VICTORIA CARDONA

QUE PASÓ

Leggero Records

The Victoria Cardona Ensemble:  Victoria Cardona, vocals/lead & rhythm guitar/bass/drums/  percussion/piano/organ/steel drums/composer; Tim Goodman, guitar/mandolin/marimba/organ /synthesizer/ background vocals; Jimmy Haslip, electric bass; Bill Payne, piano/organ; Jimmy Branley, drums/background vocals; Rene Camacho, baby bass; Francisco Torres, trombone/ background vocals; Justo Almario, flute/saxophone/clarinet/background vocals; Kevin Ricard, percussion; San Miguel Perez, Cuban tres guitar; Bill Bergman, saxophone; Nick Lane, trombone; Darby Patterson, background vocals.

Victoria Cardona is a multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter.  From the very first strains of “Que Pasó En La Habana” I was intoxicated by her exotic music and warm vocals. Cardona grew up in a traditional Cuban household.  Music was in her DNA. At first, she was drawn to the music of Celia Cruz and Gloria Estefan. The talented young lady started by studying jazz guitar in Florida and later in Minnesota.  She developed a live-looping-One-Woman-Band project. Before she could blink, the ‘road’ called. Victoria Cardona found herself playing clubs and concerts in the Southeast United States and then touring across Europe. She wrote songs about her heritage, her family, her love lives.

This opening song explores the struggles faced by the Cuban people when they were under communist rule.  It describes the hardships, food shortages and struggles of her culture, with emphasis on their resilience. The background vocals are rich, tight harmonies.

Cardona has a recognizable vocal sound that is warm and convincing. She is clearly a stylist, not only vocally but with her songwriter style.  On a tune she titled “Ghost” she reflects on the haunting sense that a loved-one’s spirit came to her in a vision.

“George From heaven” is a quirky lyric that unravels the story of a Cadillac driver who pulls up on a pretty female and offers her a ride.  It reminds me quite a bit of the Paul Simon style.  The band sounds very South African on this arrangement. This sounds like a hit record to my ears and the rhythms are infectious.

Cardona’s music covers personal songs about her family’s escape from communist Cuba and her grandparent’s resistance to government control. Some songs she sings in Spanish, like “Me Voy Pa La Playa (I’m Going to the Beach)” where her story features Caribbean rhythms and a lyric that celebrates leaving the ‘grind’ behind and enjoying an escape to the ocean’s edge. Jimmy Haslip lays down a bass groove that locks hands with the intoxicating drum rhythms.

Victoria Cardona is very percussive throughout this production. On a tune called “Rhodes Royale” she plays steel drums and percussion instruments. Rene Camacho adds the baby bass to the arrangement and the legendary Justo Almario adds saxophone and clarinet to the mix, as Victoria sings, “I struck it rich in Rhodes Royale, but the boys don’t want to pay.”

This is Victoria Cardona’s premier album release. It’s bound to launch her talents to a wider audience, both in the States and internationally.  I could not keep still while listening.  The grooves, the lyrics, the rhythms, her voice, and memorable melodies encourage dancing.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

 

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