Valley guitarist Charlie Apicella (pictured above, far left) is a busy guy. You can catch him most Sunday mornings at the Cushman Village store in North Amherst, where, with bassist and violinist, he plays Latin music and tangos on acoustic guitar as Cidade (which is, near as we can tell, pronounced "see-DA-jay"). They can also be found regularly at Amherst Coffee, The Delaney House in Holyoke, and Sierra Grille in Northampton.
But Apicella tangos with two bands, also purveying '60s-style Blue Note jazz with Iron City (pictured), a magnetic sextet complete with congas. Iron City now offersgrooving accompaniment to beverage sippers at Amherst Coffee every other Tuesday.
—James Heflin
