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This week in local music
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Richmond.com, This week in local music >>
Johnny Cash fell into a burning ring of fire. Bio Ritmo came out of one. In 1991 a musician named Jorge Negron was assigned the task of putting together a drum ensemble for the opening of "Ring of Fire," a film about volcanoes showing at the Science Museum. Out of the cast of local percussionists he assembled for the event, Negron found a kindred spirit in Jim Thompson, then the drummer for instrumental group Alter-Natives. Together with third member Rei Alvarez, they began an experimental percussion project, dubbing it Bio Ritmo.
That was 12 years ago. Since the band began, anywhere from 25 to 30 members have passed through its ranks. Because of the rotating players, Bio Ritmo's music has remained ever-changing, evolving from left-field instrumentals to traditional salsa compositions, to modern, complex arrangements.
In recent years the music seemed to have traveled too far from its origin, which troubled some of the players. After a record deal with Mercury bottomed out, Bio Ritmo began to lose steam. The band began slowing down, dropping out of the public eye to reevaluate their modus operandi.
Now, with that hiatus behind them and a new record on the horizon, Bio Ritmo has managed to make a comeback by returning to their roots.
"The biggest thing we want people to know is that we're back," says trumpet player Bob Miller. "This is a new beginning. That's why the new record is self-titled." Miller, along with trombonists Toby Whitaker and Stefan Demetriadis, and trumpet player Tim Lett, leads the group's stellar horn section. Though most of the band joins in to sing group choruses, Alvarez's silky croon is the primary voice of Bio Ritmo. He is joined on percussion by original members Justin Riccio (timbales) and Gabo Tomasini (congas). The group is rounded out by Johnny Sullivan on upright bass and Marlysse Simmons on keyboards. "Marlysse was the last ingredient," Alvarez says. "When she came along we were finally a creative unit. She's the one who pushed us to record."
It had been over five years since Bio Ritmo released an album. Their last one, Rumba Baby Rumba, was recorded for Mercury before the split, leaving the band feeling burned. When the group finally did return to the studio to record their new "old-school" album they enlisted Sound of Music producer Brian Paulson (Slint, Beck). The results of those sessions are some of the most dynamic and creative work Bio Ritmo has ever done.
Though their music is big, vibrant, and technically pristine, Bio Ritmo incorporates the stripped-down, raw quality of 1970's salsa. "We're going back to the classic sound," Alvarez says. "The street salsa sound, when the music was experimenting with everything."
Salsa's history in the United States begins in the late 60's with the formation of Fania Records in NYC. Looking for a way to market Latin music, a mega-genre was created that combined traditional styles like rumba, son, cha cha, and bomba into the one big "salsa" category. "Salsa is what happened when Cuban music from the '20s, '30s, and '40s slammed into jazz in New York City," Alvarez says. "It was mostly the music of ghetto youth. Since then the tree has branched, but that whole time period is very romantic. We're not trying to recreate that era, but there were so many songs that could have been written. We're saying, what would have happened to salsa music if the '80s hadn't happened?" Alvarez, who moved to the States from Puerto Rico when he was 12, says he was "rediscovering the music of my youth at the same time these guys were discovering it for the first time."
"All this music we are into you really have to search for. The fact that Bob saw it, that Jim saw it -- that's a miracle I thank God for every day."
Now that Bio Ritmo is back, the band will return to its active touring schedule in and out of Richmond, playing to crowds who probably have never heard traditional salsa. "It feels more like we're a rock band that happens to play salsa," Miller says. "We don't play the usual covers that people expect. We pick songs that are more obscure."
"First and foremost we are happy about the new music," he adds. "Musically this is the best thing we can offer so far."
05/15/03 >> go there
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