The Japanese government can be thanked for one thing: open treaties with the Cuban government that allow the most scorching salsa players in the world to perform here on a regular basis. Perhaps the government doesn't have a choice since Japan has an unusually high percentage of Latin music aficionados. The latest listings for Latin clubs, dance teachers, live shows and concerts fills the pages of the magazine Salsa 120% and its Web site (www.salsa120.com). To please these endless fans, a steady stream of salseros and Latin jazz maestros have played to packed clubs and crowded dance floors over the past few years. At the end of this month, one of the most popular bands in Cuba, Manolito y su Trabuco, will bring its sizzling hot brand of Cuban music for a summer tour of Japan.
Leader Manolito Simonet is a little different from the average salsero. Rather than starting as just another pretty face with a smooth voice, he was a songwriter first, providing heartbreaking ballads and raging party tunes to others for years before forming Trabuco (which translates as "war machine") in the early '90s. The group evolved from a small, traditionally minded, brass-based unit into its current 16-piece, powerhouse size (all of whom will be coming) as Manolito's sound formed its trademark style. Like other salsa bands, Manolito draws on both the past and the present, but in a fuller organic sense. He is clearly influenced by masters such as Los Van Van and Adalberto Alvarez, and delivers his original tunes with similar virtuosity and passion.
Though Manolito is a talented pianist and an amazing songwriter, he is also clearly dedicated to the traditions of Cuban music. However, he never lets that dedication overpower his desire to have a great time. Dancers will be especially interested to hear the intriguing shifts of the rhythms and how the band handles them. From son to bolero to danzon to rumba, melding the rhythms, the band is fueled less by the loud punch and electric thrust of timba (though they know how to crank up the energy that way at times) than by a combustive synthesis of well polished styles. "Para Que Baile Cuba," his release of three years ago, is a party record from start to finish, and last year's "Se Rompieron Los Term-metros" is even hotter. There's still time for dance lessons before they arrive, but with or without them, Manolito y Su Trabuco is one of the best salsa groups in or out of Cuba today.