e’ve had the extravagant exhibitionism of salsa, the lyrical nostalgia of the Buena Vista Social Club. Now it’s time for British dance crowds to re-discover the low-down sweaty groove of the pachanga, the bugalu, the watusi, the shing-a-ling and the dance vibes of nuyorican 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.

lma Latina (‘Latin Soul’) goes right to the source with tunes by Ray Barretto, Joe Cuba, Eddie Palmieri and Cal Tjader and the other hard groove merchants which kept the dance floors of Spanish Harlem packed for two decades.

lma Latina’s line-up follows the model of Eddie Palmieri’s classic ‘La Perfecta’ formation - with trombone and flute front line, plus the authentic back-line of congas, timbales, piano and bass.

he music is simple and direct. No special techniques or certificates in salsa proficiency are needed to respond to these irresistible dance rhythms.

Steph - tenor, flute, hand percussion

ith his roots firmly set in the modern jazz context, Steve got the ‘sabor’ of latin music playing baritone sax in the Midland’s first ever salsa orchestra, Como No. He went on to form Mambo Taxi, and is now taking on the writing and arranging role in Alma Latina, as well as tackling the technical challenges of the latin flute.

Pablo - trombone, hand percussion

ablo’s powerful trombone adds an unmistakable and unique edge to Alma Latina’s front line. Originally classically trained, Pablo has also played in a wide range of jazz and big-band contexts, as well as providing the bass-clef backbone to Mambo Taxi’s dynamic horn section.

Beppa - congas

eppa dug his latin roots with seminal Midland’s salsa band Mambo Taxi as he studied for his degree in music. With influences like Led Zeppelin to Super Furry Animals, he is no purist. But in Alma Latina he provides an authentic nuyorican groove down on the tumbadora.

Eddie - timbales, multi-percussion

oming from local legendary salsa groups ‘Como No’ and ‘Otra Vez’, Eddie is the veteran conguero on the Midlands latin scene. Other musical engagements include Sony recording artist Joolz Gianni, and latin jazz group ‘Quiver’. From the timbales, Eddie draws on his Brazilian and latin jazz funk influences to help keep Alma Latina pushing those boundaries.

JC - bass

otentially THE funkiest bass aficionado currently weaving his latin spell across the Midlands. JC crash-landed his meteorite in a field just south of Yardley and has been wowing audiences with his afro-cuban low-end drive ever since.

Ricardo - piano

lassically trained - and still working in the UK and Europe with such esoteric outfits as the Central England Ensemble - Rich is building a reputation as an accomplished jazz accompanist, with such Midlands based jazz stars as violinist Ralph Allin and singers Roy Forbes and Lizzy Parks. Rich’s montuno provides the foundation of Alma Latina’s anglo-cuban groove.

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