Customer Reviews

Babalu Ayé

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Is it me? Or is Latin music going through an unprecedented fermentation? Cuban son leads to New York Salsa. Cuban son leads to Latin jazz. Cuban son, Latin jazz and New York Salsa combine in Havana to produce Songo or Cuban Salsa. Round and round it goes, with walls coming down all over the place.

Irakere came on the scene in the late '70s with a style of Latin jazz that incorporated soaring jazz brass with quite traditional Cuban rhythms, and punctuated by electric guitars and a funky bass. In the years since, Irakere music has been characterized by a hot jazz sound with a very danceable beat.

Now comes "Babalu Ayé", Irakere's latest CD in which they close a circle of sorts. Most of the songs on this album are Salsa Cubana, some sounding very much like the original NY salsa of years past. But of course, salsa with the Irakere flair: electric guitars with the distortion cranked up coming in and out; the horn section playing tightly, then loosening considerably in the solos, putting little relaxed ornaments around each phrase, then suddenly tightening up again; the whole band chanting phrases in unison. Then after plenty of straight-ahead Salsa Cubana, the CD is finished off with a mighty rumba. Lazaro Ros, accompanied by bata drums, a coro singing responses and the occasional Irakere instrumental, sings the story of healer Babalu Ayé, taking us back to the African traditions that still live on in Cuba, perhaps more strongly than in any other African-based community in the Americas.

Irakere has always stayed close to their Afro-Cuban roots. Now on "Babalu Ayé" they also pay homage to another, much more urban source of the Irakere sound. This CD provides a very satisfying picture of the contrasts that make Afro-Latin music so rich.

Irakere has always been one of my favorate cuban groups this CD is definitely one of almong others, that let's you hear how beautiful latin music really is....

IRAKERE is no longer the band it use to be,chucho valdes change the singer and that definity changed their original style...