Search - Alex Naar :: Red Hot Ballroom

This makes me want to dance!

J. Wakefield | SLC, Utah | 09/07/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is all instrumental Latin dance music. I like it! Alex Naar arranged each piece for a ten piece dance band. His arrangements are musically complex and interesting--even if you are not a dancer. His "La Cumparsita" is perhaps too far out-of-the-box for some dance crowds. But everything else works for me. The band has a tight, jazz-like quality as they interpret Naar's vision for Latin dancing. If there is a negative here, it is that some of the tracks are just too long for many dancers.



Here are the titles, durations, suggested dance, and (additional comments) for each track:



Mujer Latina, 3:49, Merengue (Not samba as suggested above)

Historia de un amor, 3:32, Rumba (This is too slow for cha cha, as suggested above)

Light my fire, 3:26, Rumba

Tango d'amour, 3:42, Tango

Sabor a mi, 3:51, Rumba or Bolero

Oye como va, 3:31, Cha cha

Beautiful Maria of my soul, 3:57, Rumba or Bolero

Sobe Son, 3:19, Samba

Cumparsita, La, 4:13, Tango (Musically interesting, but an odd arrangement for dancing)

Besame mucho, 4:42, Rumba

Autumn leaves, 4:29, Cha cha

Espana Cani, 4:41, Paso doble

Summer samba, 3:48, Samba

Hernando's Hideaway, 2:27, Tango"

I give it an 8 out of 10

Dan Branscum | Whidbey Island - WA | 10/24/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I liked it as music to dance to, which is what I hoped for when I bought it. Every song IS DANCEABLE, except maybe La Cumparsita. I didn't agree with the producers choice of best dance on a couple of tunes but I'll grant that choice is often in the ear of the dancer. I give it an "8"!"