Recent Edition of Irakere Lives Up to Its Past

Irakere has a justifiably exalted reputation as a world-class jazz ensemble. But, after more than 30 years of history, it’s not unreasonable to ask which installment of the band deserves the reputation.

That question was front and center Friday night when the Cuban band made an appearance at the Conga Room. Of course, such now-famous jazz artists as Arturo Sandoval and Paquito D’Rivera have not played with the unit for a decade or more. But pianist-composer Jesus “Chucho” Valdes has continued to be a presence, and personnel were fairly stable through the early part of the ‘90s.

The group that turned up at the Conga Room, however--with the exception of drummer Enrique Pla, guitarist Carlos Emilio Morales and singer Mayra Valdes (Chucho’s sister)--is a relatively recent Irakere ensemble, first heard as a unit on the 1997 album “Babalu Aye” (Bembe Records). And, although Chucho Valdes’ absence was strongly felt, there was no real diminution in the group’s jazz qualities.

The four-man horn section was particularly strong, and Pla’s multilayered rhythms did a superb job of blending Afro-Cuban rhythms with a driving sense of swing.

In numbers such as “Yemaya,” the title track from the band’s 1999 Blue Note album, Irakere’s music was electrifying. Trumpet players Basilio Marguez (playing a raised-bell, Dizzy Gillespie instrument) and Julio Padron had the beefy sound of an entire brass section, and saxophonists Roman Filiu (on alto) and Irving Acao (on tenor) contributed fiery soloing.

But Irakere, like most Cuban ensembles, can never be completely defined by any specific genre. And a good part of its set was dedicated to crowd-pleasing dance music, including numbers such as “Cha-Cha-Cha” and several group sing-alongs. Even here, although the horn players spent too much time standing around waiting, the brief ensemble passages were punched out with fierce, rhythmic potency.

Unfortunately it was not always easy to hear how good Irakere is, since the band was not well served by the audio system. Reproducing at a level that often exceeded the threshold of pain, the sound suffered even more from distortion, breakup and, worst of all, from an imbalance that made it intermittently difficult to hear individual instruments. Good for dancing, perhaps, the sound failed to provide an appropriate showcase for a fine musical organization.