Bobby Sanabria: Arsenio and Beyond

Much of the music on Arsenio and Beyond was written by the trailblazing Cuban composer Arsenio Rodriguez, a master of the mandolin-like Cuban tres guitar who is credited among other innovations with creating the musical design that became known as son montuno. Rodriguez, drummer and bandleader Bobby Sanabria writes, was "the true Father of Mambo and Son Montuno," without whom "there is no salsa, Afro-Cuban jazz, or, many would even argue, rock or funk."

Sanabria and his Multiverse Big Band pay tribute to Rodriguez in this vibrant and high-powered concert recorded in March 2025 at the Bronx Music Hall, not far from where Rodriguez once lived and where Sanabria now serves as co-music director. Rodriguez composed seven of the concert's nine rhythm-centered numbers; the others were written by the legendary Tito Puente ("Mambo Diablo") and one of the band's percussionists, Takao Heisho ("La Fruto").

This is Latin jazz that dashes relentlessly forward, seldom pausing for breath or granting a moment's relaxation. The rhythm section, anchored by Sanabria and including piano, bass, congas, bongos, guiro, maracas, claves, whistle and wind chimes, is especially dynamic, nimbly escorting brass and reeds while saturating every number with its sunny persona. Most numbers include vocals (in Spanish), more often than not by a group, although Jennifer Jade Ledesna and Gerardo Contino do have some solo time to themselves.

Brass and reeds are muscular, which they must be to counterbalance the zealous rhythm section. As to soloists, they cleave for the most part to the fiery script, blowing with an abundance of heat and passion but leaving no lasting impression—in part, because they are competing with the harmonic and rhythmic maelstrom that is a hallmark of Latin jazz in its most meteoric guise. The solos are by and large incidental, implanted as an offhand reminder that this is indeed Latin jazz, while the ensemble more or less carries the flag.

While everything is well-written and certainly serves its purpose, this is not the kind of music that lingers in the mind for more than a moment or two while begging for an encore. This is music to be enjoyed in the moment, as it unfolds, then relegated to the orbit of pleasant memories—as is true of most concerts, regardless of makeup or genre. As a one-time listening experience, Arseno and Beyond is warmly recommended. Beyond that, its staying power rests with those—and there are no doubt many—whose love for and devotion to high- powered, non-stop Latin jazz gives them reason to order a second helping or even more.