Long overdue - A tribute to the late, great Chombo Silva!
Thomas Pena | Brooklyn, NY USA | 08/01/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This tribute to the late, great master of the saxophone and violin, Jose Chombo Silva is long overdue. In my opinion, no one has ever been able to duplicate Chombo's unique, melodic sound. His sax was the epitome of "hip" and will be sorely missed.Chombo's career spanned over 50 years. He played in the legendary Cuban Jam Sessions, with Machito, Ray Barretto, Johnny Pacheco, the Alegre All-Stars, Charlie Palmieri and the Tropical Budda All-Stars, Paquito D' Rivera, Cal Tjader, Cachao, Africando, Mongo Santamaria and the list goes on. Unfortunately, Chombo's plans to play with Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band were never realized. This is where "RumbaJazz" comes in.As a tribute to Chombo, the Gonzalez brothers went ahead with the project. Saxophonist David Sanchez does an admirable job of filling in for Chombo and every once in awhile you'll hear a lick that is eerily reminiscent of Chombo's style. My favorite tracks are "Para Ti," a classic that represents Chombo's swingin' violin and sax. "Perdido," "Rumba Para Chombo" and "Guajira at the Blackhawk."Whether you are familiar with Chombo's music or not, this is great Latin-Jazz and the liner notes by music historian Max Salazar and Ivan Ramos Angulo are like a mini-history lesson. Read and learn about this great performer who was unfortunately, highly underrated during his lifetime. I would like to see more projects of this nature in the future.Also, very impressive cover art. This is a very attractive package and more importantly, great music."
Incredibly good CD.
Zanga Touré | 03/01/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The first time I heard "Guajira at the Black Hawk" I was driving home and had to pull over so that I could call the radio station to find out the name of the group. Needless to say that the next morning I ordered the CD. This is a must have for any latin jazz lover."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1