TAKE 5 MUSIC RETURNS WITH ANOTHER SUPERLATIVE SLICE OF THE CUBAN SALSA TRADITION TEN STANDARDBEARING ENSEMBLES ON 'A NIGHT IN HAVANA CUBA, VOL. II' PROVIDE ANOTHER GATEWAY INTO THIS REWARDING MUSICIAL UNIVERSE Just like its culinary namesake, salsa is a delectable commingling of flavors and spices. And when it arrived in earnest, in the 1970s -- amalgamating sounds from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and said communities in the United States -- it became more than a genre; it became a global revolution whose reverberations show no signs of slowing.
Festive and joyful at its essence, salsa has always been a vehicle for extraordinary levels of inventiveness. Which means that this musical sphere is incredibly vast; as such, the format of the sampler proves handy. Enter Take 5 Music, a Los Angeles-based electronica, lounge, and worldbeat label illuminating inspired sounds from the world over. They return with A Night in Havana Cuba, Vol. II, which does just that -- immerse you in the sounds of its namesake capital, by way of a digestible program of jubilant selections from the Cuban salsa canon. Kicking off the proceedings is the infectious 'Dos Con Tres,' by the venerated Cuban tres player, singer and Son Latino frontwoman Yarima Blanco. The sparkling 'Mi Salsa' follows, by trumpeter, singer and songwriter Alexander Abreu and his timba band Havana D'Primera. Salsa is always forging ahead, and gets a distinctly modern, genre-straddling twist -- with 'Aramburu 31,' by drummer and composer Yissy Garcia and her ensemble Bandancha, featuring Abreu and Telmary; shades of jazz and rap underline the form's common DNA with other traditions throughout the African diaspora.
The late, great Cuban musical standardbearer Adalberto Alvarez -- with his long-running band So Son, gets his spotlight with 'De Cuba Pa'l Mundo Entero' Havana D'Primera themselves get a reprise with the lush, enveloping 'Bicho Malo.' Side B of A Night in Havana Cuba, Vol. II kicks off with 'Chan Chan'
