Junji Delfino and Ireson, not sacrificing either

On our Thursday visit to Piedra Negra we heard that on Saturday they would put up a party for Mexico’s independence. At that time I had already made a plan to go see Junji Delfino at the Sultan Jazz club. 

Because we like Junji’s singing a lot and you can drink only so much tequila on one evening, we figured that the solution would be to go, again, to Piedra for a bite and some drinks and then walk over to Sultan for Junji. We could even see later whether we could return to the tequila.

It seemed like déjà vu when we got out of the cab at Blu Jaz and were again welcomed by the lovely Cindy who guided us directly to Piedra Negra where we would find "boss".

I don’t know when the party had officially started but when we walked into to Haji lane, I love the fact that it is now closed for traffic, there was a big crowd chatting, eating and drinking. The band were getting ready to start, which could only contribute to the festivities. It was a trimmed down version of Ireson with core members:

Alina Ramirez on keyboard,

Carlos Sendros on guitar and vocal

This time, Leonardo completed the band the band on percussion. 

Leo, who is also the chef at Piedra, must have been slaving in the kitchen from the early hours that day, to be able to step out and play on time, but he did it with vigor and lots of enthusiasm.

A second guest, to cover the lead vocals, waVeronica Barbosa Rojas.

The band started with the by now classic El Cuarto de Tula, and continued with a mix of cool Latin and Latinized hits. This is where we came to realize that Veronica's nice warm smile was a mild reflection of her voice with a lot of that Latin fire.

 

 

After hanging out there for an hour or so we made our way to Sultan. It appeared we had planned things well because Junji was just about to start. She was supported for the night by

Ben Poh on Bass

Darryl Ervin on drums

Joshua Wan on Piano

As expected the music was lovely… Junji was lovely. As I was trying to discover what I like about her style of singing, I realized she is singing these standards the classic way, and with a classy appearance. 

Joshua, in his Jazz transformation, and not his NeoVintage alter ego, was solid as always.

Darryl on drums seemed to be having a great night too, sometimes relaxed and smiling, sometimes apparently highly concentrated. 

Visually Ben seemed to be in a zone of his own, clearly escaped from his weekdays defending the country, he seems more peaceful behind his beloved bass and not the warrior Singapore is trying to make of him.

The turn out was not that great but that didn’t bother us; at least it doesn’t on the short term. It is a shame though that more people do not attend small events like this, and it would be an even bigger shame if they wouldn’t happen less. It may not be at the so called higher standard of the slick, flawless, well-organized, well-oiled show around a Tony Bennett, but that to me is also what makes it more fun. This music is so much more real. This stuff is Live.