2 new reviews of Folklore Urbano

Over the holiday week there were 2 new, glowing reviews of Baile/Dance, which I'm happy to share with you here. First, World Music Central said, "Chonta Records, a new record label based in New York, has certainly made a great impression with its first release. Dance Baile by Folklore Urbano automatically became an editor's pick at World Music Central for top 10 albums of 2005." Top 10 albums!

Then, Richard Antone of the Bucks County Courier Times listed Baile/Dance as among his "Overlooked CDs of 2005," saying, "There aren't enough hours in the day for Pablo Mayor. When not busy as a music professor, the pianist-arranger for Qrquesta Broadway leads his own band, Folklore Urbano. The twelve-member New York city-based band is part of the growing music scene known as Nueva Colombia. Combining traditional Colombian percussion with improvisation and jazz rhythm and horn sections, it makes for quite an innovative and exciting sound. Ebullient vocalist Ronald Polo and his enthusiastic bandmates have an eclectic collective background, including stints with Chico 'O Farrill, Maria Schneider, the Vanguard Jazz Irchestra and the Lincoln Center Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra. Folklore Urbano is shaking up the New York world and Latin music scenes with some of the freshest sounds around."

Send your own reviews, and I'll post them!

Sonidos Colombianos

After a luxuriously relaxing week in Virgin Gorda, of the British Virgin Islands, I'm back in New York. And already Colombian music is everywhere (I missed it so much!) Last night, Folklore Urbano played to a packed house at S.O.B.'s, and it's clear that this band keeps picking up more and more fans. They're playing Philly next month, and we're trying to line up some festival gigs for the spring and summer. Also, La Cumbiamba has finished the remastering of their debut CD, and we'll have a release date set for sometime next month.

But if you can't wait that long for new Colombian music, try the great program, "Sonidos Colombianos," on 89.9 WKCR Columbia University Radio, from 10-11 p.m. every Sunday night. Hosted by my friend, Sadys Espitia, it's a great mix of all the styles of Colombian music. New Yorkers, just tune into 89.9. To listen to WKCR on your computer, just click here.

Here's a description from the WKCR website:

Sonidos Colombianos presents the music from one of the most culturally diverse countries of Latin America: Colombia! Every Sunday night join us as we explore the sounds from the legendary town of "Macondo". Our bilingual musical tour is guaranteed to include not only "cumbia", but also the guitar-based "bambuco" from the Andean region, the harp "llanero" music from the Eastern Plains, and the accordion-driven "vallenato" of the North Atlantic Coast. Sonidos Colombianos also features the big band music from the 50's, to the newer afro-caribbean music called "champeta". And let's not forget the "salsa" from Cali, the "salsa capital of South America". The last program of each month focuses on one specific musical genre, group or composer.