Rating:
Genre:
Jazz
Release Date: 11/09/1999
Run Time: 71:13
On their second effort,
Los Hombres Calientes exchange bassists (
David Pulphus for
Edwin Livingston), and
Ronald Markham shows up on Hammond B-3 and keyboards. The record, a 71-minute, 18-cut musical treatise, features a much larger complement of vocalists and percussionists, and even a string quartet on three selections.
Hombres Calientes, Vol. 2 also draws from a larger palette of Latin rhythms. The Yoruban chants on the trio of tunes near the end of the recording are most convincing --
"Alabi Oyo E," "Suite Obatala," and
"Vamos a la Cima," all composed by percussionist
Bill Summers, burst with emotional discourse.
"Cuban Suite," penned by trumpeter
Irvin Mayfield, moves from a slow
rhumba (featuring cascading piano by
Victor Atkins, III) to a
classical, church-like montuno figure and, finally, to a much hotter comparsa with rollicking trumpet, piano, and simmering percussion.
"A Comer y a Descargar" is an out-and-out jam, with
Mayfield leading the charge.
"Fongo Sunk," a piece from drummer
Jason Marsalis, is a no-frills piano/percussion workout. There's also a hot take on the old
Roberta Flack hit
"Feel Like Makin' Love." Of the many remaining cuts,
"Rasta Renegade" is a
reggae number with organ and group vocals;
"Blues de Enredo" is a Brazilian festival
samba;
"Young Lovers at First Sight/Tangeaux-Zon" is a
tango with the
Louisiana Philharmonic String Quartet;
"Daydreamer" is a
bossa nova with
Atkins' piano omnipresent; and
"Comparsa N.O." combines an Afro-Cuban section and a
Professor Longhair-like gumbo
blues shuffle. The CD ends rather unceremoniously, with the always-vapid
"Chameleon" slapped onto
George Clinton's
"We Want the Funk." More might not necessarily be better for this group, but the overall result is quite enjoyable -- some bumps in the road, but a competent music presentation nonetheless.
~Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide
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