The Saturday evening with vocalist Magos Herrera was less of a focus on song than that of celebration. Oh, don’t get me wrong; Ms Herrera’s 90 minute concert at the packed Nimoy Theater was filled with music, as she sang with both lyrics and sounds while backed by her jazz inspired team of Alex Kautz/dr, Matt Penman/b and Vinicius Gomes/g.
But almost all of the songs performed (and sometimes acted out) were more of an appreciation of the little things in life, those taken away when they were taken for granted due to the COVID lockdown. Ms. Herrera’s recent album Aire, was the focal point of the evening, directing us to soak in the refound gender mercies of life.
Many of the songs were wordless impressions, with Herrera’s voice wafting and wisping along the folkish pulse on “Choro DeLua” or soaring like a kite in the breeze on the appropriately named “Papalote”. With guitarist Gomes, she serenaded as if from the Latin Quarter on a quietly cadenced “ Gracias A La Vida” and produced the fluidity of a ballet dance as she communicated on the luminous “Remanso”. Iberian tones from Gomes brought Herrera to the warmth of “Passarinhadeira” and Koutz’s drums galloped for the breezy beat of the earthy “Aire” and the softly pathos from Herrera as she brought a serpentine swirl to “Alfonsina Y El Mar”. Leading the audience in a camp fire sing along, Herrera appropriately closed the evening with “Healer”, with both singer and song using the time for an invocation, with Ms Herrera treating her music like a Balm in Gilead. IT was a message well needed during this Lent season, which also points to a time of hope.
Upcoming shows from CAP UCLA include Alfredo Rodriguez 03/22, Third Coast Percussion 04/05 and Meshell Ndegeocello 04/13
photos courtesy of The Nimoy