More than four years have passed since the last release of "Mr. Salsa Dura" Jimmy Bosch and man, he has not lost a step. Armed with a who’s who of musicians, this recording is Bosch’s most aggressive release to date.
“Vengo a cantar” is a descarga that has soneros Herman Olivera, Ray De la Paz, Wilie Torres and Marco Bermúdez trading soneos for soneos. Bongoes by George Delgado and Timbales by Pablo Chino Núñez keep this track explosive. Dave Valentin rocks out on “El embajador” and Alfredo De La Fé on violin and Mauricio Smith, Jr. on the flute (son of the late, great Mauricio Smith) rip through “Qué alivio.”
But with all the star power, this CD belongs to sonero Rey Bayona from Ecuador. This man has obviously studied Héctor Lavoe without being a copycat. The title track alone is an example of what a sonero who’s in tune with himself can do. He destroys this tune as if he wrote it. The soneos are fast and ferocious. I mean you have to stop dancing to listen to him go. DAMN!
With this recording Jimmy Bosch shows that he is maturing as a bandleader by allowing his band members and guest to stretch out and no taking a solo every minute of the song. Also, his writing (he wrote all the tunes) has become much more personal dealing with issues of cancer, depression, death, addiction, etc., and giving them a positive spin at the end á la Ruben Blades (review SalsaPower)