Spanish language music: Rumba

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CD Don Barreto 1932-1946: Melody's Bar [1994] • LISTEN • BUY CD

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CD Chanchullo [2000] • LISTEN • BUY CD • REVIEW: After starting off in an anxious mood with long, somewhat aimless jams, Chanchullo settles nicely into the gorgeous chemistry that made Introducing... Rubén González so incredibly magnetic. On the opening track, the 81-year-old virtuoso races at the piano like a horse charges from the gate, barely stopping until arriving at "La Lluvia," the percussion-inspired third song. From then on the ensemble elegantly glides along as González and his amazingly nimble arthritic fingers lead the band in a set of nostalgic danzóns, cha-chas, and other Cuban forms. The melodious violin and flute of "Central Constancia" spawns visions of the sweet little ballet class captured on the Buena Vista Social Club documentary and for which González regularly plays. Fellow Cuban star Ibrahim Ferrer sings on a couple of cuts, but unfortunately his part is too short on "De una Manera Espantosa" and the accompaniment too sloppy on "Choco's Guajira." Eliades Ochoa's unadorned contribution to "Quizás, quizás" is a highlight, as is the charming standard "El Bodeguero." A total of 21 musicians contribute to this album, but Chanchullo really only needs one: a pianist with a voracious appetite for life and immense talent. And it certainly has that. --Review by Karen K. Hugg

CD Indestructible [1998] • LISTEN • BUY CD | CD Introducing ... Rubén González [1997] • LISTEN • BUY CD

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CD Bio Ritmo [2004] • LISTEN • BUY CD • REVIEW: Salsa and Latin music enthusiasts have often wondered what caused the music's extraordinary renaissance in the late 1960s and '70s to peter out. After a period of remarkable cross-fertilization and experimentation, when old hands like Tito Puente and Mongo Santamaria played with funk beats, Eddie Palmieri plugged in an electric Fender Rhodes keyboard and bands like Santana and El Chicano injected rock with Latin swing (and vice versa), the musical climate shifted towards synthesizers, pop ballads and the sugary "salsa romantico" that dominates Latin radio today in the form of everyone from Marc Anthony to Ricky Martin. Bio Ritmo, a nine-piece self-described "classic" salsa band from Virginia, makes clear on their mostly smoking self-titled fourth release just what it is we've been missing all these years. Lead singer and songwriter Rei Alvarez brings his Puerto Rican roots to bear on material that more than anything echoes the thrilling sound of Palmieri's groundbreaking 1960s and '70s bands La Perfecta and Harlem River Drive. On "Atrevete" pianist Marlysse Simmons brings some serious salsa chops to bear on her funky Fender Rhodes solo while the band drops impressively into Brazilian samba, and "Fabula" shows off some high-energy playing from timbalero Giustino Riccio while the group goes from hard-driving salsa to an intense Afro-Cuban 6/8 groove. About the only blemish on this otherwise immaculate canvas is bassist Jon Sullivan's insistence on overusing envelope filter bass effects--whooshing science fiction sounds that come across as gratuitous, since the group's open-mindedness and willingness to experiment is obvious enough from the music. --Review by Ezra Gale

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CD Live in New York [1998] • LISTEN • BUY CD | CD Oyelos de nuevo [1994] • LISTEN • BUY CD | CD Vacunao [1995] • LISTEN • BUY CD | CD Cantar maravilloso: Rumba origi [1992] • LISTEN

Browse or buy Los Munequitos de Matanzas CDs at amazon 

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