Festival in the Stuttgarter Theaterhaus

Lucas Dorado and Branko Arnsek:
Latin Jazz with Cuban Flair

from Dietholf Zerweck | 14.08.2024 | LKZ.de

High-voltage sound: Swiss vibraphonist Lucas Dorado (right) and bassist Branko Arnšek

"Stuttgart Mi Amor" is the motto of the Latin Jazz Festival, which took place for the seventh time this year during the summer holidays at the Theaterhaus in Stuttgart. One of the most compelling bands was the septet of Slovenian jazz bassist Branko Arnsek.

Stuttgart. Antonio Cuadros De Béjar confesses his love for Stuttgart right from the start when welcoming the audience. The guitarist, originally from Bolivia, is well-connected in the local jazz scene and, as the organizer of the summer Latin Jazz Festival, has been bringing together musicians from diverse backgrounds and styles at the Theaterhaus for years. On the second evening of this year's festival, the quintet "El Sueño," led by Swiss vibraphonist Lucas Dorado, and the Branko Arnsek Sextet performed for nearly 100 visitors in the T2 hall.

Lucas Dorado recounts that he started playing jazz as a child...

...More improvisation would certainly benefit the quintet's sound.

A vibrant Afro-Cuban flavor

And Marcos González Jimánez's wild hand-popping on his congas and batás not only provides the perfect accompaniment to the spirited songs of Berlin-based singer Mayelis Guyat, but also adds a vibrant Afro-Cuban flavor to the high-energy sound of the Branko Arnsek Sextet. With "No Sabes," "Charlie," and "Balanza," they shine at their performance at the Latin Jazz Festival, which deserved a better turnout that evening.

The situation is quite different with the main act of the evening, the Branko Arnsek Sextet. Unfortunately, it's already a quarter to ten when they take the stage, and at half past ten, Arnsek is supposed to announce the encore at the organizer's insistence—something must have gone wrong with the timing. The sextet's sound is rhythmically vibrant from the very first moment, but it's not just Son, Rumba, Mambo, and Cha-Cha-Cha that flash through this fiery mix with Cuban flair; Balkan rock also plays a part. Jazz bassist Branko Arnsek proudly points to his Slovenian roots and his adopted home of Cuba. Stuttgart pianist Frank Eberle is fantastic in his ability to position himself in different ways: first, he shines with a furious solo somewhere between cool jazz and rock jazz; then, during the performance by Cuban singer Mayelis Guyat, he switches from the grand piano to the electric piano and, together with Janos Löber (trumpet) and Anton Mangold (alto saxophone), adds a folkloric touch to the sound; or he varies the four-bar thematic cores to the hard-hitting beat of drummer Michael Mischl and the inventively pulsating riffs of Branko Arnsek's double bass and electric bass.