| One of the Cuban musicians
who have taken up residence in London is vocalist Osvaldo Chacon. He
is one of the more interesting Cubans in the capital,
he had
begun his musical career with some of Cuba’s top bands like Paulito FG,
Manolin - El Medico de La Salsa and Bamboleo where he sang on their first album.
Moving to London in ’97 his first release ‘Salsa Afro Cubana‘ got
a warm welcome and glowing reviews. His latest offering ‘Salsa Timba’ [ARC]
is a much better all round effort. As a singer Osvaldo is top notch and much
in demand to sing with Latin stars the likes of Herman Olivera and Eddie Palmieri,
Ruben Blades, Celia Cruz and Adalberto Santiago when they drop into town. His
band Osvaldo Chacon Y Su Timba works hard playing around England and further
a field in Europe. ”Salsa Timba” is very interesting because apart
from the straight ahead Timba you get touches of fusions such as Timba Soca and
Timba Reggae. This release is a real good musical mix-up, that features good
quality strong songs with tight arrangements played by top quality musicians
and which also benefits from being very nicely recorded, it sounds very clear
and simple, there are tracks that can be dj’d out with as well.
Standout out grooves include “Ando Buscando” a swinging modern
Son with superb vocals and “Conmigo o con el” which strongly Timbas
all over the land. “Caracter Deportivo” which is billed as one
of the Timba/Soca thangs is a pumping rhythm rich mixture with great vocals,
while “Heriero” which the track listing describes as a Timba/Afro
really does move.
“Salsa Timba” is a superfine effort that creates some
great music and also is a major step forward for Osvaldo and further cements
his position
as one of the premier members of the London Latin posse.
Dave Hucker.
copywrite 2003 The Beat.
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