• The Sextet at Dizzy’s

    The Sextet at Dizzy’s

    The Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet’s “Caras” hit the crowd at the start of Monday night’s second set at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola like an acoustic sandstorm. So blinding was the effect that if there was an eyebrow raised anywhere in the room by the jazz savvy Lincoln Center audience, it was impossible to see. And so…

  • Harmony in Process

    Harmony in Process

    Among the visual artists producing work to the music of the Gabriel Alegría Afro-Peruvian Sextet at HARMONY IN PROCESS Saturday night at ShapeShifter Lab was Patti Maciesz, who sat center stage and made little illustrated tags for the audience in response to what she was hearing and seeing. This is the one she handed to…

  • Jazz and Sushi

    Jazz and Sushi

    The Gabriel Alegría Afro-Peruvian Sextet is an important band, and it should not come as a surprise that no smallish house in which they perform will be unpacked. It has doubtless happened before, but Saturday’s concert – of two separately vended sets – was the first time I have seen a full house at the…

  • Gabriel Alegría Afro-Peruvian Sextet

    Gabriel Alegría Afro-Peruvian Sextet

    Last night at Nuyorican Poets Cafe, the Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet outdid itself with a septet of special features: (1) The rare presence in New York of the band’s original drummer, Hugo Alcázar, as evidenced in this photo, a sharp, witty, assertive artist in every way; (2) a guest appearance by the notable jazz pianist…