Pianistas light up Ozawa Hall

September 3, 2004 performance review by Dave Conlin Read

The heart of the Latin Jazz world for a few pulsating hours Friday night was Seiji Ozawa Hall, where concert sets by groups led by a pair of fiery pianistas were broadcast nationwide by NPR flagship WGBH of Boston, opening the 2004 Tanglewood Jazz Festival. (Find re-broadcast information here: www.npr.org)

Elaine Elias and her band
Tanglewood jazz Festival, Aug. 3, 2004

Eliane Elias, based in New York but a Paolista, (a native of Sao Paulo, Brasil as she pointed out to the audience Friday), led a group that included bass, drums and, on about 5 numbers, guitar through a terrific set that featured several compositions of Antonio Carlos ("Tom") Jobim, for whom Ms. Elias was once musical director.

Spanish Harlem native Eddie Palmieri, who made his Carnegie Hall debut at 13 and whose seminal 60s group La Perfecta blazed new territory in the fusion of Latin rhythms and African-American jazz, managed to transform stately Ozawa Hall into a slasa parlor, leading the dual-trombone driven La Perfecta II in a totally captivating 90 minute set.