Pavel & Direct Contact will be in concert in downtown Columbus today.
Photo provided
Dignified toe-tapping is fine when it comes to some modern jazz.
And then there are the salsa and Latin-inspired tunes of Pavel & Direct Contact. Carmel band leader and keyboardist Pavel Polanco-Safadit presents a bit more of a free spirit in performances. Moving, grooving, even jumping.
And audiences often return the fervored favor.
Organizers expect such energy at 5:30 p.m. today when the ensemble, together for 18 years, closes out the free, inaugural JazzIN Columbus outdoor summer series at the Ovation Technology Plaza on the east end of Fourth Street in downtown Columbus.
“There will be dancing,” said Jan Banister.
She’s president of the board of the Columbus Museum of Art and Design, one of the sponsors of the series with the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation and the support of the local Office of Downtown Development.
Polanco-Safadit spoke about his onstage exuberance during a May interview with The Republic.
“That joy comes from simply being alive,” he said. “I just think we can take way too many things for granted.”
His lead singer Leah Crane said his kinetic craziness makes him “like the Jerry Lee Lewis of Latin jazz.”
The six-member ensemble sold out its spring show at the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic’s Jazz at Helen’s series in downtown Columbus. That will be little surprise to those who have seen the group all over Indianapolis at festivals and more.
Today’s set list probably will include some original compositions from the band’s 2023 recording “Essentials,” featuring the band’s most downloaded songs.
According to promotional material, the ensemble’s passion is to connect cultures around the globe to promote musical cross-cultural experiences. With a combined experience from around the globe, group members have played throughout the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. The ensemble is composed of Indy Jazz Hall-of-Famers, studio musicians, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra players and international artists.
Organizers already labeled the new series a success, attracting several hundred people for a genre that, until recent years, has not been quite as prevalent as other musical styles.
