Tito Puente Jr.

Tito Puente Jr.'s Friday night debut with the San Antonio Symphony happened to coincide with what would have been his legendary father's 84th birthday, he told the crowd. ¡Feliz Cumpleaños!, Tito. You would have been proud.

Puente Sr., who died in 2000, was known as The King of Latin Dance, and his compositions and renditions, including "Oye Como Va" and "Ran Kan Kan" made him a legend. Friday, son Puente Jr. channeled dear old dad in a rockin', cha-cha-cha-inspired evening that had more than a few music lovers shimmying in the aisles. The show repeats at 2 p.m. today at the Majestic Theatre.

Puente and his five-piece band, as well as second-half conductor Frank Fiore, turned out an overwhelmingly high-energy, festive show.

It would be more appropriate, in fact, to call it an extravaganza, not a concert. And although the show was not an official Fiesta event, it certainly could have been. Puente's chest flashed with bright medals, and dancers and musicians filled the lobby of the Majestic before the show and during intermission.

There were a few unfortunate sound system problems, but it didn't seem to affect the performers, who kept pushing the limits of each piece to amp up the hall's energy. The Livingston/Evans piece "Babarabatiri" was a crowd fave, and the delicate, plaintive sounds of Martinoli's "Cuando Calienta el Sol," dedicated to Celia Cruz, caused more than a few in the audience to start snuggling.

The two bands - Puente's house band and the symphony -- blended perfectly, playing off one another and amplifying each other's strengths.

The evening's first half of Latin-flavored classical selections was smartly programmed - it flew by and gave the symphony's brass section a chance to shine, although the star of the evening, judging by the hoots and hollers, was Puente, it bears noting that the program's first half seemed tailor-made for resident conductor David Cho, whose physical, playful conducting style transcended any language barriers and shaped a sparkling first half of big, brassy and breezy
selections.

Special attention should be paid to cellist Kenneth Freudigman for his heartfelt, wrenching turn on Grofé's arrangement of Lecuona's "Malagueña." And the entire symphony turned out passionate and precise work on two arrangements by Carmen Dragon: Marqueiña's "España Cañí," which was forcefully executed, and Abreu's festive "Tico Tico," which set just the right note for Puente's turn in the second half.