Danny Ocean: Tiny Desk Concert

This Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 NPR Music celebrates artists from all corners of Latinidad with an 'El Tiny' takeover.

Isabella Gomez Sarmiento | September 18, 2024
We had no idea, when we invited Danny Ocean to the Tiny Desk, that his concert would take place amidst another wave of political protests and violent repression in his native Venezuela. Despite the tumultuous timing, Danny and his band eased right into his lover boy pop anthems “Me Rehúso,” and “Volare.” The latter, kicked off by an ingenious jingle of plastic bottle caps, transformed into a beach-side serenade complete with a saxophone and singalong. Later, during a surprise percussion breakdown in the middle of “AMOR” from his latest album REFLEXA, the Tiny Desk magic couldn’t have been clearer: a studio-polished song took on new life because the band was clearly having fun just jamming out.

Then, Ocean paused to acknowledge the crisis unfolding back home. “Venezuela, I love you with my whole heart,” he said in Spanish. “Whatever it is we’re going through, I hope we can resolve it.” Off the cuff, he played the first half of “por la pequeña Venecia” off his EP venequia. NPR staffers and guests waved Venezuelan flags; some of us got teary-eyed. But just like that, Danny Ocean and his band kept the good vibes going. The moment is indicative of the balance the artist has always managed to strike: making universal music about love and heartbreak without losing sight of the larger human struggle for peace and justice.

SET LIST
“Me Rehúso”
“Volare”
“AMOR”
“por la pequeña Venecia”
“Vuelve”
“Fuera del Mercado”

MUSICIANS
Danny Ocean: vocals
Curtis Crump: keys, saxophone
Tiago González: bass
June Medina: drums
⁠Daniel Feldman: percussion
Alvaro Cadavid: percussion
Mauricio Guerrero, Jr: guitar

TINY DESK TEAM
Producers: Anamaria Sayre, Isabella Gomez Sarmiento
Director/Editor: Maia Stern
Audio Technical Director: Josephine Nyounai
Videographers: Maia Stern, Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Zayrha Rodriguez
Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Audio Engineer: Josh Newell
Production Assistant: Elle Mannion
Photographer: Sofia Seidel
Tiny Desk Team: Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

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