Photo from last year’s Charanga Soiree at MOLAA.
For the second consecutive year, the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) in Long Beach, in collaboration with Yambu Productions, presents their expertly curated summer music series in their Sculpture Garden showcasing renowned Afro-Cuban-style bands and musicians.
Following the success of the 2014 series, and in keeping with the museum’s tradition of promoting Latin culture to Southern California audiences, MOLAA will present this three-part series of live performances featuring contemporary artists, each celebrated and recognized for their contributions to the preservation of the traditional sounds of Afro-Cuban music.
On Saturday, July 18, Remembering The Palladium Days, Chapter 3: Mambo is Back and It is Here to Stay concert series will kick off the summer events with six-time Grammy Award-winning Johnny “Dandy” Rodriguez and Mambo Revue, the highly acclaimed Big Band Orchestra from Los Angeles led by Freddie Crespo. Mambo Revue will return to MOLAA to perform the music of the “Big Three”, Machito, Tito Puente and Tito Rodriguez.
According to the release, this reunion will bring together for the first time in Los Angeles, the unique sounds of Mambo Revue and “Dandy” Rodriguez, a name linked not only to the mambo era and the famous Palladium Ballroom but also to the Latin music landscape of New York and throughout the world of salsa.
As the summer season draws to a close, on Saturday, August 29 Cubana Be, Cubana Bop, The Return of Bebop: The Music of Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo will feature the California State University, Los Angeles Latin Ensemble under the music direction of Dr. Paul De Castro. Guests artists such as Colombian reed player, Justo Almario, trumpet player Harry Kim, Cuban master percussionist, Calixto Oviedo and two-time Grammy Award winning percussionist Joey De Leon will take their audience back to a time when composer and bandleader Dizzy Gillespie and singer, dancer and composer Chano Pozo brought Latin jazz to the forefront of the culture in the late 1940s.
The Roaring Seventies: Salsa, Music from the Streets of New York September 26 will bring the house down in this retrospective conclusion of MOLAA’s summer series of musical events.
Conjunto Costazul, considered to be the best orchestra in Los Angeles for both music enthusiasts and dedicated salsa dancers, will join forces with Grammy Award-winning vocalist Herman Olivera, who will be returning to Southern California after his revered performance at the museum last year. With its loud and proud unique four-trombone sound and hard-hitting percussion section, Conjunto Costazul will liven up anyone’s day with their 25-year legacy playing New York-style salsa music for dancers on the West Coast.
VIP Preferred Seating: $50 | Seated: $40 | Standing Room Only, $30. MOLAA members receive a 10 percent discount. Food and drinks will be available for purchase. To purchase tickets or for more information, call 562.437.1689 or visit MOLAA’s website here.