Jesus Alemany's ¡Cubanismo! feat. Alfredo Rodriguez

Cubanismo

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 27, 1996)
• Original Release Date: February 27, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hannibal
• ASIN: B00000062U
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #63,167 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #22 in	Music > Indie Music > World Music > Caribbean & Cuba
  #22 in	Music > World Music > Caribbean & Cuba > Afro-Cuban
  #45 in	Music > World Music > Caribbean & Cuba > Cuba > Salsa

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fiery modern descarga with jazz touches!, February 16, 2001

By A Customer

With all due respect to the previous reviewers, it doesn't get much better than this! Cubanismo is one of the finest Cuban dance bands working today. They are absolutely incredible live and, although this isn't a live recording, it does capture some of the pure fire and swing of catching Jesus Alemany and his crew in a live setting. Unlike the dynamic Cuban salsa and timba bands of today, Cubanismo plays more traditional Cuban dance rhythms, such as son montuno, changui, pilon, and mambo, but with a modern descarga (jam session) feel and jazz elements mixed in. The first three Cubanismo albums are all FANTASTIC, but, in my opinion, this is the best of the three because of the pure swing and incredible musicianship. Alemany is one of the finest trumpet players anywhere, and he surrounds himself here with the likes of Tata Guines, Miguel "Anga" Diaz, Alfredo Rodriguez, Orlando "Maraca" Valle, Yosvanny Terry, Carlitos Del Puerto, and many other great musicians. It is a band that is hard to top. The arrangements are loose and the playing is intense, allowing the musicians to stretch out. This recording is not meant to be at all like Arturo Sandoval's "Hot House." Rather, like the New York Times review so aptly states, it was a session in which the music really does equal "the intensity of music performed in a club." This is Cuban dance music at it's intense and dynamic best!!! I recommend this, as well as Malembe and Reencarnacion to anyone who wants to experience just how explosive Cuban music can be.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 4 1/2* You Ready to RUMBA?!, September 29, 2004

By	M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is an extremely satisfying collection of Cuban songs performed by a band of virtuosi fronted by the great trumpet player, Jesus Alemany. It's an excellent introduction to the range of Cuban jazz, as the dance tracks include such rhythms as rumba, cha-cha, son, danzon, and pa'ca. The musicians are uniformly excellent, but I was especially impressed by the three Alemany family members on trumpet, Orlando Valle on flute (an instrument that I don't usually enjoy that much), excellent jazz riffs by pianist Alfredo Rodriguez, and underneath it all, the incessant, overlapping percussive section (including the following instruments: timbale, conga, bongo, guiro, claves, and quinto). Tanto Guines is one of the great modern percussionists; he and Miguel Aurelio Diaz move these pieces along with their complex, rumbling beats. The percussion section, by the way, is very well recorded

The CD also cuts across various strains of jazz: Big band (with big blaring solos), some modern dissonance (the saxophonists and pianist play some beautiful abstract riffs that are great 1950's bop) and some straight ahead mainstream numbers. These latter songs (e.g., "Aprovecha") are relaxing and danceable, but also the least compelling. Fortunately, most of the songs take more risks. Unlike another reviewer here, I thought the horn section was tight, the sections and the band as a whole work well together. Towards the end, a few of the cuts on this long album lose some energy as the dance sensibility gets more weight than the jazz. I think mixing in some live performances would have added excitement and enabled a more personal feeling to the band. Granted, they don't showboat it, but the briefly spoken phrase by the drummer at the end of the last song added a "presence" that was almost electrifying. An excellent large ensemble introduction to the genre.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great trumpet/big band jazz music, August 28, 2001

By	"[e-mail]" (Port Lavaca, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This is a fantastic C.D. if you like trumpet music/jazz music with very little vocal. Jesus Alemany must be one of the greatest trumpet players. The only C.D. I would recommend ahead of this is The Best of Arturo Sandoval. Arturo's music is also out of this world.