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Named after the Aztec god of dance, Ozomatli, or 'Ozo' for short, the band came
together in the mid 1990s Los Angeles when a group of Black, Chicano
(Mexican American),
Cuban, Japanese, Jewish, and Filipino musicians started to pool their love of
everything from Tito Puente to Jimi Hendrix. The band members have names like
Wil-Dog, Asdru, Raul and Kanetic MC. They conquered the USA and the world by
dint of relentless touring, which has honed their live show down to perfection.
They're famous for giving their all for the allotted 60 minutes plus and then
bouncing off the stage to carry on partying in amongst their audiences, a ruse
which caused joyous havoc when Ozomatli played at the Barbican in London a few
years ago. Their debut album
Ozomatli featured the hugely infectious hit
'Cumbia Cumbia.'
After September 11, 2001, most bands in the United States responded to the
attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by canceling their concerts,
but not Ozomatli. The multi-racial crew has never been shy about its commitment
to social justice, progressive politics, and anti-war convictions. The musicians
decided to keep their dates and kept playing.
"Music is the key to every culture, the beginning of an understanding,"
says the band's trumpet player and co-vocalist Asdru Sierra. "September 11
really pushed us to delve into North African and Arab music. For us, music is a
language far more universal than politics."
Embrace the Chaos was released in 2001, followed by an EP,
Coming Up, in 2003. A third full length,
Street Signs, came out in 2004. It bears a new Middle Eastern
influence out in typical Ozo style, by mixing it into their trademark blend of
hip-hop and Latin styles. When the band's original MC Chali 2na (now of Jurassic
5) returned to take center stage on Who's To Blame, he dropped rhymes about
presidential motorcades and Yakuza tattoos over a reedy Gnawa trance session
complete with tablas and hand-claps. Believe, the album's uplifting opener
that looks for hope in destruction, features prominent Moroccan musician
Hassan Hakmoun, who's joined by the acclaimed French-Jewish gypsy violinists
Les
Yeux Noirs and The Prague Symphony.
Street Signs?s body-moving urban globe-trots were encouraged by Ozo?s new label,
Concord Records, who gave them total creative freedom to follow their songs
wherever they went. "With the last record, I loved all of our collaborations,
but it wasn?t a complete representation of who Ozomatli is," says Sierra of
the band?s sophomore outing that paired them with the esteemed hip-hop likes of
Common and De La Soul. ?Concord just seemed happy to let us go off and do our
thing. There's a real sense of acceptance of what we do. Plus, I'm really
honored to be on the same label as
Eddie
Palmieri. He's my idol.?
The band invited Palmieri, the legendary Latin jazz and salsa pianist, to play
on ?Nadie Te Tira,? where his gorgeous solo piano lines set off a round of
horn-blasted salsa fusion. Along with Palmieri,
Hakmoun,
Les
Yeux Noirs, Chali
2na, and the Prague Symphony (who grace three tracks), Ozomatli were also joined
by the band's original DJ, Cut Chemist (Dejame en Paz). There's also the
band's new MC (Jabu, formerly of 4th Avenue Jones) and guest drummer, Mario
Calire (formerly of The Wallflowers).
Throw in a board mixologist who's worked with everyone from Justin Timberlake
and NERD to Michael Jackson and Prince (Serben Ghenea), and engineers who?ve
collaborated with the likes of Beck,
Santana, Jack Johnson, and Cypress Hill
(Robert Carranza and Anton Pukshansky), and you get what is easily the band's
most vibrant and ambitious project to date. Everyone from critics to NARAS
members agree.
Street Signs received the Grammy award for Latin
Rock / Alternative Album of the Year.
"After eight years of being together," explains tenor saxophonist Ulises Bella,
"our overall comfort level with ourselves and with our playing has really grown.
The songs venture off to a lot of different areas. That's the beauty of Ozomatli,
being able to do things really differently than everyone else."
Street Signs is both a mature testament to the band's nearly decade-long
evolution and a fresh, dance floor-rocking reminder of their commitment to
creating original music in the face of industry conservatism. 'Saturday Night'
is a ?dip-dive-socialize? hip-hop block party. ?Love & Hope? is an anthem
waiting to happen with its English-language mix of Arabic strings and new-school
Chicano funk-rock. Dejame En Paz is a papi chulo merengue fest that boils over
into the mosh pit. The band even re-mixes itself (with the help of Ghenea and
John Hanes) on 'Ya Viene El Sol,' turning its soaring concert sing-a-long into a
piece of DJ heaven; a broken-beat electro cut-up of dancehall, batucada, and
jarocho.
"Since we started, our perspectives have changed as our lives have changed,"
says Bella. "We just trust each other more now. Everyone gives everyone the
space we all need. This band did not start, at all, to get a record deal. It
started out of love for the music we made, and that's exactly where we still
are."
In 2005, Concord Records released
Live at the Fillmore, featuring Ozomatli's electrifying live
performance at San Francisco?s legendary The Fillmore. The release includes both
the audio and video in a two-disc (CD and DVD) set.
Ozomatli are:
Jiro Yamaguchi - Percussion
Wil-Dog Abers - Bass, Vocals
Justin Poree - Percussion, MC, Vocals
Asdrubal Sierra - Trumpet, Lead Vocals
Raul Pacheco - Guitar, Lead Vocals
Ulises Bella - Tenor Sax, Clarinet, Vocals
Mario Calire - Drums
Rene 'Spinobi' Dominguez - Turntablist
Jabu MC
Sheffer Bruton - Trombone |
