Septeto Nacional play Hoy Como Ayer; music, family, no drama.

Havana's Septeto Nacional marked a little bit of history Saturday night in Little Havana with family feeling and no drama. "On your feet familiares de Septeto Nacional" said 68-year old lead singer Eugenio Rodriguez to dark, tiny and packed Hoy Como Ayer on Saturday night. "Tantos primos y primas despues de tanto tiempo." Not even Vigilia Mambisa bothered to demonstrate over the first concert by a group coming from the island in at least six years (although even the early 10:30 set is late for Saavedra's crew.) Whether it was because the septet founded by Ignacio Pineiro in 1927 plays such culturally weighted, historic and apolitical Cuban music, or because there's simply not the anger to generate a public protest, the only screaming on Saturday night's show was the enthusiastic crowd inside. It included Tony Rives, 45, whose mother was cousin to Ricardo "Oro" Oropesa Fernandez, the Septeto's manager/promotor, occasional back-up singer and clave player, and expert dancer with half the women in Hoy Como Ayer. "I don't think politics should mix with the talent," Rives said. "You can't separate them from their ability to play or us from our ability to appreciate it. I feel great that they're here – we grew up listening to this music, but we only get to hear it on records."

Yes, the Septeto Nacional opened with Echale Salsita, the Pineiro tune that's sometimes credited with giving salsa its name, and barreled on from there. Son is usually a suave thing, but this ensemble, the fourth generation for the band, played with exceptional precision and drive. This wasn't the turbo-charged overdrive of timba, but it was relentless enough: tres, guitar, stand-up bass, bongos (and cowbell), maracas, trumpet, and singer all beautifully locked in, the rhythm section as regular as a drum machine,

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