Playing drums and percussion, and even singing a bit, Joaquin Nunez creates fresh Cuban sounds with his core team of Dayramir Gonzalez/p-key, Roberto Riveron/b, Alexander Brown/tp-fh, Jeff King/ts, Estaban Vargas/vi-vi, Mark Daniels/effects and a rotating team of guests on horns, bass and vocals.
The synthy sounds work well as the warm horns coast on the simmering “Afrocubanos” with rich chorus and vocals by Marta Elena create an earthy salsa on “Mi Changui” while leading the chant on the charging “Ruta De La Clave”.
The strings long with clarinetist Colleen Allen on “Nostalgia” with the leader’s percussion percolating with Gonzalez on the cheerful “Rumba De Solar”