It’s a long way from Buenos Aires – The Gabriel Palatchi Band

CENTRE 64 FALL CONCERT  SERIES – THE GABRIEL PALATCHI BAND, September 5, 2015, 8pm

Yes, it is a long way from Buenos Aires, Argentina to the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia. But the Argentinean  Gabriel Palatchi has made the trip with many stops along the way to sharpen his musical skills and soak up the some interesting musical vibes. Gabriel plays piano and keyboard. Along the way he also managed to pick up the crack-a-jack rhythm duo of Tony Ferraro on drums and Doug Stephenson on 5 string electric bass. Now most people know my aversion to loud drummers but for Tony I more than make an exception. He is loud, sure, but he works so hard at being musical that the loudness is not a factor. It seems that everything he plays ends up in the perfect sonic space. He is probably one of the best drummers I have come across in recent years.  On bass Doug doesn’t appear to work as hard but that is probably an allusion because he looks like he is having way too much fun and how could that possibly be work? Both of these master musicians reside in the West Kootenays and the question that must be asked is why are they hiding away in the jungles of British Columbia? Their answer is that it is purely a life style choice. Sure, they could make it in the big smoke but at what cost? The music they played on Saturday night can only be described as high octane improvised jazz with many overlays of Latin, Funk, Tango, Reggae, Klezmer,  Brazilian and whatever else Gabriel manages manages to pull out to the air. With the exception of Juan Tizol’s Caravan and Ahmad Jamal’s Poinciana  most of the compositions played where originals. Caravan was an absolute tornado of variations on the original classic jazz tune plus quotes from all across the American Song Book. Even Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue appeared in the mix. Caravan was written in the late thirties by Duke Ellington’s valve trombone player Juan Tizol and there must be a million interpretations out there. Think about it; a tune that has been around for over 70 years that can still be fresh and exciting. I have yet to hear a version that does not work. At the bottom of this page there is a link to a couple of Gabriel’s YouTube performances. Once again the production team at Centre 64 has come up with another winner. They don’t seem to able to come up anything less than the exceptional. Although Gabriel resides in Mexico he does a tour through this part of the world every summer and hopefully we will see him back here next year. Here are some images from the evening.

208. Gabriel Palatchi  220. Gabriel Palatchi     292. Gabriel Palatchi     

424. Doug Stephenson544. Tony Ferraro

 

 

 

 

404a. Doug Stephenson254. Gabriel Palatchi    262. Gabriel Palatchi   258. Gabriel Palatchi      260. Gabriel Palatchi513. Tony Ferraro    515. Tony Ferraro    517. Tony Ferraro412. Doug Stephenson  008. Header549. Tony Ferraro270. Gabriel Palatchi   300. Gabriel Palatchi  426. Doug Stephenson

547. Tony Ferraro

So once again a big thanks must go to all the volunteers and sponsors – The Burrito Grill, Mountain Spirit Resort and Ray’s Music. Mike Redfern finished up the evening with the wonderful news that Jim Webster and Anita Iacobucci have donated $3,000 dollars towards the installation of professional theater lights in the Centre 64 Studio. The money comes from the proceeds of the recent Music on the Mountain event. As a photographer I am very excited at the prospect of the difference enhanced lighting will make to my photos.

Here are some YouTube clips……..

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5 thoughts on “It’s a long way from Buenos Aires – The Gabriel Palatchi Band

  1. Thanks, Rod, for this excellent review. It sure was an energetic, pulsating night of music. And thanks for the recognition of the work done by the Live at Studio 64 committee of the Kimberley Arts Council in bringing in this and all the other world class acts we have seen and heard in Kimberley over the past few years. The rest of this fall series looks equally exciting.
    Hope we’ll have the lights in soon to enhance your picture-taking opportunities. Not sure how the pictures can be much improved, mind you. This lot look pretty good to me.

    • A great review Rod! Sorry I missed this one .See you on the 26th Thanks for all you do! Keith

  2. Thanks so much for a great a review Rod, was an amazing night for us as well in Kimberley and the public was an inspiration for us as well, hope to be back sometime soon!

    G

    • I am looking forward to your return to Kimberley. I had hoped it would be this Summer / Fall. I think the organizers are waiting to here back from you.

      rod wilson

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