Danny Ocean: Tiny Desk Concert

Danny Ocean: Tiny Desk Concert with tags npr, npr music, national public radio, live, performance, tiny desk, tiny desk concert, tony desk, tiny 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

#dannyocean #tinydesk #nprmusic