Substitutions: Bio Ritmo 3.12.11

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.

Richmond Road Trip

Bio Ritmo update...

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?

Urban Bachata in NYT

It's an interesting phenomenon how Latino markets often run completely parallel to the mainstream Anglo music industry, united (and divided) by language demographics rather than geography.

Jody Rosen explores it in this recent New York Times profile of Anthony Santos, the Bronx-born urban bachata star of Aventura. I first heard his name about 10 years ago from my friend Milli, who said that all the jukeboxes in her Brooklyn neighborhood were playing Anthony Santos.

"As the hits have piled up, the band’s critics have been replaced by followers — American-based, pop-oriented bachata acts like Xtreme and Toby Love, a former Aventura backup singer."

[Source: "Crossover Dreams of a Bronx Bachatero," New York Times, 6/3/09]

Links:

Click here to see my coverage of Toby Love at the Lincoln Theatre this past February.

The many moods of Love

At the Toby Love show on Sunday, we saw both his softer and his "crunkier" side. Actually the term "crunkchata" seems a little hyped, as does calling this a "hiphop" blend. I would call it bachata romantica and draw a parallel to the commercialization of salsa romantica in the 90s. While it's true that Love's flygirls and b-boys inject "urban" Bronx-creole style and attitude, his singing comes straight from the annals of romantic R&B. Commercial bachata recordings are so smoothly tweaked nowadays that the live performance is a different experience entirely; the frenetic, in some ways mechanical, stage show devolved focus away from Love as a romantic persona, whose sexual energy onstage is more boy-band, more charming waif, than intensely hypnotic or commanding. By contrast, his rhythm section's mannish energy and muscularity is pure Dominicana, but there's nothing new about that.

This video of a bachata shows Love crafting his softer side. Without his dancers here, you can see how his band is put together and operates.


Softer side of Love from Santa Salsera on Vimeo.

Love was at his best when he dropped his romantic alter ego and turned the party crank, with some hyperactive merengue and rapidfire vocals:


Dame Agua from Santa Salsera on Vimeo.

The dance showcase that followed brought out another ancient piece of urban folklore: witty sexual hype. Here are three members of Love's crew "getting crazy":


Get Crazy #1 from Santa Salsera on Vimeo.


Get Crazy #2 from Santa Salsera on Vimeo.


Get Crazy #3 from Santa Salsera on Vimeo.

Links:

Read my concert review on the Indy online music blog SCAN
See photos from the live show posted earlier on Onda Carolina

Girlz Talk, Boys Cry

I'm not a big consumer of commercial bachata, but there is something exciting about seeing top Dominican performers and their bands live. They usually import the best guitarists and percussionists from the island. My plan tonight is to DVR the Oscars and see Toby Love at the Lincoln Theatre. There is an afterparty planned for Zydeco's.

Opening: Girlz Talk, with one of the former members of Aventura. They perform a bachata song with Love called "Tu y Yo."

Watch:
Toby Love video single, "Llorar Lloviendo"

Myspace:
Toby Love concert at Lincoln Theatre.




UPDATE: Some show photos





Links:

Read my concert review on the Indy online music blog SCAN
See videos from the show posted here on Onda Carolina

Valentine's Day Roundup

Some Latin parties and events happening this weekend in honor of Valentine's Day--click on links to take you to more information:

--From Jason Laughlin of Tangophilia:

"Tangophilia's regular 2nd Saturday milonga at Triangle Dance Studio resumes this month with a Valentiney (sweets and winey) theme, and an introductory no partner required lesson at 8pm. Sunday afternoon, make a very short trip down to the Holly Springs Cultural Center to enjoy a special concert with Carolina Clarinet. Cecilia Pagani and I will be performing to the music of "History of Tango" by Astor Piazzolla and "It Takes 4 to Tango" by Daniel Dorff."

--From the Cobo Brothers:

"2nd SATURDAY VALENTINE "BLACK & RED" LATIN NIGHT
Copa Night @ George's Garage
February 14th, 2009

"Everyone dressed in BLACK and/or RED will be entered into a raffle with a chance to WIN dinner for 2 at Parizade's Mediterranean Flavors at play Restuarant, tickets to Bachata Sensation "Toby Love" concert, gift certificate for Cobobrothers Dance Academy classes, and more to be confirmed."

George’s Garage
737 Ninth St.
Durham, NC 27705
Copa starts @ 11:00pm
21 & OVER
$12 Cover
$8 Ladies before 11:30 pm
Dressy Attire (at management discretion): No Jeans, Sneakers, Hats, or T-Shirts"

--From Salsa4You:

Romantic Evening Oasis Valentine's Event presented by Colorful Waves Belly Dance Troupe
"An oasis of dance! Gourmet Desserts and Coffees, Candle Light, Live Music and Special Showcase of Dance Performances.
Date: February 14, 2007
Time: 7:00 - 10:00
Where: Triangle Dance Studio (2603 S. Miami Blvd.)
Contact: 919-803-1281
Website: www.colorfulwaves.com

--From Ricardo Diquez of the Tropic Orchestra:

"We cordially invite you to Valentine's Day with The Tropic Orchestra. Live music and DJ playing classic salsa and romantic favorites. Carmen's Cuban Cafe, 108 Factory Shops Rd, Morrisville (near the Airport and Outlet Mall).

--From Angie Xiomara at Triangle Salsa Meetup:

RUEDA Practice and Lessons
"Ruedardu.org is a group who loves to have fun and dance Casino Rueda. Our goal is to bring awareness. Lesson and practice will be at Triangle Dance Studio, Sunday, 4:30-6:00 pm, $5."

Bachata Blowout at Lincoln Theatre 2/22

Girlz Talk open for Latin Billboard award winner and "urban bachata" star Toby Love at this all ages show in Raleigh on Sunday, 2/22.

For more info, see this concert's myspace page.


LINKS UPDATE:

See recent Onda Carolina posts with my concert videos and photos

Read my concert review on Indy online music blog SCAN