A Night Of Latin Jazz

It was early 1988, may have been February or March, I can't remember the exact month, but I was in NYC for a few days, visiting a friend of mine who was doing some consulting for me. She lived on Water Street, maybe she still does, I don't know. Anyway, she had this really cool apartment not far from the Futon Street fish market, we had met for a drink at some bar that was frequented by brokers from Wall Street and later walked to her place, where I spent a couple of nights. One of the nights we went over to the Blue Note in The Village, it was a Latin Jazz Extravaganza held in the memory of Jorge Dalto; Michele Camilo opened with his trio, that included a young Joel Rosenblatt on drums, pre-Spyro Gyra. But it was the headliner that I was there to see, Dave Valentin, a central player in The Soundtrack Of My Life. We were practically sitting on the stage, it was a two drink minimum - that wasn't going to be any problem for the two of us; he was incredible, of all the concerts and artists I've seen over the years, this night stands out as one of the best performances I've ever seen. Besides his band, he had Jerry Gonzalez sit it on both trumpet and congas - outstanding; I remember Valentin admonishing the crowd to not talk while he and the band played! Later that year, I was thrilled when GRP released Dave Valentin-Live At The Blue Note, hoping it was from the performance that Gisela and I had seen, but it was from a date a few months after I had been in the City - it doesn't matter; whenever I listen to this disc, I think back to that night; the bar, the apartment, the Blue Note, Gisela - it was a good couple of days.
Listen to 'Cinnamon and Clove', 'Shamballa' and 'Afro Blue'
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