JULY 27-30 | CARIBBEAN ROOTS
Jul 29, 2023
Miner Auditorium
PLEASE NOTE:
This page is an archive of a past production
Please visit our calendar for all upcoming SFJAZZ shows.
Original show description below.
PLEASE NOTE: The 9:30PM concert will no longer take place, and therefore is NOT currently on sale.
Dance floor is General Admission standing room only. If you would prefer seats, please select a different level for this show. Patrons with seats, please enter the auditorium through the 2nd floor entrances.
Masterminded by Colombian multi-instrumentalist Eblis Álvarez, the Meridian Brothers project has gained a rapidly expanding following for it’s wildly inventive take on Colombia’s neo-tropicalista movement, described by The New York Times as “at once a psychedelic fever dream, a deep dive into salsa’s past, (and) a critique of society’s surrender to technology.”
Though the name suggests a familial collaboration, Meridian Brothers is solely the brainchild of Álvarez, who started it in 1998 as a self-released, cassette-only songwriting laboratory for which he played most, if not all, of the instruments.
Almost a decade later, the project became a performing band with the addition of a revolving cast of musicians who were initially college friends of the composer and were eventually playing the festival circuit throughout Latin America.
Álvarez has released a steady stream of recordings under the Meridian Brothers that blend traditional folkloric styles with experimental approaches, electronics, and modern rock influences, and his latest release for Ansonia Records, 2022’s Meridian Brothers & El Grupo Renacimiento, is a revelatory new chapter. For this release, Álvarez presents an invented collaboration between himself and a non-existent 1970s Colombian salsa band that had fallen on hard times and now makes a triumphant comeback, allowing the composer to freely experiment in a classic style and take his audience on an entrancing journey of imagination.
The neo-tropicalista dance band led by Colombian multi-instrumentalist Eblis Álvarez mixes folk traditions with tropical grooves, electronics, and modern rock influences.
There’s everything here from cumbia to reggaeton and Andean huaynos, in an ever-changing fusion.
the Guardian
There’s everything here from cumbia to reggaeton and Andean huaynos, in an ever-changing fusion.
the Guardian
Personnel
Eblis Álvarez vocals, guitar
María Valencia woodwinds, percussion, keyboards
Alejandro Forero keyboards
César Quevedo bass
Mauricio Ramírez drums
At once a psychedelic fever dream, a deep dive into salsa’s past, a critique of society’s surrender to technology, and a new musical encounter between Colombia’s sophisticated capital of Bogotá and its rustic Caribbean coast.
The New York Times
At once a psychedelic fever dream, a deep dive into salsa’s past, a critique of society’s surrender to technology, and a new musical encounter between Colombia’s sophisticated capital of Bogotá and its rustic Caribbean coast.
The New York Times
Personnel
Eblis Álvarez vocals, guitar
María Valencia woodwinds, percussion, keyboards
Alejandro Forero keyboards
César Quevedo bass
Mauricio Ramírez drums
Watch & Listen
Meridian Brothers
Metamorfosis
Meridian Brothers
La mujer sin corazón
Meridian Brothers
Metamorfosis
Meridian Brothers
La mujer sin corazón
JULY 27-30 | CARIBBEAN ROOTS
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