Los Hombres Calientes at Yoshi's

[RainyDay]

This is my second time seeing this band at Yoshi's. The first was last summer. The band features Bill Summers on percussion (formerly with Herbie Hancock's Headhunters band) and Irvin Mayfield on trumpet. The band is based in New Orleans. Summers and Mayfield put this band together and the music focuses on African rythmns in Latin music, which is a reflection of Summers' interest in African influences on jazz. There's a lot of singing and chanting in Yoruba. A quote from Yoshi's website summarizes the line-up:

The group reflects the sounds of the African diaspora together with the full range of the New Orleans musical heritage. Featuring Irvin Mayfield on trumpet, Bill Summers on percussion and vocals, Victor Atkins on piano, Edwin Livingston on bass, Ricky Sebastian on drums, Leon Brown on trumpet, Steven Walker on trombone, and Davin Phillips on saxophone.

I enjoyed the set but it seemed a little disjointed this time out. Lots of solos that didn't always seem to hook together within a song. I'm not sure if it was all the band's fault. Even though it was the 2 PM family set, this is the noisiest crowd I've ever been in at Yoshi's and it was a real distraction. The kids were crying and talking, as is not unusual, but the adults today just couldn't stop talking. At one point I almost asked a waitress to hold it down. Parents could use the opportunity to teach their kids the importance of respecting the musicians. But the adults without children were just as culpable.

In any event, the best reason to see this band is Irvin Mayfield. He is a very strong player and has pretty good control. In my neophyte way, I see the trumpet as the hardest horn to play, probably because I watched my dad struggle with the trumpet. Mayfield is quick and he makes interesting choices. I just like him. Would be interested in hearing from anyone who has seen or heard him. I would be intersted in hearing Mayfield play with other players. The set open with a decidely "out" flavor from Mayfield but never went back there during the rest of the set. Just enough to whet the appetite.

The other treat in this band is the trombone player. Wow! The brass section and the bass player were all kids. The trombone player really stood out, though. The tenor also had a nice groove but he didn't have as much opportunity to solo.

The band played mostly original music, including the song for which they received a Grammy nomination. They played Night in Tunisia that started out with Yoruba chanting, and ended up some distance from Tunisia. It was interesting but the series of solos at the end seemed more to showcase the talent than hold the piece together.


Overall good though a little uneven

[Pete C]

I saw this group last year at the Montreal jazz festival. I was totally underwhelmed. My feeling was that there was too much good real latin music out there to waste time with this. They're very "showy".

[RainyDay]

How is this not real Latin music? Pete Escovedo is very showy and so is his band. So are his kids. They are all killer on timbales but they have a lot of fun playing.

The thing that I like about Summers is the African focus. Eddie Palmieri has done some of that also. Makes it interesting.

[bluenoter]

The band played mostly original music, including the song for which they received a Grammy nomination.

Rainy, I'm curious to know what song that is, and all I see on Google is that Los Hombres Calientes received a Grammy nomination for their third album, New Congo Square.

The reason I'm curious is that I disliked New Congo Square (which is all I've heard of theirs) except for one song, "Fantizias de Samba." That song knocked me out, and I taped it the minute I heard it. I love it still.

[Tom Storer]

Thanks for the review, Rainy. I've been intrigued by the reviews I've read of this band but haven't heard them yet. I like the Afro-Cuban stuff I've heard and make a distinction in my mind between that and "Latin music," which to my mind is a different if related animal. But I've never heard the Yoruba stuff linked up to a New Orleans feel... Can anyone recommend the group's best CD?

[RainyDay]

BN: I thought Summers said the song was nominated but I guess I heard wrong. Not sure which song it was.

TS: I guess I don't make that distinction, not that there's anything wrong with it. I don't have any of their CDs, so I can't recommend any but I would start with New Congo Square since I have heard at least one tune (or two) from it and enjoyed it. It's an interesting sound. They played selections from the new one, Voodou Dance, that sounded good too. Sorry not to be more help.

Summers rattled off a website not the band's name and a google is not producing anything. In the course of searching, however, I read some pretty impressive material about Mayfield. Summers' study and work with in African/Latin muisc goes back decades. It's an interesting combination of talent and I like the sound.

[hearsay]

Rainy do you remember the trombone players name? I'm curious.

[Peterdubya]

The band was:
Irvin Mayfield, trumpet
Bill Summers, percussion
Victor Atkins, Piano
Edwin Livingston, bass
Ricky Sebastian, drums
Leon Brown, trumpet
Steven Walker, trombone
Davin Phillips, tenor sax

[RainyDay]

Hearsay: I did post the band line up but it was buried in my rambling commentary. Thanks, pbw.