In May 2011, Kisha and I were getting ready to leave for the Dominican Republic. I didn't really know what people were listening to in the DR, so I decided to just go for anything remotely Latin. What I found was exactly that; Latin enough to play songs somewhere between clave time and 4/4, but not really your typical salsa band. Some of the lyrics are in Spanish, but since the band is based in Paris, there were also some songs in French and English. What struck me about this album was how much fun it was to listen to. I initially wanted to play the drum kit to these songs, but never really tried it out due to a lack of place to play. The groove is undeniable, and I would just cruise around with this disc in the car with a huge smile on my face, bopping to the music to the delight of some of the other drivers that I encountered. Cruiseability is a total requirement for good music, methinks.
I remember coming across a pair of green congas in the music room at SCS, the school that graciously employed me, and wishing I could play like Setenta. I think that's when I first though about realistically playing hand percussion. I dabbled with a pair of congas back at ONU when I was playing alongside Kevin Jones, but it had been a real long time since I did more than super-basic djembe stuff. All of a sudden I wanted to play that funky tumbao! This was step 1 in breaking loose, moving ahead, and learning new music.
If you like collecting good music, these guys are great! Their second albom, Latin Piece of Soul is also good, but I have some reservations about some of the songs on the newer album. I can honestly say I love everything on this first latin/soul/jazz album, though! Check it out!
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