Representante de la Salsa is Latin jazz violinist Susie Hansen's third CD, a dance-oriented Salsa and Latin Jazz recording. Susie and her acclaimed musicians present hard-driving Salsa Dura, great Salsa in English, Salsa Romantica, instrumental Latin Jazz with a dance drive, and some familiar jazz standards with a Cha Cha Cha beat. As Susie says, on Representante de la Salsa, "We aim for the feet!"
"I dare you not to move. The leader's electric violin rides the band's percussive cushion like a surfboard on a great wave." --Ken Franckling Jazz Notes, July 2010, USA |
"First rate stuff, highly recommended. Great job by singers George Balmaseda, Kaspar Abbo and Hansen." --Bruce Polin, Descarga.com, June 2010, USA |
"One of the best productions of the year 2010." --Orlando Lopez, El Magazine de la Salsa, July 2010, Venezuela |
"For dancers, there are five fantastic Salsa tracks which should fill any dance floor. Miss Hansen plays excellent Salsa/jazz violin." --Lubi Jovanovic, SalsaCentral.com, June 2010, UK |
"If you dig Latin, this album will blow you away just as it did me." --Marc Myers, JazzWax.com, July 2010, USA |
In her first appearance on the Salsa Forum chart in Germany, Susie ranks Number One with 'No Te Metas Conmigo' from her new CD. --www.SalsaForum.de, August 2010, Germany |
"Without a false note anywhere, this just might be the perfect summer record." --Chris Spector, MidwestRecord.com, July 2010, USA |
"What a pleasure, the famous virtuoso violinist Susie Hansen of Los Angeles creates a production that is flawless and serious." --DJ El Chino, Solar Latin Club, June 2010, Colombia |
"Queen of the Latin violin, Hansen and her band play hardcore Salsa. Representante de la Salsa is on fire." --Rudy Mangual, Latin Beat Magazine, May 2010, USA |
"Quite infectious and difficult to resist. Highly recommended." --Scott Yanow, LA Jazz Scene, August 2010, USA |
"It’s an album of great quality with songs immediately accessible and rich." --Roberto Rabbi, MusicaSalsa.it, July 2010, Italy |
"This album is beautiful! It's an album that enchants me." --Daniel Niedermann, LatinMusik.ch, June 2010, Switzerland |
The title song is a driving Salsa Dura written by Susie Hansen, producer Erich Bulling and vocalist George Balmaseda, arranged by Hansen and Bulling. Sung with fiery intensity by Balmaseda, "Representante" challenges you to elect Susie's band as your Representative of Salsa!
Famous jazz journalist and photographer Ken Franckling says, "The title track is one of the many burners here." According to Daniel Niedermann of www.LatinMusik.ch in Switzerland, "The rousing melody lets the dancers glide light-footed across the dance floor. A very lovely solo by Susie Hansen on the violin."
A fast-paced Salsa Romantica sung by Balmaseda, this is another original by Hansen and Bulling, and has a sharp arrangement by trombonist David Stout.
Roberto Rabbi from Italy at www.Salsa.it calls this song "a beautiful romantic Salsa with sabor." As Daniel Niedermann writes in German at www.LatinMusik.ch, "The fast start belies the rather romantic title. There’s a very fine arrangement here and I really like the lead vocals."
A driving Salsa Dura in English and Spanish, this song features a powerful lead vocal in English by Kaspar Abbo, driving Spanish soneos by George Balmaseda, a fiery violin solo by Susie and a tour de force performance by the band. The song is a cover of the 1970's hit "Vehicle" by The Ides of March, recorded previously by Carlos Oliva, with his timba arrangement and a medley with the relentless "Tu Carrito."
Noted jazz journalist Marc Myers of JazzWax.com observes, "You have to love an artist who chooses to give the Ides of March’s 1960 soul-pop hit Vehicle a Salsa spin." Daniel Niedermann of Sitzerland at www.LatinMusik.ch calls this song "A fireworks display sung in English and Spanish."
This is the longest cut on the CD, great for those who really love to dance the cha cha cha. It's an interpretation by arranger David Stout of some familiar songs from the Great American Song Book. Kaspar Abbo sings "Fly Me to the Moon," Susie Hansen sings "It Could Happen to You," George Balmaseda sings "It Had to Be You," and Susie and Kaspar perform "All of Me" as a vocal duet. The instrumental solos by Hansen on violin, pianist Joe Rotondi, saxophonist Tim Messina and trombonist David Stout, give extra spice to this cha cha cha medley.
According to Lee and J.J. MacFadden, Double Take columnists for www.TriCities.com, these four songs are "American classics that manage to be true to the originals as well as finding their own distinct Latin sound." Roberto Rabbi at www.Salsa.it from Italy says, "Beautiful are the voices of the singers George Balmaseda, Kaspar Abbo and Hansen herself."
This hard-driving Salsa, the only cut performed in a Charanga style on the CD, seduces the dancers to the dance floor. The band's fiery interpretation, along with George Balmaseda's lead vocals, Tim Messina's flute and Susie Hansen's tipico violin solo give this cut an irresistible drive.
Bruce Polin of Descarga.com in New York advises, "Listen to the killer No Te Metas Conmigo, a red-hot Charanga number which is one of my favorites."
A fast-moving original instrumental mambo by Hansen and Stout, this danceable Latin Jazz features striking solos by Hansen and piano great Joe Rotondi, and not just one but two wild conga solos by Joe De Leon.
At www.LatinMusik.ch in Switzerland, writer Daniel Niedermann describes this song as "an instrumental Latin jazz Mambo with beautiful solos -- it's a song for the late hours."
This fast original Salsa Dura in English was written by Cuban/American bassist Angel Lopez for Susie's band, and is sung by Susie and Kaspar Abbo as a duet.
Roberto Rabbi from Italy at www.Salsa.it says "The track I Want to Love You, offers a more romantic-sounding Salsa."
Susie Hansen - Representante - I Want to Love You (demo).mp3A smoldering Salsa by Susie, Bulling and Balmaseda, this song is given a lovely romantic treatment by singer Balmaseda and a jazzy arrangement by Francisco Torres of the Poncho Sanchez Band.
According to DJ Chino of Colombia, "I love Si Me Vas A Querer, which has a catchy chorus and a very interesting rhythm. It's Salsa Romatica in its most beautiful expression, with the excellent vocal of Cubano George Balsameda."
A bright Latin jazz written in honor of Susie Hansen's home town, this original instrumental mambo features solos from violinist Hansen, pianist Rotondi and powerful timbalero Jimmy Branly.
According to Roberto Rabbi from Italy at www.Salsa.it, "Of note is the excellent Salsa/Descarga, Las Calles de Chicago." Lubi Jovanovic of Salsa-Central.com in the UK writes, "The Latin jazz track gives Miss Hansen a chance to really stretch out."
A cover of the well-known Bobby Darin interpretation of this beloved American jazz standard, Kaspar Abbo croons over the band's compelling Cha Cha Cha beat. Check out the band's version of the big-band shout chorus with its bright Latin feel and Jimmy Branly's striking timbale fills.
The CD concludes with another original Salsa Dura by Susie Hansen and Erich Bulling, song by George Balmaseda. This is another memorable and forceful Salsa dance tune that fills the dance floor.
Writing in German for www.LatinMusik.ch in Switzerland, Daniel Niedermann saysa, "The band really cracks it once again at the end with the Y Sigue Pensando hit, a worthy conclusion to an album that enchants me."
to
display the complete article.