LA’s own Jose’ Rizo is a real renaissance man. Or, as they might say in East LA, “Jose’ Rizo is a real renaissance, man!” He leads the hot band Jazz on the Latin Side, which plays all over town, plays a nice horn himself, composes and is one of the best djs on KJazz with his fantastic show on Latin music.
This time around, he brings together a band that’s a bit different, dedicated to the sound, music and vibe of legend Mongo Santamaria. In theory, the group is a nine piece unit, but there are so many guests jumping in and going out it’s like an open house party, with people staying for awhile having some fun, and moving on out. The regulars include the Latin Coltrane himself, Justo Almario/ts, as well as Danilo Lozano/fl, Oscar Hernandez/p, Ramon banda/timbales, Dayren santamaria/vio, Joey De Leon/perc and Alfred Ortiz/perc. The mixture of flute and violin on tracks like “Bacoso” or Las Guajiras” is a sublime green salsa, while the band simmers like grilled onions and peppers on “Bulchanga.” Sensuous vocals and choruses by Destani Wolf, Freddie Crespo and Adonis Puentes create a mood as smoky as a low ceilinged club, particularly on “Siempre En Ti.” Hubie Laws brings his feathery flute for extra textures on “Bacoso” and even Ponco Sanchez gets out of his Chevy to pull up and play a few solos, as on the cooking “Asi Es La Vida” and “Guajira at the Blackhawk.” Get this band into a club and let the good times roll. Great stuff!
Saungu Records
www.saungu.com