Arriving late and drenched in rain I came upon a noteciably thinned out crowd, swaddled in protective rain gear that I was lacking, trying to enjoy the warm tones of Roberto Lopez’s Colombian Jazz Fusion amidst the downpour from Ottawa’s favourite kind of weather.
Roberto Lopez, a non-imposing bespectacled man, stood at the head of a seven-piece band, electric guitar in hand. His compatriots were a motley crew of talented musicians wielding clarinets, trumpets, trombones, a saxophone, congas, and a stripped down drum kit.
As I arrived mid-jam, they were busting out a laid back and easy to enjoy latin rythm; pronouced drums kept the brass section in check as Lopez plucked out some bright chords from his creamy coloured guitar.
Lopez took the time between each song to say a little something about what he was about to play and as we progressed through the songs it was soon obvious that we were being taken on a musical journey through various traditions and styles in the history of Colombian music.
From the upbeat Porro style, to the fantastically titled Fandango, Lopez exhibited all of them one by one with ample skill and an appropriate amount of flare. In his between song musings, Lopez made it clear that he had added his own twist to each of the musical styles from his native Colombia, mixing jazz trappings into each of the musical traditions to fascinating effect.
The sheer volume of musical styles present in just this performance nodded to an even further bewildering number within Colombia itself and it was wonderful to be exposed to them, even while sopping wet and hiding under a tree beneath the grey sky. Lopez insisted that the crowd get up and dance as soon as the rain eased up and a number of plastic-wrapped yuppies responded with glee.
In the final wrap-up song, Lopez saluted each of his talented band mates and afforded them the luxury of one last triumphant solo each, save for his saxophonist who he nearly forgot until the other guys in the band pleaded and yelled along with the crowd. Despite the weather and potential for more rain, the crowd insisted upon an encore and Lopez once again wheeled us around the Colombian musical scene.
Things were slowed down as we were taken to the Pacific coast for a mellow jam to cool things off after the upbeat “closing” number. The song itself concerned a myth told to children in order to frighten them, but was quite down beat and enjoyable nonetheless—a fine counterpoint to the light drizzle that had returned.
A short and sweet musical journey was not what I was expecting when I splashed my way onto the festival grounds, but I was still pleasantly surprised with the outcome.
