Tensamba festival opens at El Almacen in Arrecife with Minax and Kucich

The 23rd edition of the Festival Tensamba starts its run in Lanzarote. The opening date is at El Almacen, in Arrecife, with Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist Leo Minax and Argentine pianist German Kucich, two musicians who have been sharing stages for years and who appear here in a stripped-down acoustic format: guitar, piano and voice.

Their set brings together original compositions, Brazilian song, improvisation and jazz, including material from their joint record Almoco de domingo. It is neither a straight traditional-repertoire concert nor a conventional jazz gig, but the meeting point of two musical worlds that have gradually grown into each other, with the piano's phrasing settling inside the metre of Brazilian song.

The duo format, with no rhythm section, changes the way the music lands. The voice sits at the front and there is room to breathe between the instruments, which suits a small room like El Almacen, where the audience stays close to the players.

With this concert, Tensamba continues to bring Brazilian music to different points across the Canary Islands, beginning this year in Lanzarote. Tickets are on sale.

Practical notes for visitors

El Almacen is one of the easiest places in Arrecife to catch live music: it is within walking distance of the town centre, and the surrounding streets have plenty of bars and restaurants for before or after the show. If you are driving in from the southern resorts or from the north of the island, allow extra time for parking in central Arrecife in the evening; the seafront areas are usually the most practical bet. Because the venue is small, buying in advance is wiser than relying on the door.