Cimafunk brings joyous funk show to South Orange Performing Arts Center

JAY LUSTIG

Cimafunk (third from left) with some of his bandmates at The South Orange Performing Arts Center, Sept. 19.

A great funk band is a paradox. All the musicians come across as distinct personalities. And yet, when the really cooking, all of those elements come together to create a seamless whole.

Cimafunk and his eight-piece backing group La Tribu (“the tribe” in English), a great funk band, performed at The South Orange Performing Arts Center on Sept. 19. A native of Cuba who is now based in New Orleans, Cimafunk was supposed to be one of the performers in the free, outdoor Sounds of the City series at NJPAC in Newark this summer, but that show was cancelled because of threatening weather. So Cimafunk’s Northern New Jersey debut — sponsored by the Jersey-based Gia Maione Prima Foundation, which has strong connections to the New Orleans music scene — had to wait.

JAY LUSTIG

Cimafunk at The South Orange Performing Arts Center.

The band’s mix of funk, Latin music, hip-hop and jazz had the crowd dancing from beginning to end — in front of their seats and in the aisles, mostly, but by the end of the set, at the invitation of the band, on the SOPAC stage, too. After that, the band turned it up another notch by encoring with Parliament’s riotous party anthem, “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker).”

Cimafunk was a charismatic frontman, exuding nonstop joy as he sang and moved around the stage. But most of the musicians showed they had charisma to spare, too — dancing and clowning around while adding distinctive musical elements to the mix. At virtually any point in the show, you could focus on saxophonist Katy Cacao, trombonist Hilaria Cacao (no relation), drummer/musical director Dr. Zapa, percussionist Machete, keyboardist Arthurito “El Wao” or anyone else, and be totally absorbed in what they were doing.

Born Erik Alejandro Iglesias Rodríguez, Cimafunk, now 36, adapted his stage name from cimarróns, a term for escaped Cuban slaves who formed communities of their own when that country was under the control of Spain (roughly 1500-1900). He started performing in Cuba around 2010, and moved to New Orleans in 2022.

He has received three Grammy nominations. Two were in the Latin Rock or Alternative Album category, for Pa’ tu Cuerpa (2024) and El Alimento (2021); the latter album includes guest appearances by Jersey-bred funk icon George Clinton (whose trademark songs include the aforementioned “Give Up the Funk”), Lupe Fiasco and CeeLo Green. His other nomination was in the Global Music Performance category, for “Todo Colores,” a track that he was featured on, on Ibrahim Maalouf’s 2022 album Capacity to Love.

The cancelled NJPAC show, which also was sponsored by the Gia Maione Prima Foundation, would have also featured Primera Linea, a group of young musicians from Havana who specialize in a fusion of Cuban and New Orleans music. Cimafunk is mentoring them, along with Trombone Shorty.

Gia Maione Prima Foundation trustee Anthony Sylvester said, while introducing Cimafunk & La Tribu at SOPAC, that “we all met in Cuba about five years ago. … I’ve spent a lot of time with these folks in Cuba. They are tremendously interested in the young people in their country, and here. They mentor the young people. If there’s something that happens and we have an event at 8 in the morning, they’re all there with the young people. They bring them here on tour. They are real role models.”

For more on Cimafunk, visit cimafunk.com. Here is a video of the band in action:

_________________________________________