Witty, vibrant salsa -- Santa Rosa style

Salsa singer Gilberto Santa Rosa nearly caused mass whiplash at the Kodak Theatre on Saturday night when he stopped to introduce celebrities in the audience. People craned to glimpse a star, Jamie Foxx, who had just won an Oscar in the same venue a week earlier.

Just kidding, said the salsa prankster. No Oscar winners attended what turned out to be one of the most memorable nights of Afro-Caribbean music in a long time. But Santa Rosa made up for his practical joke by proceeding to present his real guests, actress Roselyn Sanchez and musician Oskar Cartaya, with rhyming verses he invented for them on the spot.

Santa Rosa used his singing interlude to highlight the talent that makes him one of our most valued vocalists in a dying art -- his ability to improvise with wit and swing. It’s a traditional salsa skill the sonero displayed with understated ease throughout his 2 1/2 -hour show, especially at the thrilling finale when he sang his extended goodbyes and thanked ecstatic fans.

On the scene for 28 years, Santa Rosa, 42, remains one of the most engaging figures in Puerto Rican salsa. He avoided the pitfalls of sappy “salsa romantica” in the ‘80s by sticking to great songs, regardless of topic or tempo.

With his elegant style, his dark pinstripe suit and his way with both driving dance numbers and tender boleros, Santa Rosa carries on the tradition of the late Tito Rodriguez, a star of New York’s mambo era during the 1950s. Santa Rosa evoked the period by spotlighting a pair of mambo dancers during one segment and taking a twirl himself.

Santa Rosa’s knockout 12-piece band featured perhaps the world’s only female salsa trumpet player, the powerful Rebecca Zambrana. Too bad the sound was distorted by rumble and reverb, especially in the expensive side orchestra seats. The band came through much cleaner in the first balcony.

And it’s a shame the show didn’t get better publicity. With a little push, Santa Rosa might have sold out the 3,400-seat theater, about three-fourths full, largely by word of mouth. Few other salsa artists could have even tried.

Santa Rosa left us believing this great music is alive and still worth saving.