David Lechuga
AMP/Oakland Central Lunch and Listen
Latham Square
1500 Broadway Ave.
Oakland
June 20, 2024
Intermittent sunshine broke through, illuminating four men in varying states of dress for the weather: one T‑shirt, one long sleeve, one sweatshirt, sleeves bunched up, and a bassist in sunglasses, corduroy pants, a beanie, and a down jacket. This is June is Oakland, and the men, all wielding musical instruments, were our weekly lunchtime serenaders of Latham Square, courtesy of Oakland arts grants.
David Lechuga, guitarist and leader of the day’s quartet, sported a mop of dark curls and a dusty cornflower blue N*E*R*D shirt. (I spent some time trying to decide if it was the band or just general nerd-dom — music confirmed. But was the drummer’s CHAMPION the brand or just the noun?) handled his black-and-white electric number with apparent comfort and ease. He picked and plucked, cradling the neck just so, eyes cast down.
”Electric jazz?” Lechuga began to explain — half time, double time, but still the same? “I’ll follow you,” the horn player responded. The music rolled, crescendoed, crashed, loud, forceful, but always gentle.
The group as a whole exuded a general sense of casualness, a laid-back vibe accentuated by the drummer’s rug and the quiet but silly banter between players. They moved through their songs at a languorous and easy pace, drawing in passersby on lunch breaks. Tables, then nearby benches, filled up with people, mostly solo, taking in the reverberations and soft blanket of tuneage. Two youngins armed with food joined my table, chatting quietly, their voices never reaching too far across it to me. A service dog at the feet of her owner, a few feet away, tiny blue bows on her harness beckoning for forbidden cuddles.
Together we tuned in as the horn player blasted us with clean, clear, bright, warm notes amidst chilly breezes. We grooved in our seats as the bassist got funky AF, noodling the sound into an underwater groove, his bass matching Chiquis’ bows and hunched but attentive stature that of fellow bassists worldwide.
“Do you know about unconditional love?” he asked, as the band launched into their next song. Lechuga led with a sweet indeed finger-picked intro, sending notes and peals of light into the slowly warming summer air.
