Yeska

Yeska: Skafrocubanjazz

by Ed Kopp
October 1, 1999

The word Yeska is Chicano slang for marijuana, but the only thing that seems high about this band is the caliber of its music.As the title of this CD indicates, Yeska is a jazz ensemble that fuses Jamaican ska with Afro-Cuban rhythms. Yeska's debut release is eminently danceable and polyrhythmic, but it's also the rare pop-jazz release that should appeal equally to jazz purists and the public at large.An eight-piece band from Los Angeles made up ...