Wishing for her youngest son to have a better fate than his musician father and brothers, Alex Acuña’s mother kept her husband from teaching the boy music. But it’s hard to fight destiny, and Acuña’s was to become one of the great percussionists of all time. He somehow combines the deep clave rhythms found in Peruvian, Brazilian and Cuban music with the white-hot precision of Tony Williams and the raging fire of Elvin Jones. With a single phone call from keyboardist Joe Zawinul, Acuña became a superstar, as he and bassist Jaco Pastorius helped Weather Report become jazz’s own version of The Beatles. Acuña will be joined tonight by bassist Abraham Laboriel, pianist Joe Rotondi and guitarist Ramón Stagnaro, with Acuña’s own daughter, Regina Acuña-Williams, on vocals. Apparently her father is more optimistic about a career in music than her grandmother was.

Fri., Jan. 2, 8:30 p.m., 2015
(Expired: 01/02/15)

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