Tiempo Libre is the hottest new Cuban timba group on the world music scene. Composed of musicians drawn from the bands of Albita, Cachao, Arturo Sandoval and others, they are a kind of new-generation Cuban supergroup which has delighted audiences worldwide. "Arroz con Mango" delivers a high-energy collection of original and classic timba that will be appreciated by lovers of salsa, Latin jazz, and Latin dance music of all types.
Round two for the timba band from Miami, Florida. Weirdly, the recording is the best timba record to show up in a year or so, in part because the band’s getting better and better, but also because the straight up timba scene in Cuba is seemingly over. Arroz Con Mango takes its cues from the late 1990s in Havana with funky, funky bass parts and hard working tumbaos, breakdowns, and singers who nab odd parts of a tune’s harmony. As on its first album, the band takes on an older tune, "Pare Cochero." There’s even a tune praising Miami, the sort of thing that would have been sung about Havana; here it sounds political. And another tune takes on the state of being in exile. Anyway, it’s hard rocking timba, the sort that hardly ever gets recorded anymore. Ripe for dancefloors, easy on the ears, and well done, all the way through!
Higly recommanded.
(review by Descarga)
1. La Cosa
2. Ven Pa' Miami
3. Arroz Con Mango
4. Lengua Larga
5. Un Son
6. Pare Cochero
7. Esa Mujer
8. Fe
9. Se Formo La Rumba
10. Se Ponen
(mei 2005)