Album Notes

With the exception of the first track, \"IMMIGRANT BLUES\" is all-original music, composed, arranged and independently produced by Ecuadorean bassist/singer Alex Alvear. The album was released in 2001 and it includes 6 tracks (#1, 2, 4, 7, 9 & 11) recorded live at a Television special for WGBH-Boston and 5 studio recordings. Mango Blue mixes styles in a way that excites both the demanding listener and the free-spirited dancer. The music is influenced by many sources, including Earth, Wind & Fire, Salif Keita, NG LaBanda, Los Van Van, the Average White Band, Youssou N\'Dour, to name a few. Mango Blue draws elements from Jazz, R&B and Funk and incorporates them into a mix of Afro-Latin traditional and contemporary rhythms including Cuban Rumba and Songo. The band has also a very interesting mix of outstanding musicians from different parts of the world (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Puerto Rico and Venezuela). If you like good music that you can dance to, just enjoy listening or both, you will definitely like Mango Blue, a fresh and original new sound in the Latin and World Music palette.