Cultures coalesced Friday at the Charter Oak Cultural Center in Hartford as David Gonzalez and the Latin Jazz Experience delighted a full house at the site of Connecticut's oldest synagogue on the first night of Hanukkah.

Hartford's Office of Cultural Affairs Pork Pie Hat 2009 Jazz Series closed with a glowing performance that took the chill off a frigid December night.

The octet delivered a tantalizing mixture of musical styles, most informed by Caribbean and South American traditions. The Experience's brand of Latin jazz included familiar tinges of R&B, rock and gospel sounds, all accented with layers of interlocking percussion instruments.

Gonzalez focused primarily on jazz standards during the first part of Friday's concert; after an intermission, the pianist turned his band's attention to his own compositions, with a sprinkling of Latin American classics like "Meliendo Café" and "Obsesion" added for good measure.

Although the Hartford native gave most of the solo space to his horn players, Gonzalez began many pieces with a brief unaccompanied spot on Yamaha Motif keyboard. Usually, he'd hint at the forthcoming melody, or establish a groove for his colleagues to follow.

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Let's invite Flowers & Kain back to Hartford — and do it right this time; and there's beautiful Latin jazz in Pope Park
By Dan Barry

Hartford, you lowballers. Flowers & Kain played Up or On The Rocks last Friday, and where were you? The four-piece rock/reggae/hip-hop band was up from New London, where they're widely recognized as musical T&A magnets. Their gig should've been off the chain. And yet it was clear that they were having trouble pulling a crowd in Hartford. It wasn't because they're new — they've been around for years now. And it certainly wasn't because they're lacking musically. Their performance was awesome, and composition-wise, they're doing some next-level stuff. Dare I suggest it's because they're above and beyond what Hartford feels they can expect from their nightlife? I mean, damn. The party music we keep asking for is so mediocre, it's like the bands are afraid to even give themselves names that are more than one syllable.

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