Tango Salon

Cecilia Pagani & Jason Laughlin of Tangophilia

FULL REVIEW of Sunday Salon at the Durham Arts Council, featuring Ed & Paco Band, coming soon...


UPDATE videos added 9/15:

The exquisite Teresa Fernández sings a danza here with guitarist Ed Stephenson from the second half of Sunday's program celebrating music of Spain:



Teresa and the Paco Band opened the program with a flamenco stunner, then the tango dancers came out. Here's a clip of Jason and Cecilia:



Adding a modern twist to the 19th-century classical guitar piece "Recuerdos de la Alhambra," dancer Lacy Lowder performed choreography by Carol Finley that seemed to allude to Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms.

Stephenson, a music professor at Meredith College, named Paco Band after his flamenco guitar idol, Paco de Lucia.

"If Paco de Lucia played hockey, I'd probably have to marry him," joked Stephenson, a Canada native.

Rounding out the band on Sunday were guitarist Craig Hilton, bassist Peewee Watson whose americana projects include The Whistlestop, and world percussionist Beverly Botsford, who regularly backs jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon.

Beverly Botsford plays an astounding range of percussion, from the Afro-Cuban congas, bongo and shekere, to the atmospheric and multi-cultural rainsticks, chimes and castanets. Whatever the instrument, she plays it with the verve of a dancer, which is no accident.

"In 1974 when I was in college, I took a course in flamenco, and it just kind of stuck with me," she says.

.
Beverly also gave a short history and demonstration of the string cajon, a snare-rigged box used heavily in flamenco as well as Afro Peru and Cuba:



If you want to hear more, Beverly's all-percussion ensemble Tambor Vivo will perform a variety of Latin American rhythms ONE WEEK from Thursday, on (9/24), at Mosaic's free, no-cover monthly Cuban party. (See calendar; this reflects a SCHEDULE CHANGE.)

DAC's "Sunday Salon" was produced by writer, Pulitzer Prize nominee and Indy Arts Award winner Richard Krawiec, who delivers high quality, multi-arts programming to community audiences at low cost.

"This is part of my vision of making the arts vital and accessible," Krawiec says.

Links:
"Picasso and the Allure of Language" through Jan. 3, 2010 at Duke's Nasher Museum