Search - Maraca :: Descarga Total

Known in Latin-jazz circles for his virtuoso flute playing, Orlando "Maraca" Valle has produced a party album that follows the time-tested formula for the best Cuban music: masterful musicianship and an infectious good-time spirit that will keep dancers moving from the first track to the last. Like Olympic athletes, the members of Maraca's group and his guest artists execute their expert moves with apparent ease, delivering a "total jam session" that segues smoothly from classic son, danzón, and mambo to Latin jazz, Afro-Cuban chanting, rumba, rap, and the hard-driving Cuban dance fusion called timba. Notable soloists include groundbreaking Cuban funk percussionist Changuito, formerly of Los Van Van. Singer Félix Valdés recalls the improvisational vocal stylings of the Cuban soneros of the Big Band era, contrasting with grittier salsa tracks sung by Wilfredo Campa. Maraca and his band follow in the footsteps of Cachao's Master Sessions and the seminal output of Chucho Valdés and Irakere, with whom the prodigious Maraca began his career at the age of 16. Like the recordings of those Cuban greats, Descarga Total celebrates the sheer joy of good music. --Judy Cantor