NELSON GONZÁLEZ
Pa' los treseros
Qbadisc Records
Reviewed by

 

Nelson González is a veteran of the tres. He has played with Manny Oquendo and Eddie Palmieri, to name a few. On his latest release he invited some of his friends from New York, Puerto Rico and Cuba to create perhaps the best CD coming out of the East Coast this year. 

One of the most underrated soneros of his generation is Puerto Rican Herman Olivera. His soneros have always been on-point, from his day with Libre to Plamieri's band, a straight-up, clean, take-no-prisoners voice. Here he rips the roof off the sucker with his rendition of "Yo soy congo." WOW !

Besides having people like Jimmy Bosh, Manny Oquendo and "Chocolate" Armenteros on this CD, the beauty is that Nelson doesn't try to solo on every song but when he does, you can feel every strumming of the strings, every sentimiento from his fingers. And if you think you've heard it all, wait until you hear him and Cuban master Papi Oviedo play a tres duet on the danzón classic, "Tres lindas cubanas." They then take turns improvising on the title track (Man, I need to play an instrument!). 

The rhythm section is as tight as you can imagine with the González brothers, Andy and Jerry on bass and congas respectively; Papo Lucca and Oscar Hernández on piano; Manny Oquendo on bongos and Timbales. 

This CD is an example of the richness and history of Puerto Rico and Cuba. No matter what, the connection will always be Africa and the way both countries have shared their culture and rhythms with the rest of Latin America and the world. Two wings of a bird indeed! 

Besides, any CD that has a song like "El pintor", with lyrics like, "Porqué no pintas en la iglesia un angelito de color" deserves to be heard. 

This CD should not be missed! 

Songs: 
1- El negro tuyo soy yo (Yambú)
2- Llegó María la O (Guaracha) 
3- Yo soy congo (Afro Son)
4- El pintor (Guaguancó)
5- Juaniquita (Son Montuno)
6- Libre me dejas (Bomba)
7- Pa' los treseros (Son Montuno) 
8- Santero de buena paz (Son)
9- Yúmbale (Descarga)
10- Tres lindas cubanas (Danzón)

Buy this CD NOW! Click HERE

 

 

This page was last updated on 22-Jan-2005