Juan-Carlos Formell y Son Radical at Guantanamera The group Juan-Carlos Formell y Son Radical performed Sunday at Guantanamera, a Cuban restaurant near Columbus Circle. The venue of Guantanamera provided Juan-Carlos Formell y Son Radical with a setting not unlike a typical New York jazz and dinner club; the audience members sat at the bar or a table eating dinner. A trio of musicians made up the band: the Cuban bandleader, Juan-Carlos Formell, played an electric-accoustic guitar and also provided lead vocals; Gustavo Amarante, a Brazilian, played electric bass guitar; and Jesus "Chuito" Quintero, a Venezuelan, on percussion--"Chuito" not only played the congas, but the bongos as well. The instrumentation of congas, bongos, and guitars, derived from both Afro-Cuban and European music traditions suggested the music itself may be son and would also "creatively fuse equal amounts of white- and black-derived musical features" (Manuel 43). Professor Washburne repeatedly mentioned in class the importance of actual Cubans to classifying music as authentic, and although the supporting members of the group were not truly Cuban or even from the Caribbean, Formell's heritage as "truly Cuban" and as the bandleader gave the performance an authenticity that may not exist if Formell was Puerto Rican. Formell seemed to have a unique skin tone, suggesting that he would fall under the classification of "creole" which is defined by Stuart Hall as having the "contemporary meaning of 'racial mixing' or ... the inter-cohabition between the two 'races' " (Hall 29). The music of Formell y Son Radical seemed closely similar to the guajira or guajira-son genre, which Peter Manuel describes as "a spin-off of the son which ... fused a medium-tempo son rhythm with guitar-based backing" (Manuel 44). The band began with a song titled "Guantanamera," which Manuel mentions "the most famous guajira" (44). The song served as a warm-up for the band--it was a slower number with a simple, repetitive chorus. "Canto Dolphin" followed and featured a call and response structure with Amarante and Quintero providing back up vocals to Formell as the lead. Professor Washburne mentioned the call and response structure, which emphasizes participation, is a characteristic of many Caribbean musical genres and sub-genres. Additionally, Formell used vocables in "Canto Dolphin" which could potentially introduce Louis Armstrong, an American jazz singer, as an influence. The third selection, "Llego la Luna" featured a faster tempo with an extensive guitar solo as well as drum solo, in which case the bass kept time. The emphasis in this selection seemed to switch from the guitar melodies to the rhythm, or percussion, and the concluding numbers seemed to have this same emphasis on the drums. Perhaps the most revealing moment of the show came when the band played "El Carretero," the fourth selection. An older gentleman began to dance on his own midway through the song, and the crowd watched in amusement. A girl less than half his age, however, also morphed from audience member to participant and joined him in dance, while Formell y Son Radical played an extended, frantically paced "El Carretero." This particular Caribbean performance truly "did not reflect back on the performer alone but rather it also directs itself toward a public in search of a carnivalesque catharsis that proposes to divert excesses of violence and that in the final analysis was already there" (Benitez-Rojo 22). As somewhat of an outside observer with close to no heritage in the Caribbean, the sense of community within Caribbean performance practices was truly evident. The sixth and concluding number of the set was "Chan Chan," and reflected a truly syncretic music. In this song, "Chuito" was featured in solos on both congas and bongos, and not only changed instruments but changed tempos on each instrument. The harmony also increased in complexity as the song progressed from a simple riff to a jazzy and funky sound played by both the bass and guitar. In addition to distinct elements of Cuban musical traditions, the performance had a feel similar to a typically jazz trio performance--not only in setting, but in performance practice. Just as the musicians in most small jazz bands are given chances to improvise in solo, each of the three musicians had extended solos throughout the performance. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to speak with Formell after the concert, and he acknowledged jazz as a central influence to his music. Considering that genre classification can often be limiting, perhaps the most effective way of classifying this music would not be son, guajira, or jazz, but in fact a fusion of these traditions and potentially others. The performance by Juan-Carlos Formell y Son Radical at Guantanamera was critical to furthering my understanding of Caribbean music. In addition to providing a true carnivalesque, Caribbean and Cuban experience, the band was able to capture the element of surprise, not only with the uniqueness of each selection but with the openness and opportunity for improvisation in each individual song. Each musician seemed virtuosic and the music sounded thoroughly competent to the point that I visited the group's Myspace music page to listen to other examples of their music.