With “Carnaval 2023: Homage” set for February 24 and 25 at the NHCC, Frank and Pilar Leto deliver their 18th production celebrating Carnaval with original music and dance. This year, they are paying tribute to the couples who deeply influenced them, such as their friends Airto Moreira and Flora Purim, and Frank is releasing a studio album, Homage, featuring songs that have graced their Carnaval productions over the years.
Frank Leto
Homage (indie)
A review
Frank and Pilar Leto have celebrated Carnaval at the National Hispanic Cultural Center for 17 years—and counting. Original music from Frank and original choreography and costumes from Pilar’s Odara Dance Ensemble pay homage to the Carnaval traditions found in Brazil, Trinidad, Cuba, and New Orleans. Frank’s music draws on the deep musical traditions of those four places, which he authentically reproduces with palpable affection and respect. Unfortunately, the only way to hear it has been to attend the performances or track down videos of the performances online, which don’t always do the music justice.
Now, as the 18th edition of their Carnaval celebration approaches, Frank, who leads the band PANdemonium and plays Brazilian and Afro-Cuban percussion and Trinidadian steel drums, is releasing Homage, a studio album of 13 tracks that can be counted as the definitive versions of these tunes. Joining him is a cast of top-drawer collaborators familiar to Carnaval celebrants: Bo Razon (acoustic and electric guitars, cavaquinho), Kanoa Kaluhiwa (tenor sax), Micah Hood (trombone), Otilio Ruiz (harp), Steve Figueroa (keyboards), Milo Jaramillo (bass), Tomás White (percussion), and John Bartlit (drums, chromatic cowbells, percussion).
Those unfamiliar with Frank’s music will get a sense of their quality by the reception that the song “Mestre Moreira” received. Dedicated to Frank’s mentor, hero, and friend the legendary percussionist Airto Moreira, the song features the quirky percussion instrument the cuica, and the tune’s easy upbeat flow can turn hips to syrup. It so captured the heart of Mestre Moreira’s wife, Flora Purim, that she asked Frank if she could record it on her next record.
Highlights abound. Radoz’s guitar solo and Frank’s nicely constructed steel pan solo stand out on the partido alto samba “Queen of Carnaval.” The humor of “Your Health Is Your Wealth,” a Trinidadian calypso, brings a smile. There’s the tenor solo on the Brazilian samba “O Meu Coraçao,” and the traditional drumming and chanting rubbing against modern instrumentation on “Elegua” and “Iyansa,” with Ruiz’s distinctive harp on the latter. The trombone gets featured on the samba “Brazil in My Dreams,” which has a terrific horn arrangement, as does the funky “Mardi Gras Beads”—no doubt from the pen of Maestro Cesar Bauvallet. Bartlit, a truly inspired madman, takes a wild solo on 24 pitched cowbells.
Homage will put a loosen your joints, lubricate your hips, and get you moving. It will be available at “Carnaval 2023: Homage,” which will feature special guest Bira Almeida, aka Mestre Acordeon, capoeira master and musician. The album is also available at Frank’s website and on the usual streaming services.
Carnaval 2023: Homage
Friday, February 24, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 25, 7:30 p.m.
National Hispanic Cultural Center
1701 4th Street SW, Albuquerque
Tickets: $17, $22, $27
with a $2 discount for seniors,
children 12 years old and younger,
and NHCC members
For tickets or more information, go here.
Check out the limited-edition T-shirts and
fridge magnets at the Musically Speaking store.
Your support is much appreciated.
© 2023 Mel Minter