Cubanismo

    Havana. New Orleans. Sister cities of sinful past and sizzling present, baking in the Caribbean heat. Yeah, that's right -- our own New Orleans, northernmost port of the Caribbean, steeped in the same legacy of seafaring French and Spanish, swashbucklers, slavery, suppressed Indian tribes and, on a lighter note, a glorious musical melting pot. That's what MARDI GRAS MAMBO: ¡CUBANISMO! IN NEW ORLEANS is all about: Where Bourbon St. hits the Malecón. Dr. John backs up Beny Moré. Preservation Hall meets the Tropicana. When Jesús Alemañy, trumpeter and prime mover behind the Havana all-stars ¡Cubanismo! was asked by producer Joe Boyd to join some of the Crescent City's finest in the studio, he knew the results would be hot.
    "It's one of the places that I feel the most comfortable in and identify most with when we come to the states," says Jesús Alemañy. "It's a place where people are keeping alive their traditions, like in Havana." For four years, the band has made a habit of visiting N'awlins every time they've toured in the U.S, bringing their virtuosic mix of Cuban dance music to ever-growing crowds. Boyd arranged a meeting in Havana for Alemañy, pianist Nachito Herrera and some of the producer's favorite New Orleans musicians: Glenn Patscha and Mark Bingham of the Yockamo All-Stars; and soulful crooner John Boutté, the crooner who would put his own stamp on the MARDI GRAS MAMBO sessions.

"During the 20s and 30s in Cuba, people were crazy for American music, listening to the jazz bands, the big bands. Obviously, the Cuban musicians took this as an element to incorporate into our music. There's that influence in how to play the piano and arrange the brass. When you play the second line, or any other New Orleans way of percussion or rhythm, you can feel the Latin beat. Sometimes the downbeat will change, but you can combine it. That's the good thing about this, there's a common musical element that you can combine. Also, whether it's son or it's jazz music, this is 100 percent dancing music.”