Argentinian-born keyboard artist Gabriel Palatchi demonstrated his extraordinary musical ability in a virtuoso performance Live at Studio 64 on Saturday night, September 8. He and bass player Cameron Hood and drummer Luis ‘El Pana’ Tovar gave a concert of outstanding instrumental music, drawn from the Latin rhythms of Argentina and Uruguay, to Spanish Flamenco, Caribbean funk, and Balkan inspired ‘Sevens’. It was a memorable evening of Latin jazz.
There were just four instrumental pieces in each set, each piece at least ten minutes long. Palatchi performed on his two keyboards, his Swedish Nord with lots of bells and whistles, and the smaller Roland A-49 Midi-keyboard Controller, basically a computerized synthesizer, sometimes playing both simultaneously in a performance of astounding virtuosity, frequently changing rhythms from tango to cha cha to waltz to any number of Latin rhythms, too many for this writer to comprehend clearly. He was accompanied by some masteful work on the drum set by Venezuelan-born Tovar who synchronized his rhythm changes with Palatchi’s keyboard work with dazzling precision. And behind these two extrovert instrumental performances was the more subtle electric bass work of Hood on his 6-string guitar.
It was the last concert for this ensemble following an extensive tour of BC. Palatchi is off to Ontario for a couple of concerts before heading to Europe for concerts in a number of countries there. Live at Studio 64 organizer Keith Nicholas did well to bring them to Kimberley to end their BC tour. As local musician, music blog writer, and photographer Rod Wilson said after the show, “Every bass player, drummer and keyboard player from all around should have been at that concert to see how it is done.”
The next concert in the Live at Studio 64 spring series takes place on Saturday, September 29, when Nelson’s R & B/blues band, the Clinton Swanson Trio, comes to Studio 64 featuring Kelly Fawcett on guitar vocals, Doug Stephenson on bass, and Clinton Swanson on tenor sax.
Tickets are available from Centre 64 (250-427-4919 or info@kimberleyarts.com).
