFJAZZ posted a blog article by John, reminiscing about the show as a promo for their Fridays at Five streamcast of show excerpts on Aug 7, 2020.

Additional credits gleaned from watching that stream: Big Thanks to
* Jake Richmond: video;
* Masnori Yura: sound.

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2015 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2015 event list! ☸ On to the next event!