Rumba Sin Fronteras [Import]

For half a century, Pancho Quinto has let the drums do the talking for him. The renowned percussionist, a master of Afro-Cuban religious drumming as well as an innovator who's performed alongside pop and jazz groups, makes bold statements with his batá on Rumba sin Fronteras. This trio of sacred drums is just one part of his arsenal. Quinto pioneered a percussion ensemble that also includes the cajón, a wooden box (and on this recording employs a massive bass cajón intended to invoke the low-rider hip-hop thump he'd heard on the streets of San Francisco) and congas. Together with various shakers, bells, and chimes, Quinto's drums commence with an otherworldly r that begins its story in the past of primeval Africa and continues into the present day. Traditional rumba is the foundation of Quinto's music; on some tracks, such as "A Esos Senores," the sound is steeped in Afro-Cuban tradition. Others follow the root to whole new musical branches, thanks to instrumental help from hyperactive pianist Omar Sosa, guitarist/producer Greg Landau, Bay Area Latin jazz giant John Santos, and others. Quinto, who has had a long and fruitful musical exchange with both the late Afro-Cuban religious historian Merceditas Valdes and the Canadian jazz saxophonist Jane Bunnett, handles both settings with equal aplomb. It sounds like Quinto is laying the blueprint for 21st-century extraterrestrial rumba here, and fans of Cuban music and percussionists of all persuasions will want to hear this.