Jose Conde Y Ola Fresca
Ay! Que Rico
© 2004 Jose Conde (616892593720)
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"Simply Smoking" original Cuban Roots debut with Jazz, Funk, and Brazilian seasoning produced by Jose Conde and mixed by 13 time Grammy winner Jon Fausty.
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With subtle rhythmic intensity in voice and song, Jose Conde takes his Cuban roots and grafts them onto a dizzying range of Afro-Latin styles. A prolific and inventive singer, songwriter and composer, Conde's debut cd with his band Ola Fresca (It means "Fresh Wave" and also "Hello Fresh"), titled Ay! Que Rico, garnered the group much well deserved attention and respect. Self produced and released in June 2004 on his own PiPiKi Records label, the album has been praised as "innovative, highly danceable, pleasantly cerebral" (Ed Morales-New York Newsday), the band as "superb" (descarga.com), and the songs "sung by Conde with the natural grace of the best soneros with a touch of contemporary elegance" (Miguel Sirgado-El Nuevo Herald) AY! QUE RICO serves up a spirited celebration in rhythm and song which smoothly and subtlely depart from traditional Cuban music at times incorporating contemporary elements such as Funk, Jazz and drum loops and set the stage for Conde's continued foray into Latin fink experimentation with his current 2007 Mr Bongo release (R)Evolucion.
AY! QUE RICO is a tour de force and homage to his dual musical legacies Cuba and the US. While 11 songs include familiar son, mambo and cha cha cha rhythms as well as the island's lesser-known Changüí, there are also 2 new rhythms and a additional bonus track featuring a remix of Conde's Perez Prado-esque mambo "Bolitas de Arroz con Pollo" by DJ Spam of the Spam Allstars.
In Conde's "Goza con Mi Changüí" arranged by Guantanamo native and founder of the legendary group Los Karachi, Ola Fresca Tres player Pablo Moya employs swift trumpet and trombone be-bop lines smoothly to bring the old Cuban form to modern-times. Conde continues the exploration in a song called "El Clasificado" (The Classified Ad), a run on sentence which is a sort of neo-Buddhist quest for love and peace which integrates funk horns over songo rhythms (reminiscent of the late Anikulapo Fela Kuti) while accentuating the dance groove with hints of post-modern New York salsa.
In "Do U Dance On 3?," Conde plays with the idiosyncrasies of the popular Latin dance dichotomy of either dancing on 1 or on 2 and teases connoisseurs to "relax" and dance on 3. For this song, he created a new rhythm he calls funk mambo in 3 featuring drum loops, electric bass, percussion and guest clarinetist Anat Cohen soloing around the male and female vocal chorus. In "El Bombo" a tune about the visa Lottery, Conde creates another rhythmic groove by fusing samba and rumba for the verses before exploding with a post-Fania salsa "coro" section, and then releasing an all out conga and flute descarga.
The music is a very "after the work is done... it's time to ease into a good tasty-time kind of mood," explains Jose Conde about the album. "This popular saying, AY! QUE RICO is a celebration, an affirmation of life-conveniently expressed in four rhythmically even syllables which most closely translate in English to 'Ooh! It's so Good!'"
In recording AY! QUE RICO , the artist/producer Conde, aimed for a live natural sound. Recorded at the renowned LoHo studio in New York City and mixed by multiple Grammy® winner Jon Fausty , Conde utilized varying configurations of Ola Fresca and special guests (ranging from a quartet to an 11-piece orchestra).
reviews
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Musica cubana is as alive and kicking as ever!
author: Diane Honer-Padro, Salsapower.comMusica cubana is as alive and kicking as ever! An absolutely delightful CD, filled to the brim with son, changüi, cha cha chá, mambo, guaracha and even a little samba. Conde and his outstanding group of musicians and coro stay true to these beloved Latin rhythms, but serve them up fresh, vibrant, funky and jazzy. You will dance your mambo butt off to this one!
Fantastic!
author: Carina FourmyleI love ALL the songs. Good to dance to, happy listening music or sing along. Different that the average latin/salsa CD. Thank you!
Love it
author: Lori HenryThis only reason I gave this CD a 4, is because I don't speak Spanish and I'm not sure what they are saying. But other than that, I love the latin rythmns. The reason I bought this CD is because I saw Jose Conde's live show in Baton Rouge, LA on Cinco de mayo, and it was awesome. All of the musicians in this band are true artists.
still in my cd player...
author: sonja valentinei bought the CD to get more familiar with the songs since i was going to see Jose Conde and Ola Fresca at Joe's Pub in New York (this past wednesday.) great CD, great live show...
Fantastico!
author: Ivette RodriguezThis CD was great - what a mix of great sounds compiled together on one disc! I loved it.
Ay Que Rico is right!
author: Sergio CabreraAy Que Rico is right! This CD is great beyond the meaning of the word great. You know good music when you hear it and you can't help but be thankful that there are people out there who still write music THIS GOOD!. Mr. Conde it is a gift to listen to your music. TY! -
Room Service
author: George de GuardiolaWhatever you're looking for is here. The traditional sons,salsa and the rest of the Cuban genre is served without reservation and with authenticity. If you want to go deep, jack up "El Bombo" and soak the rich improvisations and juxtapositions of styles of the MUSIC.
Great record, finally all the way through
author: Mike DuboisFrom start to finish Ay Que Rico keeps you dancing without beating you over the head. the songs are beautifull the lyrics interesting and playfull and the energy is authentic. This is one great record, and finally it stays that way all the way through........
"Delicious....unexpectedly captivating, independently produced gem from Miami-ra
author: Jordan LevinAy! Qué Rico is a quintessential Cuban phrase for anything delicious -- whether music, sensual pleasure, food or good times. And it pretty much says it all about this unexpectedly captivating, independently produced gem from Miami-raised Jose Conde. The songs are original, the sound is son, mambo and other classic styles, freshened with subtle rhythmic and instrumental touches (nice remix by DJ Le Spam, Miami's king of electro-Latin funk), and the players are excellent. Now living in New York, Conde mixes up the food, sex and musical metaphors with another precious and essential Cuban quality -- light but irresistible swing. Ay! Qué Rico sounds old-fashioned and new at the same time. It's enough to renew your faith in Cuban music. Relaxed humor permeates this CD. Song subtitles like ''funk mambo cooked in loops of 3'' mix music and food references. Several songs, like the title track with its refrain of ''It's so good, what mama cooks'' play happily with food/sex metaphors. Even when Conde gets political, he doesn't get heavy. Puente a Mi Gente (Bridge to my People), about connecting Cubans here and on the island, promises to ''add bricks of humor, which is ours naturally.'' And Conde's gift for flowery romantic metaphors is right in a Cuban line stretching back to Guantanamera, as is the way his music keeps you on the dance floor, laughing at how good it feels. Delicious.
Conde utilizes a sweet melodious voice
author: Miguel Sirgado- El Nuevo Herald MiamiJose Conde utiliza la dulzura de su voz melodica en temas que asumen la tradicion desde una optica inteligentemente urbana y actual" "Conde utilizes a sweet melodious voice in songs which assume tradition from a perspective of intelligence at once urban and now"
An innovative, highly danceable and pleasantly cerebral album.
author: Ed Morales - New York NewsdayWith the help of his collaborators, collectively known as Ola Fresca, Conde has created an innovative, highly danceable and pleasantly cerebral album. Conde plays with traditional elements of the Cuban son and the even more rustic changüí on the title track and "Goza Mi Changüí." "Bolitas de Arroz con Pollo" has the feel of an old Pérez Prado recording. And "El Bombó" is a full-blown descarga (Latin jazz jam), with legendary engineer Jon Fausty adding a finely textured Fania imprint. But probably the most innovative (and most fun) track on the album is "Do U Dance on 3," a tune that takes on New York's often rigid salsa dancing codes.
Simply smoking!
author: JUDY CANTOR-STREET MIAMIThe barrio meets the ballroom on the new album Ay! Que Rico, a blend of traditional Cuban music, old school New York salsa a little funk, and a little jazz. Theres nothing nostalgic about this, nor does the band go off course....like so many Latin Bands these days. Its refreshing to hear an album as consistent, and a band as tight, as this. Simply smoking!