The newest video from Venezuelan cuatro player Jorge Glem and American accordionist Sam Reider is about unlikely combinations that end up blending perfectly. Like peanut butter and jelly, like a cigarette and coffee, like navy blue and black — in my opinion, at least — , Glem and Reider’s folk musicality, heavily influenced by their respective country’s musical traditions, fit together like pieces of a puzzle. This harmonious amalgamation is exemplified visually and auditorily in their latest music video to “Homer the Roamer/Sabana Blanca,” off their album, Brookly-Cumaná, just released on November 4.
The video focuses on duos, how two separate entities can come together to create new sounds that celebrate and even emphasize their differences. “Homer the Roamer/Sabana Blanca” is set in a latin bar, where Jorge Glem is strumming passionately on the cuatro to a cheering crowd, glowing with a summer sheen, clinking drinks and vibing to the music. Sam Reider, the American accordionist, pianist and composer watches from a tall table as Glem finishes his set, then comes over, accordion slung around his shoulder, asking Glem to play with him: “You start,” he says.
They launch into “Homer the Roamer,” and soon enough a beautiful woman is spinning in a gold skirt while men vye for her hand in dance with some moves of their own. With each tempo change comes new energy, as the unlikely pair’s contagious sound coaxes more personalities out onto the dance floor.
Suddenly, Jorge Glem and Sam Reider are standing, the rhythm is palpable, and everyone is involved: a man does the robot in slacks and a work tie, a girl in knee high pink boots vogues, someone drops into the splits and someone grabs a tambourine. It’s “Sabana Blanca,” and strangers twirl each other around as the “strangers’” instruments spur.
The whole video exists in this one scene, a total celebration of the singular experience of live music. During the pandemic, I would play Bill Evans Trio’s live recording, “Porgy (I Loves You Porgy) – Outtake,” on repeat, closing my eyes, pretending I was at a jazz club, a concert, anywhere but alone in my room. If I had had this video during that time, I would have died of FOMO, but still probably would have had it on repeat as well.
“Homer the Roamer/Sabana Blanca,” is a superb translation of music to film, a video you can get lost in, something you don’t just watch, you experience. It’s a beautiful addition to the album, which features a fusion of esteemed Latino and American musicians. Listen to it here.
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