At the party with Son Boricua - salsa group's concert in San Francisco

Latin Beat Magazine, Feb, 2004 by Jesse Varela

In Fall 2003, Café Cocomo in San Francisco hosted Son Boricua, the fine New York City salsa septet. The Albert Torres presentation featuring Jimmy Sabater (timbal/vocals) and José Mangual Jr. (bongó/vocals), brought a cool breeze from the East with a refined vibes-led combo. With their personal manager Jesse Ramírez in tow, the Cobo recording artists of Son Boricua came out and immediately captivated the crowd with its rendition of El Negro Bembón.

Just hearing Sabater's voice was a flashback, a sound reminiscent of his days with Joe Cuba in the 1960s; a throwback to an earlier time. The caliber of Sabater's potent tenor voice bears the influential traces of Nat King Cole and Tito Rodríguez. His ability as a sonero to invent witty and humorous verses with his "bazabazoo" nonsense words that involve his audience created a warm and entertaining experience.

Son Boricua's swing was contagious, with impressive percussion breaks and upbeat tempos, and Mangual Jr. and his cencerro (cowbell) wouldn't have it any other way. The vibes of AJ Mantos were a delight, with keen improvisational skill and seasoned ensemble nuance. He knew the classic riffs but gave them his own touch. As they went into a Joe Cuba segment with the soul-bolero To Be With You and the mambo La Cita, the legacy of this boogaloo-era Latin music received rare treatment from one of its creators.

The second set began like a night at the Catskills with a Latin lounge rendering of Volare. Muñeca brought everybody back to the dance floor. Walter Reyes took a smoking solo on congas, as did Junior de Jesús on piano. Campanero followed, and the crowd sang along, as José Mangual Jr. played phenomenal clave-centric off beats accenting different parts of the cowbell that brought a roar of applause.

Throughout the night, however; it was obvious that Son Boricua belonged to the other lead singer in the band, Luis Soto. Sabater and Mangual are New Yorkers who carry with them Caribbean roots with an Afro-American urban soul and jazz sensibility. Soto sings anthems to Puerto Rico like Yo Nací En Puerto Rico and Las Caras Lindas (dedicated to the late Tite Curet Alonso) with an island inflection. Blessed with a boyish smile, he is a strong vocalist deserving wider attention.

The roof caught on fire as Son Boricua played a descarga and invited Bay Area timbalero Louis Ramírez to sit in. Sabater and Romero, both Tito Puente-influenced paileros, conversed in four bar exchanges. As Ramírez took his turn, Sabater urged him on, playing time on a ride cymbal. Romero returned it by playing clave on his thin sticks. It was a nonstop mano-a-mano that had the crowd sweating and screaming. Many stopped dancing and stepped to the front of the stage to feel the heat.

How can you top that? To close out the night, the group played the boogaloo At the Party, a vehicle for Sabater to acknowledge various Latin music greats. He should include himself and José Mangual Jr. in there for keeping hardcore East Coast salsa alive! Son Boricua's soul sauce is a flavor worth shaking your ribs to for its swing and soneros.