Barretto Brings Conga to Campus

The world-renowned conga player began his performance Friday night in Hill Hall Auditorium by casually directing his hands into a gentle beat on the four congas in front of him.

Barretto's backing band, New World Spirit, played only scattered notes, still trying to latch onto the increasingly complex rhythm presented at the front of the stage.

Then Barretto raised his hands to build strength for a loud conga drum roll -- signaling each band member to bring his instrument to the ready position.

From that moment on, Barretto and his band were in perfect syncopation.

As the first performer in the Carolina Union's 2002-03 Performing Arts Series, Barretto was billed as a jazz conga player, but his role throughout the performance was more that of bandleader.

Using the congas as his director's baton, Barretto orchestrated the rises and falls of his band's performance. Not only did Barretto consistently set and modify the music's rhythmic foundation, he organized the countless improvisational solos that lined the performance from start to finish.

And his bandmates were more than able to comply.

Each member of New World Spirit proved to be a virtuoso on his instrument, and under Barretto's direction, each had his chance to shine. Some, most notably trumpeter John Bailey and drummer Vince Cherico, shone brighter, but all five impressed the crowd and received numerous ovations.

The music as a whole, with its focus on solo improvisation, was rooted primarily in be-bop jazz, the genre that first inspired Barretto when he began his long career in the 1960s.

But Barretto, the son of a Puerto Rican immigrant, has gained fame over the last several decades for weaving Latin elements into free-form jazz -- using an African-based instrument, no less.

Friday night's performance reflected that Latin influence. A large part of the band's second set featured Spanish lyrics and a Latin musical style before the group broke into the big band of Duke Ellington for the finale.

Barretto himself did not shy away from his own solos, occasionally quieting his band for a couple minutes to display his own considerable musical talent.

But while such solo passages were impressive for their degree of difficulty, they functioned mainly as dramatic pauses in the musical conversation between the other five instruments.

The pauses came whenever the band's musical output began to grow monotonous, and the short breaks only reinforced the impact of the band's return.

In the free-form basis of jazz music, where even the rhythm section of drums and bass has the freedom to improvise, the centering presence of Barretto's congas was of immense value.

For all of his mastery on his own instrument, Ray Barretto indicated Friday night that his greatest talent just might be in making his bandmates sound even more masterful.

The Art & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.