Bassist and vocalist Heshima Moja leads a smoking Latin jazz group, Ofrecimiento, with plenty of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean cross-currents.
The percussive groundwork of the band is complex and polyrhythmic, with bata drums, shakers, congas, bongos and other elements added into the latticework built up by the drum kit, keyboards and Moja’s bass playing. Reeds and strings get woven into the mix along with brass. This is Latin dance music, but it’s also a serious expression of the ways that, in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, culture from the Iberian Peninsula came to the Caribbean and the Americas, blending with the traditions of indigenous peoples here and also drawing considerable energy and foundational elements from the music of enslaved Africans.
Moja is a knowledgeable and talented ambassador of this music and its complex history. But beyond that, his band can play. And Moja articulates the connections to American jazz as well, capable of drawing on the music of Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and John Coltrane to stress the links in the traditions.
Moja Heshima and Ofrecimiento play the Baby Grand Jazz series at Hartford Public Library, 500 Main St., Hartford, Sunday, Jan. 29, at 3 p.m. The event is free. hplct.org.
