Release Date: July 11, 2006
Producer(s): Natty Bo
Genre: WORLD
Label: Cumbancha


This project, masterminded by Englishman Peter Scott, is a flashback to the '50s, when there was an active crosstalk between Jamaican ska and Cuban son. English ska artist Natty Bo pulled together the band and tracked the album in Santiago de Cuba. The disc features a dozen musicians working ska, son montuno, calypso and cumbia tunes and includes amazing vocals from Cuban singer Beny Billy (Juan Manuel Villy). The music is consistently delightful. "Tungarara" is a slightly bent cumbia about a little frog and a toad, enlivened by René Dominguez's terrific flute. Witness the resurrection via ska of the chestnut "Jezebel," the ska-cumbia rendition of Ramón Vargas' "Soy Campesino," and turn up the volume for the thunderous ska-son treatment of "Oye Compay Juan," with lyrics by Gisela Navea, Beny Billy's wife. A retro-centric dancehall indulgence of the highest order.

—Philip Van Vleck