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| Check out "Flauta Pa' Ti" off Orchestra Mambo International's new album Apúntalo! out now! And catch 'em on tour in the UK. |
Here's the scoop...
Orchestra Mambo International are an eminently groovy Latin big-band, based in the UK and featuring a multi-generational raft of global musicians from the old quarters of Latin music – Havana, Caracas and Bogotá – including Venezuelan 72-year-old lead-singer Carlos “Pachanga” Peña and driven by two unlikely lads from Yorkshire, in the north of England, Jonny Enright and Lubi Jovanovic.
Grouped in 2022 by Enright, a traditional northern brass-band alumni turned songwriter/salsero and Jovanovic, Latin DJ, mentor, promoter and salsa encyclopaedia, Orchestra Mambo International’s debut album ¡Apuntalo! is an impeccable set list of good-time, New Yorican era (1970s) mambo, salsa and Afro-Cuban jazz gems featuring a guest appearance from UK flautist Chip Wickham and Cuban singer Claritzel Miyares.
Afro-Cuban, Afro-Latin, pachanga, guaracha, son montuno, big band salsa – whatever you want to call it, however you want to frame or dissect it – this is deftly played, flagrantly hot-stepping, block-rocking, and seriously swinging Puerto Rican-touched Latin music, with plenty of Tito Puente-inspired timbales and mambo shake. It’s dripping with a kind of groove-based, Latin authenticity that the likes of UK jazz outfit Ezra Collective have been impressing upon its audiences in recent years.
¡Apúntalo! is a catchphrase Carlos “Pachanga” Peña uses in songs during live shows, and it captures the spirit of the record and live show perfectly “get involved, lock into the groove, and make this moment yours”. Whilst the orchestra includes a coro (chorus) Carlos is the leading vocal light on the album.
Olufina is the lead single and is an irrepressible Afro-Cuban mambo, fired by authentic batá drums, punchy call-and-response vocals from Carlos and the full band hitting on all cylinders, with standout horn, vibraphone, and percussion solos built for the dancefloor. The title is a devotional name for Changó, Yoruba orisha of thunder and fire. The track delivers exactly that energy: raw and joyful.
Get a copy of ¡Apúntalo! via Bandcamp right here. Check out "Flauta Pa' Ti" featuring Chip Wickham on flute followed by a list of their UK tour dates below.
Orchestra Mambo International
Jonny Enright - Musical Director, trombone, coro
Carlos Peña - Lead vocals, backing vocals, coro
Chris Williamson - Trumpet
Victor Estevez - Trumpet, coro
Olivia Cuttill - Trumpet
Gustavo Andrade - Baritone saxophone, coro
Andrzej Baranek - Piano
John Settle - Vibraphone
Simon Edwards - Bass
Jimmy Le Messurier - Timbales, batá, guïra, coro
Camilo Ochoa - Bongos, campana, maracas, guïro, hand perc, coro
Sam Bell - Congas, coro
Lubi Jovanovic - Co-founder, manager
Special guest: Chip Wickham (flute) on "Flauta Pa' Ti"
Orchestra Mambo International on tour
18 Sept - Howard Assembly Room, Leeds, United Kingdom
16 Oct - St Matthew's Church, Leyburn, United Kingdom
7 Nov - Jazz Cafe, London, United Kingdom
29 Nov - Old Fire Station, Carlisle, United Kingdom
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