15

MONDAY

Though Vocal Sampling is not a new Puff Daddy project, the Havanan a cappella sextet does rap some verses (in Spanish) and offer some human beatbox grunts. But its members prefer to try to capture the horn sound of a Beny Moré classic or the fast-tempoed claves of merengue. While not as beholden to cutesy sound effects as the Bobs or Bobby McFerrin, on Live In Berlin they still overdo the scatted nonsense. They redeem themselves, however, by humming, sing-songing, and whistling appealingly through a few cuts and then dispensing a memorably sung call-and-response exchange between the melancholic lead and the high-pitched choral backing harmonies on “Fabula De Los Tres Hermanos,” the album’s most satisfying number. At 7 p.m. at the National Museum of Natural History’s Baird Auditorium, 10th & Constitution Ave. NW. (202) 357-3030. $21. (SK)