Mardi Gras Mambo: Cubanismo! in New Orleans

Amazon.com
The musical relationship between Havana and New Orleans dates back centuries. Both cities share an Afro-Caribbean cultural heritage, and both take great pride in keeping that heritage alive. So it really shouldn't be too surprising that this mating--co-produced by Joe Boyd with Cubanismo's Jesús Alemañy and the Yockamo All-Stars' Mark Bingham--comes off so naturally. The stunning "Shallow Water Suite," featuring Crescent City R&B singer John Boutte, solidifies the African-based spiritual connection between New Orleans mardi-gras chants and Cuban rumba, while Ernie K-Doe's "Mother-In-Law" receives a clever bilingual workout. But the heart of the album is in the original instrumental hybrids such as "Cuborleans," "Gumbo Son," and Alemañy's "Boogaloo," on which trumpeter Alemañy earns an honorary place in the great New Orleans tradition that extends from Buddy Bolden and Louis Armstrong to Wynton Marsalis and Nicholas Payton. --Rick Mitchell

Tracks:

Marie Laveaux
Mother In Law
Paso En Tampa
Shallow Water Suite
Mardi Gras Mambo
Monteorlines
It Do Me Good
Alemany's Boogaloo
Rampart Street Rumba
Nothing Up My Sleeve
Gumbo Son
Cuborleans

Amazon.com

The musical relationship between Havana and New Orleans dates back centuries. Both cities share an Afro-Caribbean cultural heritage, and both take great pride in keeping that heritage alive. So it really shouldn't be too surprising that this mating--co-produced by Joe Boyd with Cubanismo's Jesús Alemañy and the Yockamo All-Stars' Mark Bingham--comes off so naturally. The stunning "Shallow Water Suite," featuring Crescent City R&B singer John Boutte, solidifies the African-based spiritual connection between New Orleans mardi-gras chants and Cuban rumba, while Ernie K-Doe's "Mother-In-Law" receives a clever bilingual workout. But the heart of the album is in the original instrumental hybrids such as "Cuborleans," "Gumbo Son," and Alemañy's "Boogaloo," on which trumpeter Alemañy earns an honorary place in the great New Orleans tradition that extends from Buddy Bolden and Louis Armstrong to Wynton Marsalis and Nicholas Payton. --Rick Mitchell

Customer Reviews:

TRUE CRIOLLA.......2006-06-13

This CD was like eating really good criolla food. The perfect blend of spices and rhythms gives this Cubanismo CD all the right stuff. We loved every song on this CD. The tunes are memorable and I find myself humming them throughout the day. We dance to them and truly immerse ourselves in the feeling of being in Havanna at one moment and New Orleans the next. This is truly a recommend to anyone who likes Cuban and/or Cajun music.

The Spirit of Mardi Gras Year Round! Mambo!!.......2004-12-24

I heard the track "Mardi Gras Mambo" while poolside at a hotel, and the song stuck in my head for months. I searched far and wide to discover THIS CD contains that song - and it is worth the money. The variety, and rhythm of the tracks on this CD keep you thinking of the warm sand, and tropical breezes of the island's, mon... plus, of the spirit of 'carnival' during Mardi Gras. Want music with a Latin beat? This is a great CD.

A perfect Afro-Caribbean Gumbo.......2004-04-14

You only need to have a couple of brain cells to rub together to understand this CD. It perfectly captures the musical relationship between Havana and New Orleans and the Afro-Caribbean cultural heritage. Listening to this gumbo of great tunes is effortless in that it is smooth, elevating and relaxing at the same time – but the main word to describe this collection is fun. Alemañy didn’t have to go out of his way to show off his musical genius, as do so many other musicians that perform in this genre. He allows the music to speak for itself, and allows the other musicians to blend together naturally so that the blend of afro-cuban-creole and new Orleans jazz makes a musical gumbo not to be missed. On a scale of 1-5 stars, this CD is a 6!

Fusion Ain't Always Good.......2003-09-28

I just try to be straight with my reviews...i really didn't like this CD. Fusion doesn't always work, and in this case, i think the attempt to mix cuban music and cajun music failed. In fact, even when I've seen them live Cubanismo is far better when they stick to cuban music...their rap, cajun, calypso and other experiments just don't work for me at least. So, if you like the otehr Cubanismo CD's, don't get this one, ya probably won't like it.

Rumba boogie.......2003-04-13

Remember the days when you could just hop on board the ferry
from New Orleans to Havana? Yeah, ok, nobody does, but back at
the beginning of the 20th century, the daily ferry between the two
cities helped to foster musical exchanges, and Cubanismo's latest
record represents not only an attempt to recover some of the lost
historical closeness of the two cities, but also to create a new, syncretic
sound, blending Latin jazz and its counterpart from Louisiana. The
New Orleans classics with a Cuban twist (tracks 2&5) are fun, but I tend to
prefer the Cuban rumbas which are boogied up (tracks 3&11).

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