POP MUSIC REVIEW : Salsa Fest Stumbles First Day at Ford Theatre

Everything seemed to conspire against the first installment of the two-day Los Angeles Salsa Festival, dedicated to late jazz legend Cal Tjader, at the John Anson Ford Theatre this weekend.

Attendance was poor Saturday, perhaps in part because of the Lakers playoff game and the Long Beach Carnaval, which arguably featured better Latin jazz acts for free. There was a lack of quality vocalists to front bands that ranged from lackluster to polished, and the one-hour late start limited the show’s premier artist, Mongo Santamaria, to a single solo.

“I think I should get my $22 back,” said one disgruntled fan, Richard Troche. “We came to see Santamaria, but the man wasn’t here. We can’t have salsa (presented) like that.”

Letting Santamaria patiently sit out the first two numbers by Johnny Martinez & his Salsa Machine didn’t help matters. But when the famed Cuban-born conga player finally got to his chance at bat, it became immediately apparent why he’s still the master.

The alumnus of three years in the Tjader band that was so dominant in developing the West Coast’s lyrical Latin jazz style used the salsa standard “No Quiero Na’ ” to demonstrate his effortless strength and purity of phrasing and a flawless rhythmic instinct that grew more awesome as his technique became more elaborate.

Santamaria’s pairing with Martinez’ nine-piece band, though short-lived, also served to highlight why the band has earned a reputation as a brassy, razor-sharp ensemble good enough to rival New York’s flashiest salseros. Its principal shortcoming--one shared with the other groups that performed--was its merely adequate vocalizing. There were moments, in fact, when flatness in the vocal harmonies was downright irritating.

The show’s biggest surprise was delivered by a pickup band of sorts--the 22-piece Hispanic Musicians’ Assn. The HMA, a nonprofit organization founded by the late Latin jazz pianist Eddie Cano, was designed to teach music to Latino youth. It has another benefit, however. It gives some of Los Angeles’ best but little-known veterans and younger Latino musicians a chance to play in the West Coast’s only Latin big-band jazz ensemble.

What the band lacked in rhythmic finesse, dynamic subtlety and brilliant arranging, it made up for with solid sound, honest enthusiasm and searing solos by trumpeter Tony Lujan and alto saxophonist Ruben Leon. The group also provided an important reminder: Several generations of Chicano and Mexican performers have played a prominent role in shaping the West Coast’s Latin sound.

Festival publicist Linda Mandel blamed the show’s meager turnout--only 300 of the Ford’s 1,400 seats were sold--on the Lakers game and the Long Beach Carnaval. But she didn’t believe that Sunday’s advance ticket sales presaged a repeat of the disastrous box-office performance of last summer’s salsa series at the privately-managed theater.

She said more than 700 tickets had been sold by Saturday for Sunday’s show, which featured what some fans would consider a stronger lineup: flutist Dave Valentin, the Bobby Matos Heritage Ensemble, congero Poncho Sanchez and other former Tjader band members.

And despite disappointing attendance, other fans--including those who couldn’t resist rumbeando on the dance floor behind the main stage--predicted that the Afro-Cuban tradition built on the one-two-three, one-two clave beat will continue its comeback in the wake of “Salsa,” a recently released dance-themed feature film choreographed by Kenny Ortega.

But the Salsa Machine’s Martinez, the 62-year-old bassist who began his band-leading days in Los Angeles in 1958, put these hopes into perspective. “At that time, there were 35 clubs in Hollywood alone playing (mambos, salsa’s precursor). There was another 100 in East L.A. It’ll never be the same.”