Casolando Strikes Right Chords
Casolando is a four-piece Latin combo led by Carlos Ortega, who 20 years ago was fronting a punk band. Now in his mid-30s, the singer has forged a new sound rooted in the traditional music of his native Colombia. On stage, he offers a ravishing lesson in creating and sustaining a mood, as he builds his romantic songs into undulating, epic-length meditations. Before long, one hardly notices that the music is sung entirely in Spanish, so intoxicating were the arrangements, so high the level of musicianship, so passionate the interplay among band members. The tunes inevitably build from an acoustic guitar riff by Ortega, whose opening themes are embellished by Honduran-born sidekick Charlie Baran, bassist Dave Hiltebrand and percussionist Chuck Sansone. Ortega sings in an almost conversational baritone, as though he was having an intense 2 a.m. conversation with a confidante. The instruments pick up the dialogue, creating an intricate web of voices of equal intensity and eloquence. Hunched so low he seemed to rest his chin on the body of his guitar, the dapper Baran conjures a buzzing hive of closely bunched notes. Hiltebrand complements the acoustic guitars with an electric six-string bass, bridging the gap between rhythm and melody without resorting to jazz-fusion cliches. Sansone keeps the groove rippling. After recovering from an illness that derailed his career for most of last year, Ortega and his combo appear more than ready to expand on the lush romanticism of their 1997 debut album, "Iliana." |
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