Jesus Diaz and Michael Spiro's new Rumba project is here! Oba' Nile En Clave

Master percussionist Jesus Diaz and fellow folklorist Michael Spiro have a new Rumba project now available for download! HERE!!

How fortunate the tradition is, to have such amazing stewards in Jesus and Mike!

Band leader, percussionist, singer and Pearl artist Jesus Diaz (Jesus Diaz y su QBA) is said to be the driving force behind this project.

Jesus is a relentless force in the bay area latin scene, performing with the top tier on a regular basis, not to mention fronting one of the fattest salsa bands around, Jesus Diaz Y Su QBA.

Getting a project cut like this, with all the talent from across the country, is akin to herding cats on fire... so mad props to Jesus for making this happen.

Jesus and Mike work closely together producing, Congamasterclass.com : a technical breakthrough in on line music education.

.. and, we can thank Steven Hendee as well, for lending his technical prowess.. too cool to see such ancient, word of mouth traditions digitally propagated through such a professional site.

Their online Percussion school is top notch: sharing their deep knowledge with everyone in the free world.

Mike Spiro, in collaboration with Jesus for many years now, is an absolute treasure to the Afro-Cuban community; his driven quest for mastery of this tradition is inspiring to us all.

Mike and Jesus continue to pay respect by creating new projects as homage to the masters of the past.

This Cultural practice is alive and well in their knowledgeable hands, and we all benefit from the progression.

When I see how hard these cats work to nurture and enact this ancient form of culture, my mind wonders to a timeless and blissful place, where history is action and tradition is creation.

Rumberos of the future will take note, no doubt.

For this project, Jesus assembled the best of the best, from east to west..

Including:

Lazaro Galarraga-Vocals
Jesús Diaz-Tumbadora, Vocals
Sandy Pérez-Tumbadora and Bata, Vocals
Roman Díaz-Tumbadora, Vocals
Miguel Bernal-Tumbadora, Cajon, Bata, Vocals
Michael Spiro-Gua-Gua, Bata, Vocals
Bobby Wilmore-Clave, Vocals
Genesie Reynoso-Vocals

Lazaro Galarraga.. Miguel Bernal, Roman Diaz, Sandy Perez... my lord man.. can we get any better of a lineup. These cats are about as heavy as history can offer, with literally more experience and talent among them than we can conceive.

I could spend this entire post listing their credits, but want to focus on Mike's project, so feel free to google their names after you download Jesus and Mike's CD!

So, I had a listen to a track from this project, and I can tell you, the rumba is tight and clean.

This particular rumba is retro by design, paying respect to the time of Rumba's raising popularity among the working class of Cuba.

I just love how parsimonious Jesus and Roman are (segund and tumbao respectively) Kicking it up with the sweetest and fattest drops, lending power with silence. Only the top cats do this well.. and Roman can play a fatter rumba with less playing than anyone ive ever heard.

These players have mad chops, and cats like Sandy can rip it as hard as anyone on the planet.. but profound power and strength can come from unlikely sources.. often from knowledge of what not to play, the use of silence, knowing how to set expectations of the listener, toying, playing, and giving it up when they need it most... just when a beg is about to escape their lips..

The space is so dang beautiful - space to feel the rhythm, to hear the song, to create power.

For a Rumbero, silence is golden, and can make your hair stand on end when used correctly... Follow it up with a gargantuan Sandy Perez Quinto declaration, and you have yourself a serious Rumba on your hands..

It's about tension and release, expectation and realization... inspired to need, surprised with familiarity, assured by fruition.. hard to explain and way harder to play effectively. This Rumba is a perfect example of the mastery of tension release.

When you get a listen to this fine project, hear to how the Rumba breaths... lending power to each tone, each phrase..

The combination of Jesus Diaz, Roman Diaz and Sandy Perez is pure genius. Sandy, forceful and profound, playing on a backdrop of elegantly smooth and graceful conversation between Roman and Jesus.. pure heaven..

This 'less is more' style is not an easy thing to pull off with Mr. Inveto, Sandy 'el misterioso' Perez on the project. Sandy is one of the few people in the world who has the absolute right to evolve the tradition as he pleases, as he IS Rumba in action.. and the tradition has always been an evolution. Raining him in is not an easy thing to do, speaking from experience..

Serious homage is payed to traditional Rumba, here in this new project, and it must have been a specific vision Jesus had for this release. Well done man!

The survival of this amazing cultural artform depends on the work of masters like Jesus Diaz and Michael Spiro... as well as our support, financially and spiritually.

Future recording will come from the purchase of this download, so click and enjoy, knowing you're contributing in a very real and important way.

Nice to go direct to the source for your Rumba fix, no doubt!

Tony