West End Mambo at Market Square

Market Square in downtown Reidsville will be filled with classic salsa and Latin jazz as West End Mambo performs Saturday, June 19, from 4-7 pm. This event is free and open to the public.

The band is based out of North Carolina and is headed by musicians Steve Blake and Cesar Oviedo. It has grown into a 10-piece band with roots in the Cuban-style salsa. The band was first formed in 1999 by Andrew Valentine, a Russian, whose next-door neighbor was a Cuban musician. Although Valentine is no longer with the band, West End continues to specialize in classic salsa and plays a variety of Latin music styles, including Latin Jazz. West End’s sound lies somewhere between the Cuban popular music featured in Buena Vista Social club and the sound of New York-based Fania All-Stars. Even the band’s name refers to the style they play. The term mambo is a way to play salsa and also a section of the salsa arrangement, according to Blake.

Steve Blake is a graduate of the Berklee School of Music and has played jazz with the Matt Kendrick Unit and toured with Motown legends the Four Tops and The Temptations. He has performed at the Brevard Jazz festival with the Matt Kendrick Unit, sharing the bill with the Yellowjackets and Kenny Garret, to name a few. Steve is an accomplished writer, arranger and recording engineer, producing numerous successful independent releases for regional artists.

Cesar Oviedo was born in Nicaragua and graduated from the National Conservatory of Music. He began his musical career in the city of Managua as a bass player with the jazz fusion band Praxis. He plays different styles, including Brazilian, Rock, Flamenco and Latin American Folk. He won first prize in the festival De la Juventud and was Music Advisor for the Nicaraguan national Television Systems Network for three years.

West End Mambo performed with the Greensboro Symphony on New Year’s Eve at the Greensboro Coliseum as part of the Carolina Pops Series.

This concert has received support from the Grassroots Arts Program of the Rockingham County Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.

For more information, visit the City of Reidsville’s website at www.ci.reidsville.nc.us or call 336-349-1099.