4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Smoothjazz.com Review, May 5, 2006
This review is from: Miami (Audio CD)
Renowned conguero, Gumbi Ortiz has played with fusion guitar great Al Di Meola for the past 19 years... And now the Puerto Rican/Cuban is celebrating the release of his highly anticipated solo debut, MIAMI. On this exciting outing, Gumbi's conga explores the rhythms of jazz/fusion, pop, funk, retro-soul, and Samba. Gumbi (pronounced "goombie") has pulled together a killer ensemble of powerful players for his multi-cultural tribute to the colorful city, where the conga man has called home since 1980. Participating friends in the studio included Brandon Fields, Dave Weckl, Spryo Gyra's Jay Beckenstein, Scott Ambush, and Joel Rosenblatt. At the helm: Executive Producer, Kermit Weeks, along with producer Dan O'Brien and Roger Nichols (30 year Steely Dan veteran/ 7 Grammys). We're talking heavy cream... MIAMI is fattening, thick, funky, funky stuff with an emphasis on Latin, Cuban, and Caribbean musical expressions. The wealth of experience and talent on this project is staggering. The project's first single, "T-Back" features Eric Marienthal on saxophone and is already showing signs of success at radio. Other stand out tracks for me include, the ultimate Miami vibe, "Pastel Days & Neon Nights," the driving "Calle 8cho," the breezy and balmy, "In The Grove," in tribute I'm sure to Coconut Grove and the spicy funk n'groove of "Biscayne." Can't get to Miami soon enough? Now you can be transported by this cool/hot new debut release from conga master Gumbi Ortiz. All you need now is a flock of flamingos and a Cuban cigar.~SANDY SHORE
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