Vol. 4: Vodou Dance by Los Hombres Calientes: Bill Summers & Irvin Mayfi

02 Feb

Written by Richard Bourcier
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Fans of this fine group anxiously awaited the release of Volume 4 of the Los Hombres Calientes series. Titled Vodou Dance the album features traditional music and original compositions. The Grammy Award nominees, Bill Summers and Irvin Mayfield draw upon Afro-based rhythms as heard in Haiti, Cuba and Trinidad.

The New Orleans musicians traveled to studios in Port of Spain, Port au Prince and Matanzas. Other tracks were recorded in Jamaica and their native New Orleans. Each stop along the way found the duo performing and interacting with local musicians and discovering previously undocumented material. Percussionist, Bill Summers, is known for his work on the TV series Roots and the film The Color Purple. Summers is an ethnomusicologist and has traveled widely for more than thirty years.

Irvin Mayfield is one of the hottest acts on the Crescent City jazz scene. His recent release, Half Past Autumn Suite passed across this desk recently and received top marks. The distant echoes of Louis Armstrong are often apparent in Mayfield's contemporary jazz style.

This new release on Basin Street Records is a gumbo of very hot Latin jazz. The rhythms are intense and range in style from the steel pan band sounds of Trinidad to the vodou drumming of Haiti. The listener is treated to no less than 27 exciting tracks, some of which are less than a minute in length. Playing time is a generous eighty minutes.

Vodou Dance has universal appeal and will be enjoyed by both jazz and world-music fans.

Additional Info

Artist / Group Name: Los Hombres Calientes: Bill Summers & Irvin Mayfi
CD Title: Vol. 4: Vodou Dance
Genre: Latin Jazz / Latin Funk
Year Released: 2003
Record Label: Basin Street Records
Musicians: Bill Summers (percussion); Irvin Mayfield (trumpet, organ); Victor Atkins (piano); Edwin Livingston (bass); Ricky Sebastien (drums) plus guests Cyril Neville, Philip Manuel, Horacio Hernandez, Steven Walker, Leon Brown and many more.
Label Website: http://www.basinstreetrecords.com
Rating: Four Stars