The Rhythmagic Orchestra – ‘The Rhythmagic Orchestra’ (Impossible Ark)

What They Say:

The Rhythmagic Orchestra is a collaboration between acclaimed jazz producer Benedic Lamdin – aka Nostalgia 77 – and Hugo Mendez of world-renowned tropical music collective Sofrito, based on their shared love of jazz, Afro-Cuban, Latin and tropical sounds.

The band comprised a young crop of London’s finest jazz musicians and a team of Cuban percussionists. Comprising members of the Nostalgia 77 Octet, the Alex Wilson Band, Jazz Jamaica, the Heliocentrics and Ska Cubano, together the players combine years of experience with innumerable jazz and Latin greats, and had the chops to lay down a session that would have made the dancers at the Palladium ballroom proud. The finished album features a selection of classics of the jazz and Latin canon from the ë50s, with new compositions that stand up proudly alongside.

Paying tribute to the giants of Afro-Cuban jazz like Dizzy Gillespie, Chano Pozo and Machito; combining traditional arrangements with Cuban bata drums and a fresh outlook on the Latin jazz sound, all cooked up in 21st century London, the album continues a great musical tradition and adds its own flavour to the melting pot of jazz and non-western music.

What We Say:

You will not find a better pedigree of current jazz and afro-cuban musicians together than on this record. Right from the opening track of ‘African Mailman’ the mood is set for a jubilant journey through traditional and new arrangements, expertly led by Ben Lamdin. There is not one duff track on the whole album, with that opener and ‘Afreaka’ being two of our absolute favourites. This is the swinging sound of jazz for 2011 – we would defy anyone to listen to this record and not have their spirits uplifted. ‘The Rhythmagic Orchestra’ is out now on Impossible Ark Records. You can download a track, ‘Manteca’, for free from Bandcamp.