Bachata
Caribbean Style

Today's Salsa CD review:

Manolin - Jaque Mate

As crazy as it may sound, when I think of Manolin it is Mozart who comes into my mind. There is no musical connection of course; it is just the impression of Manolin’s personality which I get from hearing his music. Nothing seems to be too serious in his songs, in which over-romantic verses always come up with a touch of irony, as if the he wanted to amaze you with poetic acrobatics rather than with the meaning of the sentence. But, everything flows very naturally, almost obviously. As with Mozart, I like to stick to the image of a Manolin who writes music and lyrics at the same time in a single spur of inspiration. Manolin’s music is often portrayed as ‘romantic timba’ as the Cuban equivalent of romantic salsa; the analogy makes sense, but I do not like it, I like to think of his timba as sweet, or cheeky.

It must be clear from all this that when I listen to this CD I tune completely into it. It is for me one of those CDs which, once it starts, you simply can not turn off. Actually the introductory song is the less impressive, at least for me; “Y Ahora Baila” was clearly designed to be a dance hit, but it is a bit too funk for my tastes and lacks the magic which flows over in the rest of the CD. “La Hiciste Buena “ and “Jaque Mate” are the other powerful and fast tracks. All other songs have a gentle swing, slow pace, and hypnotic rhythm to them; they are meant to be romantic love songs, but they fill me with the demand to dance to which you can’t say no.

Musically this is a relatively simple CD; and not by chance, since this simplicity allows you to tune in mostly on Manolin’s voice, melody and lyrics. The overall arrangements rely on the piano and the bass. The bass busies itself constantly, going much farther than the tamed role it plays in son or non-cuban salsa; it is worth to spend some time listening to it, and notice how much it adds to the syncopation and what tight connection it carries with the percussion. The piano is unusually simple for a timba CD, but famous for the nice tumbaos.. you could easily dance just to it. The brass section may be a bit disappointing, often playing a simple voice, but the entire point is not to overwhelm you, and let you tune into sweet cheeky timba. Irresistible.

Today's Salsa DVD review:

Leon Rose - London Style Vol 3

Level: Intermediate-Advanced

Style: London Style; On1 and On2

Content: Shines and Turn Patterns.

General Comment: This is an excellent DVD, definitely recommended, at least for the guys. Sooner or later every salsa dancer wonders whether any new interesting turn patterns can still be created, since after so many DVDs we get the feeling that everything has been tried already. Then, once in a while, you find a gem which reassures you that is not the case. This DVD is one of them, and the 10 patterns you can learn from it are all very interesting and creative. There are 2 main features which distinguish the material presented. The first one is that Leon Rose has the ability to move around the lady very smoothly and quickly; this allows him to enrich the turn patterns both with intricate arm work and with surprising changes of position, while the lady can comfortably execute relatively simple and common elements, undisturbed along the line of dancing, and maybe even fit some styling here and there. As a consequence this DVD is probably of advanced level for the guys, but intermediate levels for the ladies. A nice compromise for those guys who like maddening turn patterns and ladies who nevertheless want to look good. The second feature is that the turn patterns are not only nice, but also cleverly designed from an instructional point of view; most of them are based on a novel element which is repeated, with minor changes, at least twice in the combination; perfect for learning, practicing and remembering.

The DVD comes with very simple editing, and goes straight to the point: teaching and demonstrating the turn patterns On1 and On2, but it contains all you need: 2 camera views cover all details you need to see and Leon is very comfortable and effective with his explanations. One of the best turn pattern DVDs in my collection.

Reviewed by Fabio from SalsaIsGood - Recommended

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