Tributo Desde Londres a Cali

After a smash-hit album with Salsa with Vibraphone, Dorance Lorza & Sexteto Café are back. The music here is pleasant, but the recording feels distant and too clean – as if the musicians aren't really playing together as a band. The panning is a little bit disconcerting at times too, with congas bouncing around everywhere; this is initially fun but it does get tiresome. The timbales player really goes for it, however, adding a bit of grit to what is otherwise a frustratingly polite album. The fact that it was recorded in London doesn't seem to have had much effect on the music itself, apart from the reverberant chimes of Big Ben announcing the last track, ‘London Mambo’.

Vibraphones are often confined to an ‘elevator music’ stereotype. If it weren't for the stellar musicianship from the band, these easy-listening arrangements might just as easily fade into the background. There are many other salsa albums I'd queue up before this one on Spotify but for vibraphone lovers, this is worth a listen. Just as saxophone renditions of popular songs seem to always make an impact on some listeners, there is surely a gap in someone's heart out for this sextet.