Lounge at Lula's place Celebrating 7 years with 12 nights of music

errol-nazareth By Errol Nazareth ,QMI Agency

First posted: Friday, May 08, 2009 03:13 AM EDT | Updated: Friday, May 08, 2009 03:24 AM EDT

Ask Jose Ortega and Jose Nieves if they ever envisioned that a former Portuguese catering hall on Dundas West with the tacky name Hollywood Nights would one day become the city's hot spot for Latin music -- and they'll probably shake their heads.

The day we went in, we weren't thinking about starting a club, Ortega told me in an interview a few years back.

The owner happened to walk in and Jose asked if he wanted to sell the place and the guy said, 'I do.' They negotiated in Portuguese for like two minutes and Jose looked at me and said, 'Hey, I think we've got a place.'

That was seven years back.

Hollywood Nights was christened Lula Lounge and, Ortega, Nieves and general manager Tracy Jenkins have worked tirelessly to make it a go-to spot for fans of Latin, Cuban and Brazilian music.

Starting tonight, Lula Lounge will be celebrating its seventh birthday in fine style with a 12-night festival that, according to its fancy flyer, "unites Cuban timba, samba, MPB and African reggae with jazz, Sicilian, rumba flamenco, Hindustani raag and Salsa.

Here's a handy list of who's playing Lula tonight through next Friday:

* Bomba!,an eight-member Latin music outfit that hails from Edmonton, play an early show at the club tonight. They're followed by Luanda Jones and Aline Morales, two singers who are creating quite a buzz in the local Latin music scene.

Jones' sound embraces bossa, funk, jazz and samba, and Morales is the leader of the Afro-Brazilian percussion troupe Maracatu Nunca Antes.

Bomba! are on at 8 p.m, Jones follows at 10 p.m. and Morales hits the stage at midnight. Admission is $15.

* Nieves and Jenkins say the joint will be packed tomorrow night for a triple-bill featuring Ricardo Lemvo, Sals-Africa (who I profiled here last year), and Montreal's salsa legend Jesus "El Nino Perez.

Lemvo's music is a blend of Congolese rumba and soukous with Cuban son montuno, Dominican merengue, Colombian cumbia and other Latin American dance styles. 10 p.m. $35.

* Aline Morales returns to Lula Sunday for a Mother's Day Bossa Brunch featuring Mistura Fina. The local bossa group also includes Luis Guerra, Wagner Petrilli, and Alan Hetherington. Noon and 2 p.m. $12 or $30 (which includes brunch).

* Later that night, you'll be introduced to some more strong female voices performing under the banner Carolyn T Band Presents Diva Night 2009. Appearing with T will be Guiomar Campbell, Tracy Francis and Elena Kapeleri. 7 p.m. $20.

* Jazz heads should head to Lula Tuesday to check Sundar's New Avataar.

The music, I'm told, is a mix of classical Indian, hard bop, electronica, and Javanese gamelan.

Viswanathan, by the way, has been playing for more than 20 years. He completed his Masters in Jazz Studies from New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, earned a PhD in Jazz Performance from New York University, and is currently assistant professor of jazz studies at York. 8:30 p.m. $15.

* Wednesday's show -- David Buchbinder Presents Odessa/Havana -- sounds as intriguing as Tuesday's. The music you'll hear has elements of Jewish, Cuban and jazz. Last year, the outfit, led by trumpeter Buchbinder, won best world music group at the Canadian Folk Music Awards. 8:30 p.m. $18.

* Daniela Nardi, who calls her music "EarthyModernPopJazzWorldCool" on her myspace page, performs Thursday with special guest Alejandra Ribera. If you're curious to hear what Nardi's music sounds like, snap up her latest disc, The Rose Tatoo. 8:30 p.m. $15.

More Hot Docs

Last week, I recommended a few music-related films to check out at Hot Docs, the international documentary festival.

Here's one worth seeing before the festival wraps up on Sunday:

RiseUp chronicles the lives of three singers -- a shy girl from the country, a young man from the ghetto and a white kid from a rich family -- and their struggle to rise from Jamaica's underground music scene to reggae superstardom. Reggae legends Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare and Lee Perry appear in the film.

RiseUp screens tonight at 7:15 p.m. at The Innis Cinema, Saturday at 11:59 p.m. at The Bloor, and Sunday at 4 p.m. at The Royal.

For ticket nformation, go to hotdocs.ca.

ERROL NAZARETH'S RHYTHMS - RHYMES COLUMN APPEARS EVERY FRIDAY. ERROL CAN BE REACHED AT ERROL.NAZARETH@SUNMEDIA.CA.