To take things in a different direction, I decided to stray off the beats and rhymes path for last month’s NXNE festival and check out some live hip hop-influenced Cuban funk flavour from Telmary, a self-described jazz poet who has been doing big things around the city for a minute now in the world of Latin music. Long standing haven for Latin and South American acts based both here and abroad, Lula Lounge on Dundas St west hosted the event, which was red-hot from the moment I stepped in the place shortly after the beginning of Telmary’s first of two sets on the Friday night of the festival. With her 8-piece backing band in tow, the charismatic MC played more James Brown-styled groove director than lead vocalist, guiding her musicians through a blistering set laced with face twisting solos and body-moving funk-centric, salsa infused groves, splicing in her snatching vocals and motormouth lyricism to good effect whenever necessary. Blessed with a second set due to a performance mix-up earlier in the night, the crew took full advantage of the extra face time, stretching rehearsed cuts into crowd-pleasing jam sessions that had the dance-floor filled from beginning to end, a feat as admirable at Lula as it is anywhere else in this often cement-footed city.

If you hurry, you can catch Telmary tonight at Corso Italia up on St. Claire before she jets off for a cross-country tour with Cuban-influenced big draw jazz artist Jane Bunnett and sultry local Elizabeth Sheppard. Don’t worry if you’ve got plans, though, ’cause her crew will be back for a return engagement at Lula Lounge on the first of August.

website: http://www.myspace.com/telmarydiaz