|
|
 |
Review
|
| Click Here to go back. |
C-Ville Weekly, Review >>
Many of Bio Ritmo's fans show up to do one thing, and that's to dance. And dance. And DANCE.
By its own account, the Richmond-based band challenges the growing commercialism in Salsa misic, using the same improvisational approach as modern jazz to take it back to the streets of '70s-era New York, where the Afro-Cuban- influenced dance craze got its start. For musicians and audience alike, it's sort of like a jam session, says Charlottesville Salsa Club President Butch Bailqr
"There's an interplay between the dancing and the band feeding off the energy -- that's one thing I've always enjoyed about Bio Ritmo. They love to watch the people reacting to the music. It really pumps them up," he says
That goes for whether they're playing close-knit shows like their occasional Sunday Salsa appearances at the Outback Lodge, or whether they're pulling in audiences of 200-plus at some of the area's larger dance floors. Bailey has been listening to the band for more than a decade, since the days when they regularly played at Trax.
Bio Ritmo began as a drum ensemble in 1991, but has grown to include nine members, mainly of the brass and percussive persuasions. Its current lineup features singer and percussionist Rei Alvaiez, timbalist Giustino Riccio, conga player Gabo Tbmasini, trumpeters Bob Miller, Tim Lett and Toby Whitaker, trombonist Brian Hooten, upright electric bassist Cameron Ralston and pianist Marrysse Simmons.
While the band has released five albums, including a 1998 Mercury Records release, Rumba, Baby Rumba, and a 2004 self-titled release off the lesser- known Locutor Records, it's their spirit of independence that drives fans from all over the region to turn out to Bio Ritmo's live shows.
"We're not afraid to express ourselves in that we write original music and push the boundaries a little bit, but it's still hardcore salsa," says Tomasmi.
-Be Sellers 05/10/05
|
| Click Here to go back. |
|
 |
|
|
|
