Chris Bennett and Louie Cruz Beltran - A Night of Lyrical Romance

Reviewed by Susan Dwyer

Grammy nominated Jazz singer, pianist, and songwriter Chris Bennett was the special guest on July 22nd for an evening of music from the Great American Songbook with Latin jazz musician Louie Cruz Beltran and an all-star combo, at Catalina’s Jazz Club in Hollywood, California. Ms. Bennett, whose latest CD is entitled Sail Away, The Tahiti Sessions, showed both her vibrant vocal style and formidable piano skills on Jazz standards such as “Caravan.” and “These Foolish Things,” as well as her original songwriting on the title song “Sail Away.” The latter was a hauntingly beautiful ballad about lost love, with sparse piano and flute accompaniment. Ms. Bennett hinted at the autobiographical nature of this song, telling the audience that she had gone to Tahiti with a broken heart and wound up recording this album with producer Laurent Crosasso and a trio of local musicians.

The evening began with a short warm-up on “Blue Monk” by the band, consisting of Carlos Vivas on piano, Tomas Gargano on upright bass, Kenny Elliott on drums, and Justin Janer playing tastefully throughout on alto and tenor saxophones and flute. Next on stage was New Jersey comedian Mike Morino, who will be opening for Mr. Beltran at the Fourth Annual LA Vida Music Festival celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month in September in Los Angeles. Mr. Morino had the audience in hysterics as he “rehearsed” his jokes for that event. He introduced Louie Cruz Beltran, bandleader, vocalist and master conga player, who brought Ms. Bennett up for a smooth Bossa Nova version of Ruby and the Romantics, “Our Day Will Come.” This duet set the tone for the night, a mixture of Latin rhythms and lyrical romance. 

Mr. Beltran delighted the audience with more covers, including “Fly Me To the Moon,” and “Spooky,” but it was during the instrumental Latin jazz numbers that the band really turned up the heat. Carolos Vivas was exceptional on piano in “Cantaloupe Island,” as his gymnastic piano solos had everyone, including him, on the edge of their seats. Mr. Beltran switched to the congas which he called “a macho instrument” as the set progressed, saying that “this is my bag.”  He showed great range on congas, from light finger tapping to full hand hits and was supported enthusiastically by his rhythm section during his solos toward the end of the set. The encore was a version of “Green Dolphin Street,” that segued to an extended salsa jam session, featuring a blistering solo by Tomas Gargano on upright bass as well as Mr. Beltran and Mr. Elliott “trading fours” on percussion while Mr. Vivas kept the montuno rhythm on piano. Both Chris Bennett and Louie Cruz Beltran had engaging personalities on stage and seemed to enjoy working together and the evening had much musical variety, starting with warm ballads and winding up with some hot jazz.

Susan Ferrari is a musician and writer. She currently reviews shows for Riveting Riffs in both Boston and Los Angeles.

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