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Claudia Acuña proved last night that music works best when it makes an emotional connection. Her band had all the chops that any group needs to skillfully navigate the music, but it was her ability to play on the audience's empathy that put the music over the top.
As always, Jason Lindner provided his muscular and witty piano playing. For a guy who can bang out a montuno with the best of them, Linder also showed why his big ears and subtle harmonic shifts make him a perfect match for Acuña's sometime ethereal, sometimes driving vocals. Lindner's own music is must-hear material, too. The rest of the band members were making their first appearance in Rochester: guitarist Juancho Herrera, drummer YaYo Serka and bassist Omar Avital.
One of the non-musical highlights of the show was watching Acuña swap stories with Rochester legend Gap Mangione (brother of Chuck). Mangione told a story about walking into a coffee shop in Monterey and seeing Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge, Harry Edison and Clark Terry sharing a table. Acuña responded with a sweet story about one of her meetings with Abbey Lincoln, whom she openly acknowledges as a musical influence. (In fact, last night's first set began with Lincoln's composition "The Music Is The Magic. )
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