High-Voltage Acts Power Salsa & Latin Fest

From a tearful reunion of Ruben Blades and Willie Colon in 1997 to Eddie Palmieri’s much anticipated return to salsa last year, the annual Salsa & Latin Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl has always been marked by emotional moments of almost historical proportion.

This time around, the organizers decided to leave big statements aside and concentrate on gathering five acts whose biggest asset is their ability to make the feet move and the hips shake. The result Saturday was a light, exhilarating show--highlighted by Venezuelan singer Oscar D’Leon and his 15-piece big band--that had the capacity crowd dancing for most of the nearly four-hour affair.

As mainstream pop and rock en espan~ol acts continue to grab the lion’s share of the Latin music market, the Afro-Cuban genre has continued to flourish throughout the years, rewarding its faithful listeners with plenty of soulful, mesmerizing sounds. The highlights of Saturday’s concert was a memorable example of tropical music at its very best.

Opening the festivities with gusto, Congolese salsero Ricardo Lemvo, who now lives in Southern California, is an artist of international stature. Sparse but always compelling, Lemvo’s sound combines Cuban son with African pop.

He was followed by Grupo Niche, one of Colombia’s most seasoned and commercially successful outfits. Though the group added a female vocalist a few years ago, it has returned to its classic format of four male vocalists and a dynamic instrumental section heavy on trumpets and keyboards. A ferocious, fire-spitting machine of rhythmic overdrive, the band understands pop sensibilities like few others in the field. “Gotas de Lluvia” and “La Magia de tus Besos” were exquisite bits of glossy salsa.

A merengue superstar who has become a pop sensation, Elvis Crespo was slightly out of place at the festival, but his mere presence drove the crowd wild. Crespo knows how to interact with the audience; his down-to-earth attitude and cunning audience-participation tricks are always engaging. At one point of his lengthy performance, however, you couldn’t help but wonder if all the accouterments of his act weren’t there to mask the sameness that characterizes most of his material.

Veteran rumbera Celia Cruz brought a rootsy change of pace to the procedures. The singer has been riding a wave of creativity lately, with an excellent new album. Dressed in a multicolored sequin dress that made her look like a walking Christmas tree, she presented a good blend of new material and the obligatory “Kimbara,” “Bemba Colora” and a definitive version of the Cuban gem “Guantanamera.”

But D’Leon and his band made everyone else on the bill seem tame. “We only have 50 minutes to showcase our talent,” the singer said before launching into a medley of hits performed at a breakneck pace.

As a result, D’Leon’s act was a bit fragmented as he tried to cover as many genres as possible. Like a hyperactive chameleon, his impressive combo switched from big band jazz to merengue, from bolero to hard salsa. A striking figure, the tall, bald singer danced, did a hilarious routine during the classic “El Manicero,” and was gracious enough to invite local timbalero Rudy Regalado for an impromptu solo. All of which left you eager for more from this salsa master.