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Mambo Kings Live!

By Herb Folsom

Found in: | Inside | Music |

The Mambo Kings Live! (self-produced) CD $15 www.mambokingdom.com

Latin jazz is coming to the Four Corners! Classically trained, the Mambo Kings of Rochester, N.Y., truly convey the genre with a blend of Afro-Cuban rhythms and jazz improvisation. Following Marinera, the band's debut album, the Mambo Kings newest recording is Live!, an exciting album featuring 10 instrumental numbers recorded live in Rochester at the Hochstein Performance Hall.

Formed in 1995, the Mambo Kings is a quintet, led by pianist and composer Richard DeLaney, a native of Peru. His background includes 15 years as musical director for Orquestra La Muralla, a legendary salsa band from upstate New York. Percussionists Freddy Colon (timbales, drums, bongos, bata, and tumbadora) and David Antonetti (congos, guiro) provide a rock-solid foundation to the band. Woodwind specialist and saxophone player John Viavattine adds the spice that makes this a "get-up-and-dance" album. On electric bass is John Viavattine Jr., providing a smooth jazz sound as replacement for Bob Stata (acoustic bass) who appeared on Marinera. (Coincidentally, a Montana band shares the name "Mambo Kings").

"Mambo" is defined as a ballroom dance style popularized in the 1940s and '50s in Cuba that resembles the Rumba or Cha-Cha. Live! certainly reflects this definition with cuts such as "Tres Lindas Cubanas" and "El Cumbanchero," both traditional Latin compositions. The former has an outstanding flute solo, the latter the same on congas. Cuban music is a myriad of styles and genres with a long and distinct history. While influences from Spain and Africa are predominant, music from Europe, Latin-America, and jazz from the U.S. have shaped the style of the distinct Cuban sound.

"Caravan," a Tizol-Ellington classic is performed on the album with intoxicating percussive drive, creating the sway of what it must feel like to ride a camel. Colon and Antonetti play off each others' energy, which so often can create the magic on a live recording.

The Lennon-McCartney "Day Tripper" shows how a rock number can be assimilated into a Latin groove. The Kings even manage to slip in a few phrases from "Rhapsody in Blue" without missing a beat. The Mambo Kings are smart to work in a cover tune or two, easily recognizable to the new-to-Latin music listener.

Delaney's piano-playing also drives the band, setting up the dynamics of pleasing tempo changes within each song. He has a unique sound, but if a comparison needs be made, it may be to Vince Guaraldi. In fact, on Marinera the Mambo Kings play Manha de Carnaval, a Jobin-Bonfa composition recognizable on Guaraldi's 1965 recording of Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus.

The 10 songs yield an average of over six minutes per cut. Consequently, listeners can let the groove take them away. The audience gets to travel musically from the Caribbean to England to the Andes. Look forward to some spontaneous improvisation, perhaps the highest form of art.

The Mambo Kings' concerts are scheduled for Sunday, July 27, 7 p.m., in Pagosa Springs at Boot Jack Ranch and Monday, July 28, 7 p.m., at Durango Mountain Resort. Tickets are available from Music in the Mountains (musicinthemountains.com). Be sure to put these performances on your calendar; you won't want to miss them! Programming note: Hector Diaz will hold down the bassist slot, as he stalwartly did on their last Colorado visit.

In addition, the Mambo Kings will teach a master class with the Stillwater Steel Drum Band and Jazz Combo. This group of middle- and high-school students may perform at the pre-event to the Mambo Kings' concert on July 28.