SPANISH MEETS SOUTHWESTERN

I can’t say I have a wide-ranging knowledge of Spanish music, but I
know what I like. And I love the new, self-titled album by
DePedro.

Some backstory: While the new album by Jairo Zavala (he records
under the name DePedro) may be his first to get wide distribution in
the United States—it’s the inaugural release on EMI’s new
National Geographic imprint, Nat Geo—Zavala has been a known
entity in his native Spain for the last 20 years via his recordings
with the bands Amparanoia, Vacazul and Los Coronas.

When our own Calexico began covering “Don’t Leave Me Now,” a song
co-written by Zavala and originally recorded by Amparanoia, a
friendship was struck. Zavala eventually visited Tucson to collaborate
with Calexico on the album, which was recorded at Wavelab Studio. The
disc features performances by Calexicans Joey Burns (upright bass,
cello, marimba, piano and about a half-dozen other instruments), John
Convertino (drums) and Jacob Valenzuela (trumpet), as well as help from
Marco Rosano (Crawdaddy-O, Rosano Bros. Virtual Quartet) on sax, and
harmonica from Craig Schumacher, who also mixed the album. (Zavala and
Burns co-produced it.)

The album demonstrates the fine-guitar playing of Zavala, but lest
you get the idea that this is just some flamenco album (no offense,
flamenco lovers), be assured the disc contains flashes of genres from
all over the map. Zavala’s playing is decidedly Spanish in flavor, but
anyone with a couple of Calexico albums in their collection will
certainly recognize the band’s contributions.

The album starts off with the mellow, pretty stuff: “Como el Viento”
is a romantic and sultry love song (or at least it sounds like it: Like
all of the songs on the album, save 1 1/2, it is sung in Spanish) that
is clearly influenced by Brazilian rhythms, while a reworked version of
“Don’t Leave Me Now,” the song Calexico covered and whose chorus is
sung in English (“Don’t leave me now, I’m coming to you”), is the
sexiest damn song I’ve heard in a while. It is absolutely gorgeous,
with a fantastic arrangement that flawlessly weaves together tenor and
baritone sax, trumpet and trombone with Zavala’s guitar and the supple
rhythm section of Burns and Convertino. (Convertino’s drumming is so
distinct as to be instantly recognizable.) And Zavala possesses a voice
that is warm and smooth, with just enough grit surfacing at the right
times.

From there, things get a bit more interesting sonically. “La
Memoria” imbues a memorable hook with flourishes of banjo and marimba;
the slinky, atmospheric “Two Parts in One,” the lone English-language
song, is a duet between Zavala and Burns that wouldn’t sound out of
place on a Calexico album. (“Tomorrow,” another Zavala/Burns duet, is
half-English, half-Spanish.) “Comanche” combines a Latin dance beat
with elements of funk and bluesy slide guitar, while
“¿Qué Pueda Hacer Por Ti?” incorporates Vox organ,
harmonica and a human beat box to arrive at something that sounds a bit
like Kiko-era Los Lobos.

DePedro is one of the best albums I’ve heard all year, but if
you don’t trust my endorsement, here’s a story courtesy of Burns:
Apparently, Neil Young was in Spain earlier this year and asked a
Spanish journalist to recommend some good new local albums. Young
called the journalist back later to tell him how much he liked the
DePedro album, which was among the journalist’s recommendations.

On Saturday, Oct. 17, a visiting Zavala will team up with
Burns, Convertino and Valenzuela, as well as a few members of Sergio
Mendoza y la Orkesta, to perform songs from the album at Solar
Culture Gallery, 31 E. Toole Ave. The all-ages show starts at 9
p.m. with an opening performance by Brian Lopez and Friends,
whose set at Club Crawl® a couple of weeks ago was stunning.
Admission is $10, and trust me when I say it’ll be worth every penny.
Call 884-0874 for more information.

(A related note: The following night, Sunday, Oct. 18,
Calexico will be playing an extremely intimate show at
Bisbee’s Café Roka as a benefit for the local radio
station KBRP. Call 432-5153 for more info.)

BIG BENEFITS

It’s been two years since the tragic, sudden loss of Chris
“Shorty Stubbs” Jones, beloved local musician, Raytheon employee
and host of KXCI FM 91.3’s Country Fringe program. And, as is
tradition, local musicians will come together this week to perform at a
tribute show to Shorty that doubles as a benefit for
KXCI, the station he loved so much. The event takes place at The
Hut, 305 N. Fourth Ave., on Sunday, Oct. 18.

Nine acts in all are slated to perform. Here’s what the schedule
looks like: Larry Armstrong and Copper Moon (3 p.m.), Clam
Tostada (4 p.m.), Los Hombres (4:45 p.m.), Big Ludd,
a collaboration between the Determined Luddites and Big Galoot (5:30
p.m.), the Loren Dircks Band (6:15 p.m.), Last Call Girls (7 p.m.), Cochise County Allstars (8 p.m.), Al Perry (9
p.m.) and the Kevin Pakulis Band (10 p.m.).

Admission is a suggested donation of $7, and you can call
623-3200 for further details.

Another benefit this week, to raise funds for the upcoming 20th
anniversary edition of the All Souls Procession, takes place at
Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St., on Friday, Oct.
16.

Here’s your schedule of performers for this one: DJ Carl
Hanni (a Weekly contributor) (7 to 9 p.m.), Blind
Divine (9:30 to 10:45 p.m.), Alter der Ruine (11:45 p.m. to
12:30 a.m.) and PLOY (1 to 2 a.m.). Drag-king troupe Boys R
Us will be performing brief sets between each of the acts, and
performance artists Flam Chen will, of course, be on hand as
well.

Admission is $10, or $8 if you’re in costume. Call 622-8848 for more info.

THREE GREAT ACTS, FOUR NEW RELEASES

‘Tis the season for local CD releases, and this week is no
exception, as it features four release parties for four new
discs—though we’re only talking about three acts here.

Lisa Otey and Diane Van Deurzen are back with a new disc
called Wild Women, which, according to a press release, “pays
tribute to 100 years of blues women.” It’s being released on Otey’s
Owl’s Nest Productions label, which is celebrating its 15th
anniversary. The pair will perform songs from it at two scheduled
release parties, where they’ll be backed by violinist Heather Hardy,
Rich Brennion on pedal steel, Scott Black on bass and drummer Chip
Ritter.

First up, at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 16, they’ll be at the
Desert View Performing Arts Center, 38759 S. Mountain View
Blvd., in Saddlebrooke. Advance tickets are $20; they’ll be $25
at the door. More info is yours by heading to tickets.saddlebrooketwo.com or calling 818-1000.

Then, at 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 17, the duo will perform at
the Berger Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Speedway Blvd.
Tickets are $20 in advance for general admission and $25 in advance for
reserved premium seats; they’ll be $5 more at the door. For more
details, point your browser to lisaotey.com, or call
370-5912.

Also on Saturday, Oct. 17, the acoustic folk duo Nobody,
et al., which includes Seth Phillips (vocals, guitar) and Brian
McClain (electric cello), will celebrate the release of two new EPs:
Two Tanks of Gas contains five songs performed by the duo, while
Clean Slate is a full-band affair that includes contributions
from saxophonist Marco Rosano and drummer Jim Howell.

The show takes place at Old Town Artisans, 201 N. Court Ave.,
and begins at 7 p.m. with opening sets by The Tangelos and
The Earthlingz. Best of all, admission is completely free. For
more info, call 623-6024.

Finally, at 9:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 19, singer-songwriter
Chris Holiman, former frontman of River Roses, 35 Summers and
the Downtown Saints, will celebrate the release of a new CD with a free
gig in the lounge at Plush, 340 E. Sixth St. For further
details, call 798-1298.

STILL HUNGRY FOR MORE?

There are literally dozens of great shows that we didn’t have space
to mention, so be sure to study our listings thoroughly.

This article appears in Oct 15-21, 2009.