Jesús Alemañy, trumpeter and bandleader of this immensely talented group, didn't wait long to capitalize on the success of
¡Cubanismo!'s 1996 debut. While that album spent weeks in Billboard's Latin Top Ten,
¡Cubanismo! went back in the studio to record
Malembe, their follow-up. If possible, it improves on the original. This album burns from the first note of the first song and doesn't let up for its hourlong duration. Numbers like "Salsa Pilón" and "Mar y Tierra" explore a variety of traditional Cuban musical styles, some of which have existed in some form for almost 300 years. The music ranges from salsa to rhumba to Latin jazz to the traditional Cuban son, with Alemañy's trumpet leading the way. This disc is guaranteed to cause spontaneous party outbreaks, wherever played. If these songs don't fill you with the urge to get up and dance, regardless of where you are or what you're doing, then have someone call a doctor; you're clinically dead! ~ Steve McMullen