Somos Amigos: Somos Amigos - Envidia - Reseña

Latin Beat Magazine, June-July, 2002 by Gilbert Rivera

This recent recording by the Barcelona, Spain, based label Envidia combines the talents of two accomplished musicians that fuse the rhythms of Afro-Cuban music with those of the rumba flamenca and jazz, resulting in the commercial sound and style that's flourishing in Cuba today. Pianist Jesús Rubalcaba brings to the mix his knowledge and expertise of Afro-Cuban music and jazz, while Spanish percussionist Imanol Ortiz contributes his worldwide percussion experience which he has gained from years of tutoring with master percussionists from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Colombia, and Europe.

With the participation of a few prominent musician friends from Havana--Frank Rubio on bass, Roberto Vizcaíno on timbal, J.J. Oliveros on flute, and Carlos Kalunga on vocals--they form the group Somos Amigos (We Are Friends). The self-titled CD underscores a collection of mostly standard compositions with the exception of two tracks, which are acccredited one each to the two co-leaders ofthe group, Bella Melodía (Rubalcaba) and Rumba De La Vida (Ortiz). Noteworthy are the renditions of Mambo Influenciado (a Chucho Valdés composition) and Rumba de Cajón (a Juan Pablo Torres composition). Rubalcaba's cleverness on the piano and Oliveros' keenness on the flute are two good enough reasons to give a listen to this recording.