At the time that Sabroso was recorded,
Mongo Santamaria's group was essentially a charanga band with two trumpets added, a combination that works quite well. The group has superior playing by
Jose "Chombo" Silva on both violin and tenor (helping "Para Ti" to become a classic), two little-known but talented trumpeters (
Louis Valizan and Marcus Cabuto), the great flutist
Rolando Lozano, pianist
Rene Hernandez, bassist
Victor Venegas, and
Willie Bobo on drums.
Pete Escovedo is one of the background singers as
Rudi Calzado takes the lead on a few numbers but does not dominate. There are many fine individual moments on this joyous and infectious set. ~ Scott Yanow