Berta Rojas and Paquito D’Rivera (from the SFP Web page for their duo performance)
Last night in Herbst Theatre, San Francisco Performances (SFP) began its series of guitar recitals with a performance by guitarist Berta Rojas. This turned out to be a somewhat unconventional offering, since most of the program was devoted to duos joined with clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera. According to the program book, she had planned to begin with a solo performance of Agustín Barrios’ “Un sueño en la floresta” (a dream in the forest); but she replaced this with that composer’s “El último canto” (the last song). I suspect I was not the only member of the audience to be reminded of Francisco Tárrega’s “Recuerdos de la Alhambra!”
D’Rivera also had a single solo opportunity. He called his performance “Tribute to Dizz.” It consisted of his personal reflections of three of Dizzie Gillespie’s most memorable tunes: “Salt Peanuts,” “Con Alma,” and “A Night in Tunisia.” D’Rivera even managed to get the audience to echo “salt peanuts” during the first of those performances.
The duo offerings, all of which were arrangements, were consistently engaging. Barrios accounted for the largest number of selections on the program; and I must confess that I knew next to nothing (if that much) of composers on the program such as Demetrio Ortiz and José Asunción Flores. It did not take me long to realize that the best I could do would be to sit back and just listen without trying to analyze the details! In that context, the overall performance was delightfully engaging, making for a walk home with an extra bounce in my step.
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