Rey Crespo y Su salsa Conga Loca

Personnel: Bertha Pourtuondo, Ismael Perez (vocals); Rodolfo Rodriguez (saxophone); Oslen Marrero (trumpet); Adrian Elizarde (trombone); David Galindo (piano); Gabriel Delgado, Amilkar Vazquez (congas); Eduardo Veitia (bombo); Ariel Aja (bells).
Liner Note Authors: Diz Heller; Osvaldo Chacón; Rey Crespo.
Recording information: Audio CH Studio, Havana, Cuba; Icaic Studios, Havana, Cuba.
Photographer: Rey Crespo.
Translators: Diz Heller; Jeannine Blanpain.
Arranger: Rey Crespo.
If you like the pushy Cuban timba sound of Los Van Van and the brassiness of salsa, this will be right up your street. Crespo, born in Cuba but now resident in London, leads a big band of fellow expatriate Cubans through an album of appealing timba and salsa. Don't expect anything new or startling from him, and you won't be disappointed. Instead, try and keep your feet still once they start kicking on "Fantastica Locura" and goes up through the gears from there. It's brass-heavy, but there's nothing wrong with that, and Crespo himself provides a solid but elastic underpinning on the bass, while the percussions layer on the polyrhythms. It's the kind of record that can make you sweat just by listening to it -- and that's a recommendation. ~ Chris Nickson