Search - Kuero :: Calleson

Kuero is the West Coast's answer to the current European trend of musical concoctions known as salsamuffin, hyper-salsa and numerous hybrids of acid-jazz. The brain-child of Nissim Bali (president of Dimele Records), co-produced and arranged by Claudio Leiva and Adrian Pieragostino, Kuero is a concept band that fuses Latin hip-hop elements with Cuban rhythms and electronica, for starters. In other words, it's a funky musical fusion of the sounds that surround and permeate the streets of any U.S. barrio these days. This fresh, streetwise musical form is known as callesón (kaye-son), introduced to the world on this debut CD by the Los Angeles-based group. The group is spearheaded by the vocals of Cuban singer Carlos Parra (ex-member of the Cuban group Arte Mixto), with background vocals by Martin Padilla and Gonzalo Chomat. Piano and horn arrangements are under the direction of Héctor Manuel Rivers (leader of the group Tabaco y Ran). All percussion credits are handled by César Espinoza, with actual horn credits courtesy of Gary Eisenberg. Rapper Mellow Man Ace is featured on the tracks Campiña and Chart Chan (a Compay Segundo composition), with DJ Mango Man on the turntables. Orquesta Tabaco y Ron is featured on the closing track, Come Les Dicen, composed by Héctor Manuel Rivers and Claudio Leiva.