Celia Cruz: An Exemplary Member of Gyration X

The most thorough reference books fail to list the year singer Celia Cruz was born in Havana. The only known fact is that her birthday comes every Oct. 21.

But Thursday at the Galaxy Concert Theatre, the first night of Cruz’s Southern California tour, the riddle was effectively answered. After watching her energetic opening set, those in the audience could clearly see that the groundbreaking, Afro-Cuban vocalist is, undeniably, ageless.

Backed by the 10-piece orchestra of Yari More, Cruz swayed and gyrated through nearly an hour of fast-paced salsa tunes, smiling and encouraging the audience to dance, while singing in a voice that seems to have changed little over the years. Even on slower-paced numbers, the length and strength of her lines communicated a youthful spirit that rang with truth and beauty.

Looking stately in a white dress, hair piled characteristically atop her head, and gesturing with her trademark, ultra-long fingernails, Cruz stepped and sashayed her way through an ambitious program that was at once familiar and rhythmically exciting. Addressing the audience entirely in Spanish except for a brief hello to the English speakers, Cruz communicated to all through her movements, vocal inflection and a genuine warmth that radiated in every sound.

While time takes its toll on the voices of most singers, Cruz, like Tony Bennett and Joe Williams, has retained the rich character that makes her sound immediately identifiable. Though her once impressive range was a bit narrowed here, she still moved easily through the scales with her trademark heartiness.

Her phrasing, especially in call-and-response passages with vocalist-bandleader More, had the natural flow of conversation. She inserted spoken accents in counterpoint with clave rhythms from the keyboard, propelling the music. She varied her pitch, sliding into phrases in ways that deepened their intended feeling. Her manner, heightened by beautifully relaxed dance moves, was fun-loving and lusty.

More’s ensemble gave big, brassy backing and complementary vocals that challenged the singer with their volume and enthusiasm. But Cruz had no problem matching their sonics, leading the horns through difficult passages by muscular, vocal example and playing off the instrumental intensity to develop deeper emotion of her own.

The More band members, who have played previously with Cruz on the West Coast, were getting reacquainted with the singer Thursday after her recent stay in Lima, Peru. Cruz’s conductor wandered among the players, giving instructions and warnings of upcoming changes. As a result, the singer and the orchestra worked as a unit. The lush percussion, pushed along by a big, bouncy, baritone saxophone, gave Cruz ample opportunity to vary her phrasing.

The accessible program, which included a request shouted from the audience, faltered only when Cruz stretched out to do the Beatles’ “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.” The slower, mid-tempo treatment nearly cleared the dance floor.

But later, Cruz proved she could do classics tastefully with a sultry reading of “Guantanamera.” If the Galaxy show is any indication, the ageless Celia Cruz will be around for a long time.

* Celia Cruz and the Yari More Orchestra play tonight at the Ventura Concert Theatre, 26 S. Chestnut St. 7 and 10 p.m. $23.50. (805) 648-1936.