"I always thought it was funny when I would hear people in New York [City] say they need to 'get away to an island' – forgetting that they already live on one", says producer and frontman Andres Levin in describing his motivation for "Island Life" [Razor & Tie 7930182942-2] from the seven-piece big apple Latin-funk aggregation Yerba Buena.
As a native New Yorker, I too love hot, spicy, and lively Latin music, and that is exactly what you get, plus a little dash of humor when you listen to this album. We get a narrator in the person of "Dr. Aneub Abrey" serving as the puintos-amusing tour guide over the island on cut one and a reprised encore. He is all over the place, keeping us flowing.
Sometimes tribal, always radio-viable, the music speaks to the so-called explosion of this genre. I say that because it has always been that way to me, having grown up in the melting pot of NYC with lots of Hispanics (mostly Puerto Rican) and salsa.
It was mandatory that I play at least two "latins" back-to-back when I did parties, and they were as anticipated as much as slow jams back then, so I usually saved them for the middle of the night as a change of pace and to keep my crowd happy. This CD is a party featuring burritos, belly dancers, and Bilingual girls (because "two tongues are better than one" verry sexy double entendre! They even named their concert tour after that lyric.[p]
"Belly Dancer," track five, features a brassy, a rotund horn section, and speaking of horny projects, "Fever," cut number nine, transforms us out onto the Serengeti plains with a Hugh Masekela-type arrangement.[p]
I hear influences of Eddie Palmeri, Hector Lavoe, and Tito Puente throughout; speaking of legends, track three, "Sugar Daddy," features a shout-out from none other than Celia Cruz and character acting from comedian John Leguizamo, and on track eight, "Bilingual Girl," we hear the vocal addition of Joe Bataan (where's HE been?). I tried to decipher what this "gypsy merengue" is without success from Mr. Levin – ahh well...[p]_z_dancemusic_z_);
You don't have to understand the words to enjoy and dance these sounds! The island life they are celebrating, Manhattan- the heart of Neueva York City, is home to Andres Levin. Along with his co-founder and vocalist on every cut, CuCu Diamantes, the other Buenas are additional vocalists Xiomara Laugart and El Chino, Pedrito Martinez on percussion and vocals, Sebastian Steinberg (from Soul Coughing) on bass, Terreon Gully and Skoota Warner on drums, and Ron Blake, Rashawn Ross and Brian Lynch who comprise the horn section. Suddenly I've a Fania All-Stars rush!
I don't agree with Levin's thinking it "funny" (peculiar) that people in New York express the need to 'get away to an island'. Yes we know Manhattan is one, and just one of the five boroughs that comprise "the city" – duh? What we are speaking to is to go out of the country to the Caribbean in most cases, you silly! Yerba Buena takes me away mentally and musically when I cannot afford a ticket to wait in a security line with sandals off at the airport.
For those of us who speak poquito Espanol, the more you spin this disc the more you will interpret it; "Bla bla bla" doesn't need no freakin' translation, bro – you talking too much, just dance Papi!
Yerba Buena is a rollicking Spanish Harlem block party of sound; simultaneously AC all the way – meaning Afro-Cuban that is. They score four La Mega stars.
