Telmary is a woman with instantly captivating stage presence, reminiscent of Erykah Badu in her white headdress, with an alto voice that shifts effortlessly from attack-the-mic battle-rap mode to sweetly resonant, nuanced and soulful. Her band on this night began in 9-piece mode and grew to 10; playing together for the first time. The rhythm section of drummer Frank Duran and electric bass phenomenon Juan Pablo Dominguez impressed straight off the mark, heading a heavy Afro-Cuban tribal charge to start the show. Despite being bothered by microphone-cable related stress for the first set, Telmary and her band captured and riveted the energy of the steadily building crowd.

It was during the second set, when the three horns were actually audible, that the spirit of Telmary truly jumped off the stage. The whole band was grinning from ear to ear as they shape-shifted through salsa to mambo to rumba, from free jazz and funk to swing to Motown. Particularly memorable was “Rastafashion” breaking down into the refrain from “I Just Want to Celebrate” in a hip-hop vocal tempo. Towards the end, salsa singer Alberto Alberto joined her for a couple of memorable tunes, his large and gregarious presence such a complement to Telmary — slight and wiry yet strong enough to channel the machismo in the right direction.

Whether you wanted to dance, listen to the flow or nod your head, Telmary’s show had it all. This was the new sound of Cuba, raw and ready to be heard. More in the CD review…