I love the fact that on the back of this album it reads “file under TROPICAL LATIN JAZZ.” Now, THAT’S a genre! But it’s also misleading, as “tropical” sounds more like a Disneyland show than the hard hitting and exciting sounds that come from this session.
You’ve got a bus load of percussionists in Brian Andres, Javier Cananillas, Omar Ledezma, Braulio Barrera, and Omar Ledeama, and along with pianist Christian Tumalan they create deep rivulets for the punctuated horns on “Esto Puede Ser Eso” and “Amyable.” The front line of Tony Peebles/ts, Jamie Dubberly/tb and Henry Hung/tp spice up Chick Corea’s “Got A Match?” and with added sax by Mike Andres/as and Hermann Lara/bs they create a lovely rice pilaf for vocalist Venissa Santi on “My One and Only Love.” Sparks fly with Louie Romero’s congas and timbales on “Bacalaitos” while Alex Acuna brings his swizzle sticks for “Roasted to Perfection.” This one is made for cruising!