Bio Ritmo Picaresca

The enfants terribles of salsa are back! For more than two decades Bio Ritmo has been reviving the style and elegance of the great 70s Salsa. As a foretaste of their new album expected for the end of the year, Bio Ritmo cranks up the summer heat on this first instrumental single, 'Picaresca', a high voltage descarga combining the best spirit of tradition between Salsa and Latin jazz, with these funky spices, trademark of the band. Led by a pyrotechnical horn section, the track is a party anthem bouncing like a cartoon character between lead trumpet parts (Mark Ingraham), timbales (Giustino Riccio) and trombone (Toby Whitaker), galvanized by Marlysse Simmons' groove that climbs back and forth between piano and Farfisa.

Listen/buy on Paris DJs' bandcamp page or on JunoDownload

Bio Ritmo Picaresca
Bio Ritmo - Picaresca
(Digital Single) Paris DJs PARISDJS035-D, 2013-07-09



Tracklisting :
01. Picaresca 4:47

Credits :
Marlysse Simmons : Piano, Farfisa VIP 600
Rei Alvarez : Guiro
Giustino Riccio : Timbales
Hector Barez : Congas
Mike Montanez : Bongos
Toby Whitaker : Trombone
John Lilley : Tenor Sax
Mark Ingraham : Trumpet
Bob Miller : Trumpet
Edward Prendergast : Electric Bass

Original song composed by Giustino Riccio
Arranged by Riccio, Simmons & Whitaker
Recorded at Minimum Wage Studios, Richmond, by Lance Kohler (engineer) - March 2013
Audio mastering by Grant Phabao
© 2013 Bio Ritmo/T.I.M.E.C./Paris DJs

Links :
Buy hi-res audio on Bandcamp or on JunoDownload
Bio Ritmo : official | bandcamp | discogs | facebook | parisdjs | soundcloud | twitter | youtube
Paris DJs : parisdjs.com | bandcamp | facebook | pinterest | soundcloud | twitter | youtube
Ben Hito : official | discogs | facebook



Press Release :

-----------ENGLISH-----------
The enfants terribles of salsa are back!

For more than two decades Bio Ritmo has been reviving the style and elegance of the great 70s Salsa. Able to perfectly recreate the sound of the masters of the genre, the band based out of Richmond, Virginia, however makes the bet to integrate a rich diversity of influences - just like its mixed bag of musicans, be they Puerto Ricans or Americans, coming from the jazz, rock, reggae or funk scenes. The band plays an original and retrofuturist sauce, with true-to-life intensity, in which it's not surprising to hear a vintage organ playing an Eastern melody, a cuica reverbarating between two Afrobeat breaks or some Rock energy, all restoring Salsa with contemporary colors.

As a foretaste of their new album expected for the end of the year, Bio Ritmo cranks up the summer heat on this first instrumental single, 'Picaresca', a high voltage descarga combining the best spirit of tradition between Salsa and Latin jazz, with these funky spices, trademark of the band. Led by a pyrotechnical horn section, the track is a party anthem bouncing like a cartoon character between lead trumpet parts (Mark Ingraham), timbales (Giustino Riccio) and trombone (Toby Whitaker), galvanized by Marlysse Simmons' groove that climbs back and forth between piano and Farfisa.

The original idea and the choice of the track title comes from Giustino Riccio, who explains: "A while ago a Colombian friend of mine told me that I have the eyes of a pícaro. I believe that she meant this as a compliment! I had heard the word and it's descendants (picaroon etc) before but out of curiosity I researched it's derivation. I read about the old Spanish "picaresque" novels such as La Celestina and others and immediately fell in love with the characters involved. I've always been a big fan of classic samurai and american cowboy movies so the similarities to many Toshiro Mifune and Clint Eastwood anti-heroes were obvious. When I had the first ideas of this new song in my head I felt like it should have a raucous and untamed (albeit en clave) sound. I felt like the title was appropriate."

-----------FRENCH-----------
Les enfants terribles de la salsa sont de retour !

Voici plus de deux décennies que Bio Ritmo s’attache à raviver la plus belle flamme de la salsa des années 1970. Capable de reproduire à la perfection le son des maîtres du genre, ce groupe originaire de Richmond, Virginie, fait pourtant le pari d’intégrer une diversité d’influences à l’image de celle de ses dix musiciens, qu’ils soient Portoricains ou Américains, issus du jazz, du rock, du reggae ou du funk. Un sauce originale et rétrofuturiste plus vraie que nature, où il ne faut pas s’étonner d’entendre un orgue vintage entamer une mélodie orientale, une cuica résonner entre deux breaks afrobeat et une énergie rock’n’roll redonner ses couleurs contemporaines à la salsa.

En avant-goût de son nouvel album attendu d’ici la fin de l’année, Bio Ritmo fait monter la température estivale sur ce premier single instrumental intitulé « PICARESCA ». Une descarga de haute voltige, qui allie le meilleur esprit de cette tradition entre salsa et latin jazz et ces épices funk qui sont la marque de Bio Ritmo. Emmené par une section de cuivres pyrotechniques, le morceau est un hymne à la fête qui rebondit comme un cartoon entre solos de trompette (Mark Ingraham), timbales (Giustino Riccio) et trombone (Toby Whitaker), attisés par le groove de Marlysse Simmons qui alterne piano et clavier Farfisa.

L’idée originale et le choix du titre du morceau revient à Giustino Riccio…

Bio Ritmo photo by Chris Smith
Bio Ritmo - photo by Chris Smith

Biography :
21+ Years Original Salsa Dura

Bio Ritmo has invested over two decades in the study and performance of ‘salsa’ music – a genre that evolved during the 60’s and 70’s that fused traditional African, Latino and Caribbean rhythms and melodies with American Jazz sensibilities. The members of Bio Ritmo represent a new generation of ‘salseros’ and are recognized around the globe for their innovative song writing and for pioneering the ‘indie’ salsa movement. This movement aspires to not only preserve the roots of salsa but to contribute to the evolution of the music by incorporating new sounds, rhythms and influences from around the world.

Based out of Richmond Virginia, since 1991, Bio Ritmo began as an experimental percussion ensemble. Founding members Jorge Negron, Rei Alvarez and Jim Thomson shared a love for classic salsa and soon thereafter decided to expand the group’s instrumentation, thus creating a full-fledged salsa orchestra.

Over the last 21 years, the ten-member, Bio Ritmo has performed throughout the US, Puerto Rico, Canada, Europe and The Republic of Georgia. They have independently released 10 albums and have been featured on numerous compilation albums including the 2012 'Rough Guide to Salsa' distributed by the UK’s World Music Network, which also featured a bonus compilation CD of exclusively Bio Ritmo music. Their albums have been featured in the iTunes top ten best Tropical albums of the year and recent publications such as Wax Poetics, Latin Beat Magazine and Spain’s EnLace Funk magazine have spotlighted Bio Ritmo, further strengthening the band’s reputation as one of the most original and forward thinking bands in the modern indie Salsa music movement.

Original post on Paris DJs