Ozomatli - Ozomatli

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Music reviews of Ozomatli

Music Review: Ozomatli's music is soulful, worldly and politically charged
Rating: 5 Stars

THE GODS OF DANCE Doug Balding American Reporter Correspondent Los Angeles, Calif.

Ozomatli. Ozomatli. Los Angeles, Calif.: Almo Sounds. 1998. $12.97. 53 mins. ASIN: B000007Q93.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- For the last few years, Ozomatli has provided some of the most exciting live shows in Los Angeles. The ten members of Ozomatli (sometimes they are joined by even more musicians onstage) play an infectious combination of hip-hop, salsa, funk, ska, Afro-Cuban jazz and rock. Horns, guitars, various percussion instruments, and the record scratching of hip-hop master mixer Cut Chemist back Spanish singing and English rapping. The group's songs are mostly political, but the lyrics never overshadow the purpose of the music: to get the crowd on its feet. Ozomatli almost always inspires a Samba line during its shows, and the evening ends with band members filing out of the theater into the street, followed by audience members, for a raucous block party. After a couple of years of great, sweaty shows, the band released a self-titled CD that, while not exactly capturing the live experience (which isn't possible, anyway), is still pretty good. The multi-ethnic band is a spiritual descendant of the Southern California bands War and Los Lobos, although it takes its musical fusion much further than previous bands. Ozomatli, while primarily displaying influences from Latin America, draws inspiration from music around the world. Ozomatli (its name refers to the Aztec god of dance) is a collective with no clear leader, although rapper Chali 2na comes closest. His accomplished raps and Cut Chemist's mixing gives the band a strong hip-hop component. Providing the band with ska, funk and several other musical styles are Ulises Bella on tenor sax, Asdru Sierra on trumpet, bassist Wil-Dog, drummer William Marrufo, Justin Poree on congas, and Raul Pacheco on guitar and vocals. Adding more exotic music is Jiro Yamaguchi, who was trained in Indian classical music, on tablas and bongos. Ozomatli's music is soulful, worldly and politically charged, but, most importantly, it's fun. Doug Balding is an editor and writer in Los Angeles. Copyright 1999 Joe Shea The American Reporter. All Rights Reserved.

Description of Ozomatli

Alternative Rock CDs

• Music > Styles
• Dance & Electronic
• World Music
• Latin Music
• Pop
• R&B
• Rap & Hip-Hop
• Rock