It’s not every day that the Purple One asks a band he’s never seen to fly nearly 1,000 miles to fill in for a group at his club.
But that’s exactly what Prince did a couple of years ago, which is how the Austin, Texas-based Latin funk band Grupo Fantasma ended up on a first-name basis with one of the biggest names in pop.
“It came out of nowhere,” Grupo Fantasma guitarist Adrian Quesada said by phone.“We’re still humbled by it all.”
Humbled maybe, but not overwhelmed by the relationship they’ve struck up with Prince or the doors that have opened since they did a two-month stint at his now-defunct Las Vegas nightclub in 2006.
The 11-member band has a new live album, “Sonidos Gold,” that features sax great Maceo Parker and salsa legend Larry Harlow. Following recent appearances at the Bonnaroo and Coachella festivals, and a gig for the band’s horn section backing up Prince on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” Grupo Fantasma comes to the Museum of Fine Arts’ Calderwood Courtyard on Wednesday night for a concert under the stars - all of which is a bit more than the band’s members imagined when they were playing in living rooms for friends.
Quesada grew up on the Mexican border in Laredo, Texas. Everywhere he turned, he heard the modern folk dance music called cumbia, the sound at the core of Grupo Fantasma’s music. But as a hip-hop, hard rock and salsa fan, Quesada brings an eclectic mindset to the group that’s shared by its other members.
“Our two biggest influences are Fania records’ stuff and James Brown,” he said.
Which is probably why Prince dug what he heard on a CD his promoter was given by an old friend who just happened to be Grupo Fantasma’s manager. The band ended up backing Prince at a Golden Globe party in Los Angeles that included guest spots by Marc Anthony, Mary J. Blige and will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas. That led to opening for Prince on some of his tour dates.
“We play with him once in a while now,” Quesado said. “Every couple of months we get a call out of the blue from Prince. He’s never specifically told us why he likes us, but he has said that he remembers a time when you could be at a concert where James Brown, Santana and Earth, Wind & Fire are all on the same bill. We can go halfway through a salsa tune and then bust out into a James Brown tune, and I know he liked that for sure.
“A lot of young Latinos are into reggaeton today,” Quesdao continued, “but the idea of a little Latin rock orchestra is a dying breed. We started out playing house parties before we became an official band. We’re trying to re-create that vibe when we perform. The least we can do at a show is to make people feel better than when they got there.”
Just like they did for the Purple One.
Grupo Fantasma, at at the Museum of Fine Arts, Wednesday, 7:30. Tickets: $25; members, seniors and students, $20; 617-369-3306.
