Ozomatli

  Sometime back, Diane a good friend of mine invited me to see the Los Lonely Boys, a band out of West Texas, specifically San Angelo, a city I know well. The band consists of a trio of brothers, bass, drums and guitar, whose influences include everyone from Fats Domino to Santana and Skynyrd. At the time the band was riding a huge wave created by their freshmen album and Grammy nominated song Heaven.

As Diane had insisted, I loved the music and I was not disappointed, however, as much as Los Lonely Boys impressed, me I was even more impressed by Ozomatli, their opening band. Ozomatli is a huge group from L.A., with nine members who play everything from drums, bongos, congas, bass, and guitars to trombones and horns. Their music is a combination of Latin, hip-hop and rock with an infusion of salsa and jazz and reggae.

I had heard praises about this band from a few musician friends, before I saw them that night, but I had never taken much interest in going out of my way to seek their music. Listening to them that night, I regretted it. There music is explosive filled with almost every sound possible, think Santana and Eminem of yesteryear combined and revved up a few notches.

So if you are looking for some truly worthwhile music with energy and heart I highly recommend Ozomatli.