The FirstWorks Summer Beats concert series takes place at Roger Williams Park this summer with a variety of acts performing at the Boathouse Lawn every other week.
FirstWorks Summer Beats Concerts: The William Cepeda & Elio Villafranca Sextet: Merging Roots – Friday, July 11, 6:00 PM. Roger Williams Park, Dalrymple Boathouse Lawn
Transcript:
This interview has been edited for length and clarity
Hernandez: Elio, let me ask you this, how do you describe the Puerto Rican sound, the Cuban jazz? You know, what, what are those differences?
Villafranca: My background, my upbringing is Congolese traditions, which is, I grew up in a very small town. It’s called San Luis in Pinar del Rio in Cuba, where they do this tradition, it’s called Tambor Yuka, which is a very, very rare form of drumming that, that came from the Congolese tradition. And the reason why I mentioned this is because the Congolese tradition and the Bomba traditions (are) very related. They’re very, they’re cousins. I wanted to actually address the larger roots of this music, which is, was seen more as a Caribbean music, not just Cuban music. Then I started creating all this project that actually embraces, not just the Cuban music, but embraces Puerto Rican music. And a lot of my albums, like, for example, Caribbean Tinge, I have a record called Caribbean Tinge, which is speaks about, for example, the Jelly Roll Morton takes of the Spanish tinge. What he calls “Spanish tinge” I’d say, was supposed to be Caribbean tinge because the rhythm that he used to create his Spanish tinge were a Caribbean product it wasn’t a Spanish product, but he learned from the habanera from a Spanish composer, so that’s the reason why he call it the Spanish tinge. But the Spanish composer learned the rhythm of the habanera in Cuba in the Caribbean. And so, you know, start making the case of how Caribbean music is really important in the foundation of jazz.
Hernandez: I wanna get a sense from both of you, the show that’s coming up is what could we expect. Will we hear that difference? Like, wait a minute, now I’m, I’m getting the Cuban, now I’m getting the more Puerto Rican, I’m getting more, different style Brazilian maybe. Elio, I’ll start with you, but I want to hear from William you as well. You know, when I see, when I hear the show, how am I gonna experience it? What are you gonna do?
Villafranca: Right now, it’s a work in progress. Like it’s all cooking in my head, on our heads. For this particular project, I looked at a music that I haven’t actually looked before, which is called bambaula which is a rhythm that kind of like ties and connects New Orleans with Puerto Rico and Cuba, because it’s a rhythm, a formula rhythm, a rhythmic formula that actually is present in many of the traditions that we do. And also, I’m writing a song, because I mean, this project is also to celebrate New Orleans music and to celebrate the Neville Brothers. It’s very, very New Orleans, kind of like, in a sense. So, and I wanted to capture that. So and then in the music that I’m writing. I’m incorporating elements of that with elements of Puerto Rican bomba and elements of Cuban rhythm like son. And I’m trans-experimenting, at this point, with how I envision the music for this project from my end.
Hernandez: Alright, and William, for you, what are you bringing?
Cepeda: Basically, the project, Merging Roots is about merging roots from Cuba, from Puerto Rico and from New Orleans. Also, you know, New Orleans has a lot of influence from the Caribbean too, from Haiti, from a lot of different places. And also I’m doing an interpretation of one of the songs from the Neville Brothers. “Fire on the Bayou.” So I’m doing that and also, I’m doing a version of that tune, my own version, including mixing with the Puerto Rican and the different Caribbean to that tune.
Hernandez: I’ve been talking with William Cepeda and Elio Villafranca. Their jazz sextet is performing on Friday at the Dalrymple Boathouse Lawn in Roger Williams Park at 6:00 p.m. with an artist talk beforehand at 5:00 p.m. William, Elio, thanks so much for the time.
