Customer Reviews

Percussion Maddness

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

this superb cd produced by louie vega is another gem in your elements of life/masters at work collection.
luisito quintero plays great,great percussions and all the musicians which collaborate with him do a phenomenal job.
the sound in the cd is sharp and clean.
all the productions are catching and easy to get along with.
you could dance and you could chill at the same time,that's what louie vega is all about.
this cd deserves it all...

Percussion Maddness it is...and it is blazin' HOT. This Louie Vega production featuring percussionist Luisito Quintero is the most exciting cd I have heard all year. Listening to this cd takes you on a panoramic journey through the best of African and Latin rhythms...and on this trip you will also experience those sweet New York Latin jazz fusion, and soul sounds. Filled with surprises, you will hear renditions (phenomenal jams) of Fela, Ray Baretto,and Tito Puente songs. You will also hear a beautiful version of the Toninho Horta song, "Aquilas Coisas Todas." If it sounds familiar, it means you fondly remember the Starship Orquestra version of this song. If I were to pick a favorite, it would be "Quintero's Jam." This track features the late pianist, Hilton Ruiz before his tragic and untimely passing...you hear his tremendous talent, he shines through on this track. Aside from the indescribable skill of Luisito, the musicians on this production are top notch and include Nestor Torres, Francis Mbappe, and Aquilas Baez. This is the type of music that has longevity, this cd will always sound innovative...it will become a classic without a doubt. I once read a reviewer describe Latin jazz as "predictable." The beauty of Latin jazz is that is it anything but predictable. Kudos to Louie and Luisito, keep this creative partnership growing.

Luisito Quintero is a Venezuelan percussionist who has been a backbone in the music of Louie Vega's Elements of Life project for years. Percussion Maddness realizes Louie's ambition to form a record with Luisito's virtuosity as the centerpiece.

If you go into the record with any doubts whatsoever, Quintero proves his worth right from the beginning with a title track consisting of him and timbales. That's it and it's dope. Just in case you forget the moral of the album's first track, Luisito pounds it back into your head about midway through with "Quintero's Jam." The lesson? Luisito Quintero is one of the illest percussionists you'll ever hear.

If Quintero is incredible on his own, the addition of Louie Vega's production takes things even further. Whether covering classic joints from Fela ("Gbagada, Gbagada, Ghogodo, Ghogodo") or Tito Puente ("Four Beat Mambo") or crafting originals like "Our Love" and "Love Remains the Same", the combination of Vega and Quintero's complimentary musicalities is formidable.

At times this feels like a sidebar to the larger Elements of Life project and it might be. It features a great many of the same musicians and Vega's overriding musical personality is clearly evident. But if the only purpose was to bring Quintero into a more direct spotlight for a moment, then Percussion Maddness succeeds wonderfully. Consider it an album-length acknowledgement that sometimes the best thing you can do is "Give the drummer some."

I bought this album on the premise of the word "percussion" in the title. This was wrong, but the quality of the album is unmistakeable. Is it percussion maddness as the title says? Yes, but only in as much as that the types of music it contains are by definition percussion driven. So it's funky, but there is no danger of getting bored to death here by repetitive percussion sounds.

This album led, by latin Percussionist, Luisito Quintero, is flavored with a lot of percussion as well as the latin vibe. Yet it has a lot of broader elements to the sound, such as soul, "garage" house (real US garage not UK), afrobeat and jazz. These are not done peacemeal. Rather they are organically mixed into the sound. This is what you get, in my opinion, when you have master musicians who have a brod set of musicians.

By the way, for those who are "Blaze" fans, this album also features Josh Milan and Kevin Hedge as guest artists and session musicians. Their influence here varies but is noticeable - and to a positive effect, injecting into many songs that ethereal, yet funky, vibe that Blaze does oh so so well.

As I come to think of it, the album that this reminds me of most, is another Masters at Work led album: "Nuyorican Soul". The musicans here are not as famous, but the result is equally complete, funky, diverse and timeless. Another similarity to Nuyorican soul is that this album was okay on the first listen and then just got better and better - and better. I guess because there is a lot going on in here and much of it is subtle at times. But damn this is good music.

I gotta salute Luisito Quintero on this one. I really only bought the album because of the Masters at Work/Luis Vega associaton, but it i a masterpiece and if I see Luisito's name on anything else, I'm copping that sucka in a heartbeat! In fact its a bit surprising that this was done in 2006 and it seems to be his only album so far. Either way, I would gladly recommnd this album to anyone who likes any of the types of music that are blended in here. Its a sleeper and a classic.

I am so grateful that my best buddy gave this to me on my birthday last year. This is simply beautiful, exuberant and hot music! Don't miss it!!

I was not expecting this to be this great and that's my fault for underestimating MR. LOUIE VEGA PRESENTS. Luisito is on FIRE! Smooth/funk/jazz/soul......it's all here along with Non-stop percussion madness and a back up band adding the flava! ......... HOT!