"Grupo Jazz Tumbao's Qué Bolá? is an excellent
debut for this band from Vancouver, Canada, led by bassist/composer
Allan Johnston and trombonist/composer Brian Harding. Herbie Hancock's
Toys is the only cover track, and the band performs their original
tunes with a blend of Latin and jazz improvisations. Tributes are
paid in the album to Cachao, Frank Zappa and Motown legendary bassist
James Jamerson."
- Nelson Rodríguez, Latin Beat Magazine, September 2001.
"Latin
Jazz gets an enduring workout from GRUPO JAZZ TUMBAO on ¿Qué
Bolá?. The septet melds voices in collective improvisation
and in their solo excursions which profile their ease with the idiom.
Dancing rhythms ride high on inherent passion."
- Coda Magazine
"Desde
British Columbia en el norteño pais del Canadá, dos
caballeros con la flama tropical nos brinda una produccion excepcional.
Primero, como dice el nombre de la banda, el Tumbao definitivamente
es escuchado a traves de la produccion. ...digna de tenerla en tu
coleccion no solo por la calidad musical sino tambien para tenerla
como ejemplo de hasta donde se esta tocando la música tropical."
-
Javier Rivera, Oasis Salsero.com
"Grupo
Jazz Tumbao un groupe pionnier de Vancouver, vient de sortir un
album remarquable ("¿Qué Bolá?").
...le trombone de Harding offre un lien harmonieux entre le jazz,
son discours improvisateur et les rythmes afro-cubains portés
par les lignes de basses de Johnston qui soutendent l'album."
- Luc Delannoy, Jazz Magazine (Paris) Author of Caliente! Un Histoire
du Latin Jazz
"Grupo
Jazz Tumbao's first CD, ¿Qué Bolá?, is impressive..."
"...solid originals... " "...strong solos on top of
percolating percussion..."
"...(they) play with a confident verve that reflects their collective
experience..."
"...(on the song "Frankness") Grupo Jazz Tumbao transforms
itself into an exhilarating big band..."
- Chris Wong, The Vancouver Courier
****½
(out of five)
- Marke Andrews, Vancouver Sun
"Frank
Zappa and jazz is a logical connection but the progression into Latin
Jazz on Frankness is inspired." ¿Qué Bolá?"
compares very favorably to another group of latter-day alchemists
of Jazz and Latin: Roy Hargrove's Crisol."
- Luis Moreno, Jazz Buffalo Latin Jazz Review
"...featured
(it) as our pick of the week
real good stuff, I love your
Zappa tribute piece! We supply the Miami Hit Parade to Latin Beat
magazine so look out for it in next year's first edition..."
- Arturo Gómez, Program Director, WDNA Miami
"Your
CD sounds great! Especially liked "Onward" and "Toys",
which is such an obvious tune to play in 6/8 that I'm pissed I didn't
think of it myself!"
- Mark Levine, Pianist/Composer, who has played with Woody Shaw, Mongo
Santamaria, Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Henderson, Willie Bobo, Cal Tjader,
Stan Getz and many others.
"
***½
the album captures the spirit and flavour
of it's Afro - Cuban sources."
- Tom Harrison, TheVancouver Province
"
Excellent performances make this one entertaining jazz CD suitable
for dancing as well
"
- Lee Prosser, JazzReview.com
"
uncommonly
sophisticated
great album"
- Cal Koat, International Program Director, 96.1 FM