SFJAZZ presents Bokanté
Robert M. Miner Auditorium
SFJAZZ Center, 205 Franklin St, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA
7:30 PM, Friday, June 16, 2017

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2017 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2017 event list! ☸ On to the next event!

[7:35 PM lights down, announcements, band out]

1. [7:36 PM] O La
   [banter from ML, then MT]
2. [7:49 PM] (unidentified tune no. 1; sounds like 'Onesha') » AF drum solo »
3. [8:04 PM] Zyé Ouvè, Zyé Fèmé
4. [8:09 PM] (unidentified tune no. 2)
   [set ends 8:15 PM]

[8:4m PM lights down, band out]

1. [8:42 PM; Just ML + MT] (unidentified tune no. 3; sounds like 'Sin')
2. [8:48 PM] Jou Ké Ouvè (the Day Will Rise)
3. [8:55 PM] Vayan (Persistence)
4. [9:02 PM] (unidentified tune no. 4; sung in French (not Creole), “Ooh Ooh”)
5. [9:17 PM] Nou Tout Sé Yonn
   [set ends 9:24 PM; applause, waiting, hooting & hollering; band back onstage at 9:27 PM]
    
   Encore
6. [9:28 PM] Héritier (Inheritance)
   [show ends 9:35 PM, bows, then all off]

Bokanté

• Weedie Braimah: djembe, percussion;
• Roosevelt Collier: lap steel guitar;
• André Ferrari: drums, percussion;
• Bob Lanzetti: guitar;
• Michael League: bass (s2t01), baritone guitar;
• Mark Lettieri: guitar;
• José Perez: congas, percussion;
• Malika Tirolien: vox;
• Jay White: bass.

Performing for only the fourth time together, and commencing a long summer tour, the members of Bokanté seemed pretty well psyched to get it on and jam tonight. Both Michael and Malika spoke to the audience quite a bit, introducing songs and telling stories. Seeing the lineup (four guitar players! three drummers?), one might worry that this show would be loud steaming mess, but all of the players did a really good job of listening to one another, and it was really fun listening to how one player would respond to another, then take a tune off in another direction.

While the show seemed a little short, I figured that would be the case for a brand new band with only a single album to draw from. I look forward to seeing them again on their next visit!

PS: As I don't speak French, let alone Haitian Creole, you can take my assignment of tune titles with a grain of salt … mostly I tried to match up comments from Malika's introduction against the English translation of the title. Hopefully I got at least one right!

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2017 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2017 event list! ☸ On to the next event!