About Last Night: Michael League, Pedrito Martínez, Antonio Sánchez, Glenda del E

As Elipsis, they played in Barcelona.

Live music drawing of Elipsis by David Navas! IG @davidnavasart

When I see a lot of instrument cases being carried into a theater by audience members who are coming to a concert after or on their way to their own gig or practice, I get emotional. I know I’m in the right place.  In the case of last night’s show at the Conservatori Liceu in Barcelona, I actually knew that already.

The band was called Elipsis, a group that no one who had not been at their show in Madrid last Friday or at a more impromptu concert at the North Sea Jazz Festival in 2018 had ever heard of. But I think it’s safe to say that all of the music students, the teachers and musicians from around town, the jazz nerds who sift for the gems on the Barcelona Jazz Festival’s annual schedule, the members of the city’s Cuban community and pretty much everyone else there knew who percussionist Pedrito Martínez, drummer Antonio Sanchez and bassist Michael League (Snarky Puppy) are, or they were there because someone let them know they had to go see them. And they know they are players who are technically on a higher plane, but not virtuosic in the usual awarely performative sense. They are a much rarer breed.

And if some people in the audience hadn’t heard of Cuban pianist Glenda del Monte Escalante - known as Glenda del E - who was on keyboards, they will remember her now.

I’m hesitant to even use the word “show” here because from my vantage point it wasn’t a “showy” night. When we sat down, as a lot of conservatory students who had themselves been playing in another room upstairs ran down the aisles to fill any empty seats, the usual theater announcer voice warned in Catalan that the concert would start in three minutes. Then, the same voice came back on to say that the show would start in ten minutes. That sort of set the tone for an evening in which we didn’t know what would happen, but we knew it would be good. (Did I mention it’s Surrealism’s 100^th anniversary?)

So what did Elipsis sound like? A spiritual jam band, prog rock, jazz fusion from seventies Havana, Earthy electronic humming, alt-latino, a big old singalong…at times a more zen viaje, chance music, via the incredible Antonio Sánchez and his massive gathering of drums covered by cymbals that look like lily pads. There was a lot of head bobbing and body rocking in the house, since people were transported to a place where they felt free to do that; really we were all unconsciously just copying Michael League. Pedrito Martínez, who had people whooping and cheering two minutes into the show as he opened with an Afro-Cuban chant while playing his four congas, was the MC throughout, urging the audience to clap in time-or mark the time-of the music, and instigating some call-and-response singing. At some points the four musicians all sang together, which I loved; should happen more often. And there were some silly jokes about pronouncing League’s name in Spanish: Miké Ligué. It was so nice to see so many people smiling.

I don’t want to put hard corners on the experience by trying to define the music or the intention. I do agree with one guy who was walking next to us as we left the theater who loudly exclaimed “that was a ten – todo, todo, todo.”

Elipsis has recorded an album – at that session it was a trio: League, Martínez and Sanchez. It’s set to come out next spring. I hope they’ll keep playing, and that I get a chance to see them again live, together with Glenda del E.  I’d be very happy to make that scene again.

Meanwhile, here is some music from each of the artists:

Antonio Sánchez, Shift (Bad Hombre Vol. 2)

Glenda del E with Daniela Padrón, Ella

Pedrito Martínez, Acertijos

Michael League with Bill Laurence, Keeping Company