Te Gusto O Te Caigo Bien (CD - 1996)

Personnel: Conrado "Bonco Quiñongo" Cogle, Osvaldo Chacón (vocals); Pavel Diaz (trumpet, flugelhorn); Lazaro Valdes (piano, keyboards); Julio Pincheiro (keyboards); Osvaldo Rodriguez (marimba); Gilberto Moreaux (drums, timbales); Andres Gonzalo (bongos); Angel Abreu (percussion).

Audio Mixers: Geronimo Labrada, Jr.; Adolfo Costales.

Recording information: Estudios Del Icaic, Habana, Cuba (12/1995).

Director: Lazaro Valdes.

Photographer: Brian Cross.

One of few outfits coming out of Cuba that place a high priority on jazzy vocal harmony, the Cuban timba group Bamboleo brings a fresh perspective to what the island can offer the world music community. Their maiden voyage seems to have been made in a small boat. While bearing in mind that it was their first record, and that time would season these front-runners of the new salsa movement, the rhythm section does not only sound thin much of the time, it also can sound disjointed. To recognize that the vocal talent present is definitely the focal point does not entirely excuse the occasional distraction of the less than tight instrumentalists. However, there is much musical invention present, and the ground work is laid for what will become one of the most visible ambassadors of timba to the world community. Having been mixed more like a Manhattan Transfer record than your standard gut-thumping salsa project, the lead voice is dead center, and seldom needs to reach dynamically beyond luke warm to compete with the rest of the band. While many of their contemporaries transport listeners to the streets of Havana under a baking sun, Bamboleo seems to prefer the shade of a coco tree. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez minimize