Bop Mambo by Steve Feierabend

Rene Camacho, bassist extraordinaire, a regular with Susie Hansen's great band, anchors a superb rhythm section. He lists Celia Cruz, Jack Costanzo, The Pointer Sisters, and Justo Almario's groundbreaking band Tolu in his credits. He is joined by drummer Mike Holguin, from San Diego, who has played with Son Mayor, and Celia Cruz; and George Ortiz, the current timbalero for Poncho Sanchez, and a former member of Son Mayor.

Gilbert Castellano is a great straight ahead trumpet player, evidenced by his work with Anthony Wilson's nonet, and the Clayton/Hamilton Band. He also has his own CD out, with a group called the B3 Quartet.

Gunnar Biggs is a veteran of Buddy Rich's band and has played with Mose Allison and Butch Lacey.

Duncan Moore has recorded with Mike Wofford and Bill Cunliffe, and Tommy Aros is currently with Latin pop star Luis Miguel.

There are too many great moments in this recording to talk about, but I'll mention a few -

I'm partial to playing standards in clave, and Steve does it just right with Lerner & Lowe's "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face." Great solos by Steve, pianist Chris Barron, and timbalero George Ortiz. The whole track builds and burns.

"The Well" is a hypnotic blend of Coltrane and Cuba.

Trumpet player Gilbert Castellanos makes a fiery appearance on "Bop Mambo."

"Amique" is built on an off-center, but infectious 6/8 rhythm.

The CD closes with Coltrane's "Wise One." I've always felt that the last tune on a CD should be as strong as the first cut, and Steve evidently believes the same. Both he and Chris play thoughtful solos over a quiet 6/8 rhythm.

Steve's credits include graduating with honors from Berklee, where he studied with the great teacher and trumpet player Herb Pomeroy, as well as graduate studies with Kenny Barron and Akira Tana at Rutgers. Steve has worked with Charles McPherson, Brian Lynch, Bill Cunliffe and many other notables in both the worlds of jazz and Latin music. Steve writes great tunes and now lives in the Bay Area. San Diego's loss, San Francisco's gain - welcome, Steve!

Peace - Mark Levine

Mark Levine is a world-class pianist, bandleader, composer, author, and educator.

He was an integral part of the West Coast Latin jazz scene in its golden age of the

60's and 70's playing and recording with legends like Cal Tjader, Mongo Santamaria,

and Willie Bobo as well as many others.Mark continues to be at the forefront

of the Latin jazz scene with his band The Latin Tinge who have a new cd on Left

Coast Clave records called "Isla".

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