- country:USA
- style(s):Batucada, Salsa
- label:not signed
- type:Band
- instrumentation:vocal
- artist posted by:Quimbombó
Line up
- Alex Fernandez Fox (guitar, tres, vcl)
- Arun Luthra (tenor and soprano saxophones, flute, clarinet )
- David Oquendo (lead and background vocals, guitar, percussion )
- Igor Arias Baro (lead and background vocals, percussion)
- Jorge Bringas (bass, vocals )
- Nicholas (Herman)
- Nick Herman (director, composer, arranger, percussion) )
- Ricky Salas (congas, background vocals)
- Steve Gluzband (trumpet)
Links
Quimbombo is a groove-oriented band with roots in Cuban son and salsa; they always maintain strong elements of improvisation and spontaneity in their sound. Quimbombo (pronounced keem-bohm-BO) is the title of a classic Cuban son popularized by Conjunto Chappotin in the 1950's; a word of Congolese origin, it means "okra" or "gumbo" in Spanish.
Their new CD brings together musicians from Cuba, Brazil the U. S. and five other countries for a refreshing take on Cuban dance music. While strongly rooted in the traditional son style, this record incorporates non-traditional elements such as electric guitar and a Brazilian-style bateria (drum section) to create an energetic new sound.
Conga Electrica is a diverse album with five new songs and five songs chosen from Cuba's rich musical history. Its textures range from that of an intimate trio playing a "sambafied" bolero (Anorado Encuentro) to a "transient" take on Cuban carnival music with guitar hero Octavio Kotan's pulsating riffs and Brazilian-style call and response drum breaks (the title track). The key innovation on this album is the integration, on four tracks, of "Bloco Quimbombo," a Brazilian-style bateria or drum section. What the bateria does here is to add a dense layer of street drumming to the Cuban groovebeats tailor-made for each song by musical director and producer Nick Herman.
The album features the powerful callejero (streetwise) voice of Grammy-nominated Havana native David Oquendo, full of spontaneity and humor. Oquendo was likewise deeply involved in the band's debut release, Quimbombo. Making his debut recording here as a lead singer is Igor Arias Baro, a young Cuban well known in New York for his energetic imporovising in the hard hitting timba style.
