COMPOSERS: Quantic Soul Orchestra
LABELS: Tru Thoughts
ALBUM TITLE: Tropidélico
PERFORMER: Will Holland (producer), Javier Rivera (trumpet), J-Live, Kabir Malik Green (vocals), Alfredo Linares (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: TRUCD139
Producer Will Holland and his
jazz-funk outfit, Quantic Soul Orchestra (QSO), have been tantalising live audiences with their recent mix of Latin descargo rhythms. Recorded as far a field as Puerto Rico and Panama and enlisting pianist Alfredo Linares and trumpeter Javier Rivera, Tropidélico has a Latin flavour that could easily befit a Tarantino movie. There’s a good mix here – ‘Panama City’ echoes early Kool and the Gang, while the boogaloo-driven ‘San Sebastian Strut’ will satiate rare groove fans. New York rapper J-Live will grab attention but so should Kabir Malik Green’s catchy vocals on ‘Who Knows’, set over creeping bass.
QSO live sets compel clubbers and festival goers to dance to full-on jazz. Tropidélico rejoices in this, drenching jazz with Latin sunshine.
Neil McKim