Annette A. Aguilar & Stringbeans: No Cheap Dates

Latin Beat Magazine, April, 2006 by Jesse Varela

ANNETTE A. AGUILAR & STRINGBEANS No Cheap Dates (Stringbeans)

A product of the San Francisco Mission District, Annette Aguilar is a rumbera at heart who grew up playing in the 1970s drum circles at Dolores Park as a teenager. When she matured, after establishing tenure with local salsa bands, she headed for New York City, where she attended the Manhattan School of Music and garnered a Masters Degree in Percussion and Music Education. On this second album as a leader, Aguilar assembled a superb cast of musicians like Lewis Kahn & Rob Thomas (violins), Ellen Uryevick-Adams (concert harp), Cliff Korman and Steve Sandberg (pianos), Harvie S (bass), and Vince Cherico (drums) among others, to play mostly well-honed Latin and Brazilian jazz interpretations. Rumbero mayor Eddie Bebe appears as special guest vocalist on Annette's own comparsa, Conga, and the classic son, Mayeya no jueges con los santos. Everything on this album jams but my super favorite is Tito Puente's Picadillo, where the soloists inject new life into this standard. Ellen shows the creative side of the concert harp; Sandberg leaves you breathless; Aguilar, Cherico and timbalero Victor Rendon tear it up on percussion, and Thomas closes out the descarga on violin. The strings concept is a texture that allows for a refreshing interplay that would not work if not for the musicians. Ms. Aguilar is an unsung talent worth discovering and appreciating because her albums and percussion artistry just get better with age and deserves wider recognition.