Cuban Jazz Allstars
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Anyone who heard violinist Omar Punte at the premier of Denys Baptiste’s ‘Let Freedom Ring!’ at the 2005 Cheltenham Jazz Festival will know he has the charisma and chops to lead a band of similar power and talent.
Such a band comes in the form of the Cuban Jazz Allstars. This swaggering ensemble of virtuoso Cuban jazz musicians features the staggeringly good pianist Oriente Lopez who can tackle Mount Rushmore sized charts like he’s playing nursery rhymes, the sweet sonorities of vocalist Tania Tania, and awesome conga player Miguel Angaz Dias adds the muscle to this Afro-Cuban odyssey.