Music in the Park gets one more gig

Though the Music in the Park banner proclaims there will be music “rain or shine” every Thursday in August, it didn’t quite work out that way earlier this month when Cuban-music septet SuperSones was scheduled to appear. There was definitely a lot of rain in the Park that Thursday evening, but not much music. Fortunately, the situation is about to be rectified as the Music in the Park series briefly extends itself for one week into September. SuperSones will play the Park this Thursday evening beginning at 6:30.

SuperSones performs a type of energetic Cuban country music known as son, a precursor of salsa. This music was popularized in the early 1920s and remains a staple of the Cuban-music repertoire to this day. Son blends Spanish guitars and harmony, Afro-Cuban percussion and swing, call-and-response singing, and trumpet improvisation. SuperSones plays both the original music and new compositions that are anchored in the son tradition. The group’s musical range includes bolero, cha cha cha, guaracha and something known as son montuno.

This is fun music, designed to get everyone dancing. If you are unfamiliar with it and interested in learning more, you can listen to son on SuperSones’s website. And if you’re signed up for MySpace, you can find more tracks here.

We'll see you in the Park on Thursday!

[Music in the Park is sponsored by the Madison Park Business Association. Photo courtesy of SuperSones.]