Pianist Chuchito Valdes could very well be the Cuban version of Oscar Peterson, here, with his team of Yosmel Montejo/b, Santiago san Tuiste/cong and Calixto Oviedo/dr, he mixes hard driving swing with irresistible Latin grooves. For a taste of his bop chops, go no further than “Atare” where he makes his fingers dance till they drop. He does a solo treatise on “Monte Arriba” that is a gorgeous mix of sensitivity and drive. The whole team simmers on the sizzling and upbeat “Iroko,” and the rhythm section is a force to be reckoned with all its own. Montejo supplies some funk licks on “Cachao Street” and does a mano a mano battle with the percussion on “Esta es me Rumba.” Bob Sheppard brings his saxes into the scene for a sauntering “Blues and Congas” while Serafin Aguilar’s flugel horn floats like a cirrus cloud on the scintillating “San Francisco Cha.”
This is a band I recently caught in concert, and this disc is a great invitation to catch them next time in town. Oye!
Music Roots Records