Felix Cabrera: Pressure Cooker

Latin Beat Magazine, June-July, 2003 by Luis Tamargo

(Fountainbleu)

Thanks to the exiled Cuban filmmaker Iván Acosta (of "El Super" fame), I became well acquainted with the musical artistry of our blue brother from another planet--vocalist/harmonicist/ composer/arranger Félix Cabrera. Born in Havana and raised in Union City, Cabrera displays his wailing harp licks, spirited "blusero" vocals and songwriting skills (he is identified as the author of half of the repertoire) in his third recording as a leader, in which his instrumentally unorthodox New York-based band fuses traditional and non-traditional blues with various R&B, jazz, rock and Cuban elements. My favorite track is Sam King Kong, a self-penned tune previously recorded by the author in 1996.