Santiago Cer: Cool

The back up vocals, as well as the horn lines, phrase themselves in contemporary Salsa styles, adding themselves to Cerón's authoritative voice and improvisations. Pepper the entire effort with quite solid musicians, as versed in several Hispanic traditional styles as beholden to a true New York flavor, and you will be Cool too.

The arrangements are effective and economical, attacking many well-known classics of the Cuban musical lore. The recording has a feeling of exhilaration based on a steadfast rhythmic foundation expertly laid by the band's brand of swing, which encompasses a hearty alternative between the so-called Classic Salsa and the more recent developments within its ever-expanding horizons. The baritone sax always adds a distinctive feel to Latin danceable grooves, and here, it excels.

Cerón should have allowed, however, more soloing space among these excellent musicians as his type of Salsa is not the crooner type that lends itself to younger audiences. His following demands an aggressive sound, that he can supply if were to forget about trimming the tunes for unlikely radio airplay.