9

FRIDAY

Andrés Levin is a Jewish Venezuelan guitarist/producer who moved to New York, studied at Juilliard, apprenticed with Chic’s Nile Rodgers, and worked with the varied likes of El Gran Silencio, Tina Turner, and David Byrne. He and his Cuban-born wife Ileana “Cucu Diamantes” Padrón put together the Latin-funk band Yerba Buena with several Cuban vocalists, Soul Coughing’s bassist, and an African-American drummer. As if that mash-up weren’t multiculti enough, Levin invited gypsy punks Gogol Bordello, Dead Prez rapper M1, a few Puerto Rican salsa players, and numerous others to guest on the Yerba’s second party platter, Island Life. The result could have been an overambitious mess, but Levin makes most of it work. Highlights include the boogaloo/R&B of “Bilingual Girl” with its double-entendre line “two tongues are better than one,” the flamenco of “Corazón Bandolero,” and the Brazilian carnival beats of “El Burrito.” Yerba Buena plays with Cordero at 9:30 p.m. on the Black Cat’s Mainstage, 1811 14th St. NW. $18. (202) 667-7960.