Orquesta Akokán burst onto the global music scene in 2018 with a no-holds-barred take on Cuban mambo, earning a Grammy Award nomination, a Billboard Latin Music Award and a Songlines Music Award along the way. Led by producer Jacob Plasse and pianist and arranger Michael Eckroth, the ensemble draws its name from a Cuban Yoruba word meaning “from the heart.”
The band’s 2018 self-titled debut riffed on Cuba’s classic 1940s and 1950s grooves with fresh style and panache, while 2021’s 16 Rayos pushed the mambo envelope with an edgy variety of rhythms and styles. Their third album, Caracoles, recorded at Havana’s renowned Abdala Producciones studios, presents a glorious return to the iconic era of Benny Moré, Perez Prado and Machito — while sounding like nothing those maestros ever created. The horns drive the tunes with irresistible danceability, while the musicians trade solos in an advanced bebop language that brings to mind Charlie Parker, but in 2024 Havana.
At its core, Orquesta Akokán’s mambo reaches back to its deepest roots. Lyricist and singer Kiko Ruiz, a Palo Mayombe priest, infuses the music with spirituality that recalls mambo’s original meaning: both a song and a prayer, beseeching good spirits to guide one’s journey away from darkness.
Orquesta Akokán will also perform on Saturday, August 8 at 7pm at the PG&E Latin Tropical Stage.
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