Search - Bobby Sanabria :: Afro-Cuban Dream ... Live & In Clave!!!

Afro-Cuban Jazz - Live and in Clave!

Thomas Pena | Brooklyn, NY USA | 07/09/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bobby Sanabria (master percussionist, composer, arranger, bandleader) and his Afro-Cuban Dream band take no prisoners on this fine recording. The music pays homage to its heritage but is firmly planted in the here and now. As master percussionist Manny Oquendo states, "From the Palladium to the Millenium." Short but sweet, that sums it up. "Bobby Sanabria ...live & in clave! " was recorded at the legendary Birdland in New York City on the evening of May 20, 1999. I was fortunate enough to be present for this historic recording session. Take it from me, it was a very exciting evening and the band was in top form! Thankfully, the recording remains true to the spirit of the evening. Bobby is following in the footsteps of Machito, Mario Bauza, Puente and other heavyweights in the genre with his mixture of Cuban music and bebop, aptly titled Cubop. In the liner notes, Bobby gives thanks to the Italian, Jewish, African American and especially the Puerto Rican communities of New York who have kept Afro-Cuban music alive with little or no recognition. Keep in mind, the majority of the masters of Afro-Cuban jazz passed on without ever receiving the recognition they deserved. Tito Puente was the exception to the rule. This recording runs the gamut. You will hear praises, invocations and Yoruba chants, a Beny More tune, straight ahead Jazz, son-funk, songo, timba, mambo and the Dizzy and Chano Pozo classic, Manteca. Special guest, master percussionist Candido Camero deserves special mention. He drove the audience mad with his exciting conga solos (check him out on The Conga Kings with Patato Valdes and Giovanni Hidalgo.) My hat goes off to Bobby Sanabria. He is one of the young lions of this genre who has dedicated his life to keeping Afro-Cuban jazz alive. Unfortunately, many of the masters are no longer with us. Fortunately, thanks to Bobby Sanabria we can rest easy, the music is in good hands. Incidentally, excellent liner notes by historian, John Storm Roberts. Check Bobby out on his previous release, "New York City Ache!""