Bio Ritmo gave a fresh first set at the joint party with Orquesta GarDel on October 14 at Durham's Motorco. I didn't take a lot of video, but here's a look at pretty much the whole band, during "Seguiras Criticando," a salsa tune with a heavy afrobeat coda from their last album Biónico:
Of course, we were here to celebrate the CD release of La Verdad, which has been gaining tons of favorable press at the national level. This month, Bio Ritmo is featured in vinyl collectors' mag Wax Poetics (in an issue with Eddie Palmieri on the cover), on the radio on PRI's The World, garnered a great album review on PopMatters.com, and is currently charting #4 on CMJ's World Music Chart.
I'm writing my own story now on the band's undulating 20-year career curve, and what makes these Richmond heroes so special. Stay tuned....
It's 11 pm on Saturday night in downtown Richmond, and this town is getting its salsa on: Bio Ritmo is about to take the stage at Balliceaux, a restaurant near the VCU campus.
Stylish and a little chaotic, this crowd has a casual, anything-goes approach to dance culture. People are here to socialize and dance to live music, not negotiate the breaking beats.
SUBSTITUTIONS Bio Ritmo has been coping with some turnover lately. It's been breaking in new timbaleros since Giustino (Justin) Riccio went on hiatus to pursue his acoustic artrock duo Fuzzy Baby full-time. Some of the new players have been amazing, but I still miss Justin for his quirky, hardass playing and solid backing vocals.
On this gig, Cuban, D.C.-born-and-raised percussionist Rene Ibañez filled in on timbales. He plays with Sin Miedo every Thursday at Bossa in Adams Morgan. Love what Rene is doing with the solo on this fiery descarga "Sombras"; coming in on his heels are "Bobalu" Miller and Mark Ingraham locked in a heated trumpet/coronet battle, followed by Mike Montañez on congas:
NOTE: Balliceaux doesn't have stage lighting, so for best results, go to FULL SCREEN and turn up your BRIGHTNESS to max.
In the brass section, I've really been enjoying what newer members Mark Ingraham and JC Kuhl bring to the band. JC was out on another gig Saturday, so John Lilley played sax. On "Seguiras" John stepped up to the plate with sax solos in the Afrobeat section, while Eddie Prendergast supplied dubby basslines, and Mark doubled on tambourine. Mark's own band, a funk outfit called Beast Wellington, has standing gig on Wednesdays at Bogart's in Richmond.
SKINS
Gabo Tomasini manages the band from Brooklyn now, where he moved a few years back; he still plays congas on NYC gigs. But in the Southeast, Hector "Coco" Barez is now the first-call conguero. The fully endorsed LP percussionist's main gig is backing Grammy-winning, Puerto Rican hiphop duo Calle 13.
On Saturday, however, it was Mike Montañez' turn to shine. Mike has filled various positions in Bio Ritmo for 7 years, but only recorded on one of their albums: the EP Salsa System. Not a bad album to be on, engineered by Fania legend Jon Fausty, and featuring the still frequently performed "Tu No Sabes," as well as the seldom-heard "Madrugador" and "Orgullo," two great salsa tunes for my money.
SIGHTREADING: Setlist 3.12.11
SECOND SET
A couple songs after the break, pianist Marlysse Simmons started soloing on "Muchacho" and my spidey sense tingled. Sure enough, her solo was on fire. I missed videoing that one, but didn't make the same mistake twice. When "Atrevete" rolled around as an encore, I was in position to record:
PIANO SOLO starts at min. 3:50
SLEEPOVER
The next morning, the overnighters got together at The Cookie Monster Cafe for a brunch of corned beef hash, lake trout, dumplings, pancakes and fried apples.
Back at Marlysse's home studio, I got to hear some fabulous unreleased extras: her Brazilian project Os Magrelos, an amazing Bio Ritmo arrangement of "Danny Boy," and masters for the upcoming album, La Verdad. They are considering their options for how the release will come about, but expect it in 2011.
The 45 rpm vinyl single is already out now; A-side "Dina's Mambo," a Persian-sounding instrumental using farfisa organ, named for the "mambo" in the step of Marlysse's cat, which once had a broken leg; and B-side "La Muralla," another dark salsa from long-time trombonist Toby Whitaker, with sonero Rei Alvarez' lyrics.
Life is always in technicolor when Bio Ritmo comes to town. They had a beautiful show at Casbah last night, with a nice turnout from the local salsa population. I met new member Mark Ingraham adding another trumpet to the horn section, making for a 1x sax, 1x bone, 2x trumpet lineup. Mike Montañez, who has gigged with them on and off for a long time, took the conga chair last night.
Here's some video of Marlysse messing with the keyboard settings on "Lisandra." Trombonist Toby wields maracas on this joint, and trumpet player "Mambo" Bob dips in to some programming near the end. This tune is from their 2008 release Biónico:
This kind of sparkling songwriting and innovative performance make Bio Ritmo Salsa Machine a great band: solid state yet always full of whimsy. You never hear a same-old cover of the usual Fania suspects. Formulaic salsa bands seem slogging and unimaginative after a hearty draught of Bio Ritmo.
Richmond's Bio Ritmo plays tonight in Durham at the new live music venue, Casbah, 1007 W. Main St. $10 advance / $13 door; cash-only bar but there is an ATM on site.
I will be spinning old school salsa in the breaks, so this is a full evening for retro salsa fanatics. ATTENTION SALSEROS: Show to start promptly at 8 pm, or shortly thereafter. I'll be spinning from 7:30 on.
Catching up on my blogging...Bio Ritmo a week ago at The Pour House was one of their better shows, and I've seen many. The lady and gents seemed relaxed, rested and robust. Here is pianist Marlysse Simmons eating some mini tacos in Moore Square before the gig. Say hi, Marlysse!
Umoja Orchestra was an uplifting opener. So much hope. I had never seen a horn band with a banjo and accordion before. A little cumbia, a little Miami Sound Machine, a lot of afrobeat. It seemed to me that Umoja's musicians were mingling with the locals and dancing up a storm during Bio Ritmo's set, but don't quote me on that. Unity, indeed.
I did precious little filming on this gig, but here is one teaser from paradise. It's a new song, "La Muralla," for the upcoming album, with music by trombonist Toby Whitaker and lyrics by sonero Rei Alvarez. Marlysse uses Fender Rhodes, the Ponce Sound Machine, for the solo that opens the clip; "Mambo" Bob Miller busts chops on a trumpet solo.
It doesn't come around too often, so don't miss our friends Bio Ritmo doing a North Carolina tour at The Pour House in Raleigh this Thursday (5/6), on their way to LEAF. They are about to release a new album, tweaked by Spanish Harlem Orchestra producer Aaron Levinson. I've heard Bio Ritmo perform twice this year up in Richmond and the new tunes are smokin'.
They're hoping for 5,000 downloads to help finance release of the whole album, most (if not all) of which has already been laid down in a Richmond recording studio.
New news from La Perla del Sur, our Ponce to the north, aka Richmond, VA: Bio Ritmo rolled out two new repertory items Tuesday night (2/23) at a free show at Balliceaux.
Pianist Marlysse Rose Simmons solos on "Dina's Mambo," a new instrumental she wrote. Reminiscent of other camel-backed Bio Ritmo instrumentals that mix Middle Eastern sonorities and mariachi brass, this tune sounds like something Calexico might do:
Black and white like the piano keys, "Dina" is Marlysse's cat, as I discovered later that when I crashed at her place.
(click on photos to see larger)
Adding propulsion to this evening was a new Cortijo cover, "Carnaval." It's extremely rare that Bio Ritmo plays covers, and when they do, they give it their own affectionate twist. This is one of the main things that sets Bio Ritmo apart from your Average Salsa Band.
Giustino Riccio, who normally stands at the timbales, sat down to play the full drum set for these two numbers, which led off the second set.
(click on photos to see larger)
The "new" brass section of JC Kuhl, "Mambo" Bob Miller and Toby Whitaker is really melding together nicely, although Toby says he misses playing with two trombones. "Mambo" Bob's leadership on trumpet is surely decisive in maintaining the clarity and surefootedness of the horns.
I let Toby get all up in my grill with his tenor trombone (or was it vice versa?) as I got in close to take this video of Giustino doing a timbales solo. The horns also take a series of solo blasts:
The lighting in this restaurant is designed for dining, so I apologize for the lack of visual detail in the videos; please refer to photos and use videos as a soundtrack.
People Get Ready: Bio Ritmo plays the Pour House in Raleigh May 6.
A couple more "extra dark" videos (hey, think of them like that spicy, bittersweet chocolate with hot peppers and 90% cacao) that I made of Bio Ritmo's new, as yet unreleased songs in January.
These performances were recorded in the back room at Balliceaux, 203. N. Lombardy Street in downtown Richmond, where track lighting would do wonders for ham videographers.
Newbies in the repertoire "Majadero" and "La Verdad" have hallmarks of the classic Bio Ritmo sound, as I listen and get to know them. You only get to do this once: hear a Bio Ritmo song for the first time that will mature in your ears and evolve in performance.
FYI: This no-cover, backroom salsa night ("omg, what? you are telling me they hear Bio Ritmo FREE in Richmond once a month?" Sí.) happens again this Tuesday (2/23), 10 pm - 1 am. Restless, my booties just may hit the road. Links:
How to shoot with no light? I explored this concept up at Balliceaux in Richmond Tuesday night, my first chance in eons to catch up on my Bio Ritmo lore and shoot video of their new songs. Working with silhouettes and sound, you can feel your way; low-light stills fill in the blanks. This is the afrobeat coda to "Seguiras Criticando," with a Manu Dibango-style sax solo by J.C. Kuhl:
Not only is Bio Ritmo playing tons of new material, they're recording--4 songs are already down, and partial tracks for 4 others, under the eye and ear of Grammy-winning producer Aaron Levinson at a local Richmond studio.
Taking stock of personnel changes during the last year (has it really been that long??), I met three new players, some subbing, some permanent. Conguero Gabo Tomasini relocated from Richmond to Brooklyn a few months ago; he plays their (now frequent) NYC gigs, but Nicolai Creatore plays their dirty south gigs. Nick, one of the chefs at Balliceaux, lived in Brazil as a kid, so he's no stranger to Latin/Caribbean rhythms like samba and reggae. He's also played in D.C.'s gogo scene.
Bongocero, not always a regularly-held seat in Bio Ritmo, was manned (in style) by Arnaldo Marrero, a leading Latin DJ in Charlottesville. Robin Lugo, leader of the Virginia Beach band Tumbao Salsero, was also in attendance, and he sat in on bell and bongo during the end-of-show descarga.
Brass has seen the departure of trumpeter Tim Lett, who got married and had a baby (congratulations, Tim). Once a 2-trumpet, 2-trombone section, with nary a saxophone, the brass are now 1-1-1, with the addition of J.C. Kuhl on saxophone. Holding strong are "Mambo" Bob Miller on trumpet, and Toby Whitaker on lone trombone.
Former trombonist Stefan Demetriadis, who left the band in 2005, was among the onlookers at this free show, which drew a packed crowd to see the salsa band whose once-weekly gigs have become a rarity in Richmond. Another ex-homey in the house was Jonny Sullivan, the edgy, meteroic bass player who was part of Ritmo's regenerative spurt back around 2003.
Bio Ritmo's Toby Whitaker
One of the biggest stories of the night for me was Toby Whitaker, the band's dapper, softspoken (offstage) trombonist, who is really coming into his own as a songwriter. Two smokers, "La Muralla" and "Verguenza," stemmed from Toby's pen, featuring dark, urgent sonorities and extremely tasty brass parts. "Verguenza," below, features solos by Mambo Bob, trumpet, and Giustino Riccio, timbales:
The other new tunes I heard were "Majadero," and "La Verdad," both with straightforward, yet amenable dance grooves. Sonero Rei Alvarez is still the band's lyricist. Can't wait to hear all these tunes evolve and most of all, how Levinson will massage the Ritmo sound, after their last two albums engineered by Jon Fausty. Rei says the new CD will include a re-recording of "Lola," from their very first 1996 album, still a staple of their live show.
I fell in love with what was happening with this band in 2003, and my heart still belongs to Bio Ritmo. Though a lot of their energy these days is devoted to side projects, such as the bolero revival band Miramar, it's nice to see that Bio Ritmo, far from slowing down, is sounding as solid as ever. It's been too, too long since they toured down this a'way; anyone in the mood for a Bio Ritmo / Miramar double-header?
Sightreading! Bio Ritmo Setlist, 1/12/10
Timbalero Giustino Riccio composes the setlists and writes copies out by hand for everyone in the band. This one is almost true to life; only the order of the last two songs was reversed: "A La Cha" (as it appears on the CD, Biónico), seems to be written "Allah Cha" here; a play on words on that song's middle eastern vibe?
Folk Festival is on in Richmond, and this official after party on Sunday (10/11) features two bands with ties to Bio Ritmo. Jorge Negron, one of BR's original founders, lives in Puerto Rico now, and is visiting with his Master Bomba Ensemble. (The Bomba Ensemble also plays daily at the Folk Fest, see schedule for details.)
Opening is Miramar, comprised of Ritmo sonero Rei Alvarez, pianist Marlysse Simmons and friends. Miramar specializes in boleros and old school romantic Latin repertoire. I've heard Miramar's demo and it's lovely, Alvarez and a female vocalist harmonize exquisitely together. Simmons adds some modern touches with her keyboards but never veers off into kitsch. Yet another cool design concept from the folks at Bio Ritmo. I hope to hear them live soon.
On top of all that, cosmic salsa experiment Bio Ritmo headlines, and all for $10. 7 pm, Capital Ale House, 623 E. Main St, Richmond.
Fresh-squeezed from the grapevine: Bio Ritmo sonero Rei Alvarez is experimenting with a bolero sideproject. Billed as "Miramar," the female half of the vocal duo is one Laura Ann. Ritmo pianist Marlysse Simmons accompanies.
First gig:
WHAT: Miramar WHEN: April 4, 9:00-11:30 pm WHERE: Que Pasa, 623 N. 25th St (at Jefferson and M Streets), Richmond, VA
This just in: a new documentary film, La Epoca: The Palladium Era will be shown Sunday, 3/22 in Richmond at the Fuego Restaurant.
The 7:30 pm screening costs $10 and includes a "live orchestra" and dancers who will demonstrate mambo styles, as well as a Q&A session with producers, who are taking their film around independently to show it in nightclubs and universities. More at the website, www.laepocafilm.com.
Behind the scenes: the soundtrack includes new music by Alfonso "El Panameño" Joseph and his son, the film's executive producer Josue Joseph, as well as his vocalist daughter, Raquel-Maria. Tres legend Charlie Rodriguez also plays.
I'm a little confused by the soundtrack, which appears to be half originals by the Joseph family band, padded with long-reissued tracks by Arsenio Rodriguez, the godfather of son conjunto. I hope the movie doesn't turn out to be more creative niche marketing to the dance congress crowd than a true mambo documentary. It should be interesting to see how they connect the dots. [Update: ok, I get the connection now--Alfonso played bass with Arsenio. So what the album appears to be in reality is a retrospective/renewal of his career. The clips do make this film appear to be pretty much oriented to dance obsessives--do I really need the difference between "on 1" and "on 2" explained to me again? This is just counting, it doesn't take a new film to grasp it. What is disappointing already is that the group purports to be purists of the style, but the producer's sister's vocal ("Vale Mas") is already an R&B flavored modern fusion. That is fine, for what it is, but how does this take me back to the roots of mambo? Also, there is an awful lot of straw man construction; Johnny Pacheco as the epitome of "salsa," not to mention some very strange (to me) implicit tearing down of Fania including Hector Lavoe! Don't tell me Hector Lavoe doesn't have clave. There is a LOT MORE to salsa/son/mambo/Afro-cuban music/whatever you want to call it than counting from 1 to 2.
I think this project makes a lot of good points, about connecting the dots from Arsenio to mambo through Cachao, about the marginalization of black guys like Arsenio in the salsa market. But you can hardly say that Arsenio's sound or his commercial presence was central to the mambo scene, either. They make a big point about mambo coming before salsa, historically, but mambo is also a modern urban creation in New York City that was in essence a commercial adaptation to the influences of that time and place. But so was Arsenio's son, which came before that. I don't like the leveraging of these arguments about the history in such a way that one era is privileged as purer, better, than the others. If people want to dance mambo today I think that is cool and well and good but it's very obvious that commercial interests are behind the mambo revival as well. They aren't giving away dance lessons or salsa congress subscriptions or instructional videos. Do I think dance instructors and musicians have a right to earn money from their art and instruction? Absolutely. But the narrative of a golden age can get carried away. There is absolutely NO NEED to tear down the artistry and craft and poetry and clave brilliance of a Hector Lavoe, in order to recognize the importance of an Arsenio or a Cachao. Can't we all just get along?]
If Charlie Rodriguez is in the house, that would worth the drive. Tres, though, is not really a mambo thing, it comes from the tipico side of Cuban music, not the big band era. Hence I'm mildy confused, yet curious as hell.
Basically, in a world of iPods and cable TV, I think I speak for many when I say we are hungry out here for a anyone and anything bringing a consciousness of history to the scene, and maintaining the dancer's connection to live performance. Bring it on.
Friday (11/7) marks the long-awaited arrival in Chapel Hill of Bio Ritmo. The Richmond salsa band is touring nationally with their new album Biónico (which includes a spoof of the '70s TV show action theme The Six Million Dollar Man). Showtime is 10 pm at the Local 506.
Has Bio Ritmo really gone bionic? I've heard all these songs before, but they were etched deeper, customized with craftsmanlike sectionwork (horns) and longer, more introspective solos (Marlysse). If you know the album, it was satisfying and up to that standard without mimicking the studio performance. Good show.
Bio Ritmo is about to play live in the studio on WNYC today, THIS HOUR (2:45-3:00). Tune In: WNYC 93.9 (new york city) "soundcheck"
Update 2:47 pm: They just started with "Lisandra" from the new Biónico.
Blogging some notes from the interview:
Nice introduction describes new album as "post salsa" for its spirit of experimentation; plays some Willie Colon from the Malo album. Lists Bio Ritmo's musicians, there a few names I do not know...Arnaldo Marrero, bongo [from Bayamon], J.C. Kuhl, saxophone [from Richmond]. The rest are regulars.
Rei Alvarez: our mission has always been to play original music but in that style, from "a time before [salsa] became a formula."
What happened to salsa? Rei: it's like a relationship, after awhile the passion dies off and you settle into a routine. The 80s was a pretty cool time for salsa but it was a pretty set formula, even down to the lyrics, it lost its social consciousness. That helped it sell more. Origin of the name Bio Ritmo? The original bongo player Jim Thompson came up with the name. We were roughly half Latinos and half Americans, so the pronunciation is meant to reflect that. [Rei reveals something I never knew, which is that the "correct" pronunciation is "Bio" (like English "biology") and "Ritmo" (Spanish).] Richmond--how big a Latino community? It's not so much that, as the art and music community, which is pretty awesome. Art music and food, I should say, my favorite three things. It's a town with a lot of character, we like vintage, old stuff.
That Roland synthesizer is pretty vintage. Marlysse: Actually, to get those sounds, I'm using the Nord (sp?) that's on it, which has a database of all the old keyboard sounds. You're using the smaller new thing to get the older sounds. Yeah, the older equipment is heavy, it's unreliable, it breaks down. And I can't even lift it.
Does Bio Ritmo have a post-salsa scene in Richmond? Rei: Well there's Bio Ritmo. There's bands like (something?) Caribe, they brought a Latin flavor, but I think we were the first salsa, straight up... Post-salsa! [interviewer wants to stick to this label] ...yeah...we've had great support from the very first day in Richmond, that's kept us alive these 17 years.
Closing number, "Shoe Shine."
Rei: it's about being ready for the next step in life, you've got to have your shoes shined.
2:58 pm: playing "Shoe Shine."
Bio Ritmo is playing S.O.B.'s tonight (10/31) in New York City. 2 shows, at 8 and 10, dance lesson at 7 pm.
Bio Ritmo gets the party started for their new album, Bionico, tonight in Brooklyn. They are bringing the party home Saturday night (9/20) to the Capital Ale House in Richmond, Virginia, together with friends Soulpower and the No B.S. Brassband.
Bionico is the culmination of a metamorphosis for the classic salsa band. They emerge from a period of intense songwriting and studio work with master salsa engineer Jon Fausty expressing more of their experimental side. They seem to be reaching for a heartier piece of the World music piechart, with a sound that approaches the hip, funky dance fusions of New York-based Latin bands such as Los Amigos Invisibles and Yerba Buena. They've been spending a lot of time in Brooklyn lately, and the urban village seems to suit them.
If you're a dancer, don't despair. They may have rebuilt themselves better than they were, but Bio Ritmo remains a salsa band with 100% all-natural cojones (and hearts and brains), made in Puerto Rico, and points beyond. They've simply completed a trajectory they, as artists, were always on.
It's the same spirit that drove "classic" salsa in the '70s, from Roberto Roena's Cuban experiments to Willie Colon's Brazilian touches, to the seminal rumba variations of Grupo Folkorico y Experimental Nuevayorquino, and La Sonora Ponceña's jazz sounds and spacious song structures. Our urban guajiros have always experimented with the plugged-in and the organic, the native and the import, the music from the street or barrio next door and that from faraway "home" islands.
Electric sounds have blended before with the shimmy of beads on the naked gourd, the elemental resonances of hierro y cuero, metal and skins. I think of Larry Harlow putting charanga strings and psychedlic interludes into an Arsenio Rodriguez song like "Lo Que Dice Usted," or, as critic Ed Morales recently pointed out, the way Tito Puente dug up mambo sounds from pop culture.
The subtext for these borrowings is often just how "Latin" our pop culture really is. From Star Trek to The Six Million Dollar Man, what's a big adventure-flick or TV theme song without bongos?
Besides, Bio Ritmo's cover of The Six Million Dollar Man theme isn't really a cover. It's a big gulp, an incorporation of who we are, in this generation, into what came before. By daring to fuse new expressions in the salsa idiom, Bio Ritmo is keeping the art form alive in ways that have nothing to do with virtuosity. Plenty of exhilarating bands are producing museum-quality standards, but la musica del pueblo has to continue to speak new things.
UPDATE: Bionico is now available here on iTunes and at all digital retail stores as of Sept. 23. You can purchase the digipak with CD, poster, etc. on the band's website, www.bioritmo.com. Their next Triangle tour date is Nov. 7 at the Local 506.
Just found this tasty little slice of home video on the web, showing one of my favorite bands--Bio Ritmo--in one of my favorite places to see them, a tapas bar and restaurant called Emilio's in Richmond, Virginia.
In fact, I might have been at this very show, since founder Jorge Negron was in town (c. April, 2007?), visiting from Puerto Rico for Bio Ritmo's 15th anniversary.
Host Mike Lebron's woman-in-the-crowd interviews are a little fluffy, but he does a nice interview with Jorge, and in the live band footage, you get a sense of how hard this band plays in the immediacy of the small club setting. It's like a time machine back to the era of old school salsa and live dance music.
Which is why I love Bio Ritmo.
[The video is from a web TV series called Noches de Richmond, which also has some sweet front-row footage of Grupo Niche.]
Epilogue: Bio Ritmo live Tuesdays at Emilio's are no more. The band has moved on to bigger and better touring opportunities, though the bar still keeps up a salsa night. The Emilio's in the video had gone through a facelift since I wrote this Indy column, in 2004. I liked its old '50s lunch counter look, but sometimes we all move on to brighter, more festive incarnations.
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