Customer Reviews

Soy La Candela

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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As someone who has listened,danced and even played Latin Music (I generally disdain the term "salsa" I consider "salsa" a condiment not a genre...but i digress...this album has begun to restore my faith in the future of latin music...this cd is "straight ahead" without regard to the pop music we hear co much of today...for those new yorkers out there...this is definitly "Corso", Hunt's Point Palace, and Colgate Garden's variety, knock your socks off music that revels in it's originality...this from someone who bought his first Palmieri LP in 1964...Azucar...and jammed at Orchard Beach (Section 9)....Tropicoro Club on Wednesdays, Colgate and the Hunt's Point Palace on Sunday's and the Corso on Saturdays...this is the real ...*....Ramon Pinero

Fantastic release from Edwin Bonilla. No filler material, just some great Salsa Dura with a decidedly cuban feel. Jesus Perez does a nice job on vocals (and arrangements!), and the tracks are sure to keep ya dancin the whole CD through. While its only his second solo salsa release, Mr. Bonilla is an impressively credentialed veteran percussionist, and it shows on this album!

While I'm not sure you can say Mr. Bonilla is the most popular Salsa artist in the world(could that comment have been biased by the fact that Mr. Bonilla is living and working in Miami? ;-)), I am sure he's getting plenty of play time everywhere!

Bonilla really comes along with some great salsa here....not at all in the romantic vain, frequently associated which Puerto Rican Salseros. No, this one really takes it home, with great playing. Salsa duro....

Please you can not compare AT ALL this artist with Sonora Carruseles!!!
GREAT ARTIST ALL AROUND!
you will love it!

I HEARD RECORDANDO LAS DESCARGAS FROM A MIX I BOUGHT. I HAVE EVERY CD EDWIN BONILLA HAS PUT OUT.I THINK THAT'S ABOUT SAYS IT ALL

This 2002 Edwin Bonilla recording for singer Roberto Torres's SAR label is a very modern, BUT aggressive style of New York salsa dance music with a VERY TIGHT rhythmical playing and a BIG swing ALL the way through!

This album is IRREPROACHABLE of ANY defects whatsoever!
Bonilla & "Niño Jesus" REALLY gave it THEIR BEST and BROKE their heads to come up with (7/8) original compositions of their own, unlike most Salsa bands of nowadays!...
It's REALLY appreciable to see that the VERY OBVIOUS and MASSIVE efforts that they made with this recording have paid of REALLY WELL with SUCH a musically successful effort!
They could not have possibly done any better than what they did here!


Edwin Bonilla is a multi-percussionist who was born in Puerto-Rico, Santurce.
He moved to New-Jersey where he was raised, and then started to play in New York with the GREAT Charanga Casino on their 3rd album from 1981 (also on SAR Records).

[Check out all the Charanga Casino albums, they are VERY good and even come with good sound!...]

He also knows how to play various styles of music and has performed with SO many famous stars of ALL genres like Israel López "Cachao", Gloria Estéfan, and even J-Lo!


[This is just an introduction as he's not necessarily the most famous of artists; not a `promo'...]



The 1st tune here is a humorous song about the singer narrating the story of a man needing his woman for some good fun in the early mornings, wondering about his credit card and where she'd be hanging around "wheeling" on her shoes while he's working day and night everyday, in part to keep her happy with her shopping...
Anyway, it's MUCH funnier to hear it in Spanish as you hear the song. It always puts me a smile on my face...
In my opinion, it's just an easy introductory tune to get the dancers into it...


Now, the title track, is an EXCELLENT up-tempo (`in your face') style of tune which has a modern and robust Cuban montuno background musicality played by the Piano and the Tres-guitar, a fiery Edwin Bonilla Bongo solo, a NICE Flute solo by this album's lead singer Jesus Alejandro "el Niño" Pérez finishing the tune of in REAL beauty, and GREAT arrangements ALL the way through!
One of THE BEST tunes from the album!...


Cuenta Bien, a TYPICAL Joe Cuba composition, is a VERY good Cha-Cha-Chá PERFECT to tame things down a bit.
It's another humorous song which includes towards the middle of the tune, a piano solo followed by GREAT horn arrangements after to get the dancers right back into it!


Carmela starts TYPICALLY in the Cuban style of 1920's-30's Bolero-son. They've even included the muted-trumpet to give it the old style feel, along with a romantic lyric.
It's after 1:45 Mins that the waiting finishes and the 2nd part of the tune gets MUCH better!
For my personal opinion, it's a bit too much of a big contrast between the two different parts of the tune.
Nonetheless, that 2nd part makes this tune a BIG WINNER with a Tres-guitar solo by "el Niño" Jesus, another "reprise" with great swinging horn arrangements and a variation to the tune with the chorus, and a typical Cuban Trumpet style of solo.
The tune then finishes a bit promptly with the volume gradually going down.
A GREAT Cuban salsa tune!


Con Tu Movimiento is even more "swingy" with a Bonilla Timbale solo, great arrangements that introduce a SUPERB musical section with "el Niño's" EXCELLENT flute solo backed up by a FANTASTIC Piano background musicality!
A GREAT musical moment!...


Con Un Solo Golpe features in the beginning a traditional style of Afro-Cuban "a-la-la-lá" chorus chant, a lyric saying in a small nutshell how `with one hit of the Conga-drum' by the `Rumbero' drummer, the African roots of this music all started...
The tune also includes precisely, a conga-drum solo by Bonilla and another GREAT follow up just after!...

Chévere Que Chévere is a smoother and softer tune with a slightly more obvious Cuban feel, another Bonilla Timbale solo and a GREAT Trumpet solo.
A FINE slower little number that gets better and better as it goes on!...


Now, Recordando Las Descargas is THE MEGA-MASSIVE TUNE which WILL take you back to the GREAT old days of the 1960's-70's Palladium/Village Gate Live "Descarga" jam sessions from the old maestros!...WOW!...
It starts with a very short Timbale and Conga-Drum intro by Bonilla just followed by a good old days style of mambo piano intro that goes all the way through, and a chorus saying: "Ban, ban! Hiróco, ban, ban!"
There are also GREAT interplays between Trumpet and Flute solos, and Bonilla's most fiery Conga and Timbale solos. There's also a strong feel of a Cachao Jam session finale to the tune!
It's RATHER HARD to believe you're in 2002!...
8:04 mins of SHEER musical joy and a BURNING and SMOKING-HOT track as DYNAMIC as what this WHOLE album is!... !
An INDISPUTABLE contender for one of THE best tunes of the album!...



(Total Play-time: 45.27 Mins!)


Make sure you also check out Bonilla's other albums! (all on SAR).


His 1st Edwin y Su Son... (1999) is very different with a traditionally TYPICAL Cuban salsa sound. It's way less intense rhythmically, but much more musical.

His 3rd album Pa La Calle (2004) is stylistically similar to this one, again in the dance music concept.

His latest from 2006 also with "el Niño" Jesus Tirando Pa Charanga differs from all the others as it's a Charanga recording [Cuban form of Latin music with one flute improvising and violins rhythmically following up in the background].

Check out also "Niño" Jesus's own SAR album Soy Montuno (2001).
It's another more conventional style of salsa recording with a Cuban background musicality.


*UPDATE (2010): Homenaje A Los Rumberos

If you want the heavy and yet eloquent salsa, La Salsa la Traigo Yo, Con Todos los Hierros, both by Sonora Carruseles are better albums. Bonilla is a great musician, and his non-romantic and non-cheesy salsa is the salsa I prefer. I love the rumba, the salsa brava type. This is what this album is.

Sonora Carruseles, Fruko y Sus Tesos, and Edwin Bonilla... Buy their albums, their music are a cut above the rest.