The rest of the recording is testament to the wide range of rhythms and tempos indigenous to Cuba while incorporating elements of Africa and European classicism. Herrera's "Nacho's Pilon" is party music in the best sense, featuring swinging vocals and pounding clavé that invite dancing. Nardi Castellini's "Big News" is post bop modern over Latin grooved percussion. Castellini has a fat, robust tone that can sing even while dancing through arpeggio figures; Herrera's solo develops from an almost Evanesque improvisation, gaining complexity as it picks up speed before settling into a montuno laid over percussion vamps that twist and turn, the repeated piano figures building tension that prompts a response in brass.

"Nostalgia," another original Herrera composition, is a modern bolero that reminds us that Nachito has lyrical chops, as does Castellini, whose beautiful soprano lines wrap around a meandering melody. The acoustic bass (Rigoberto López) adds significantly to the depth of this romantic ballad, an ideal complement to the sax. In his liner notes, Herrera describes what we can hear and smell and taste as we listen: "my country, family and the ocean...people on their balcony wearing their straw hats, the horses and the oxen, the smell of sweet sugar cane, tobacco, Havana Club Rum, the beautiful sunsets and the dawn." The title track is appropriately a family affair, a collaboration between Herrera and wife Aurora González. This piece or at least some riffs will be familiar to those who have attended Herrera's local gigs. The combination of Díaz' vocals, the congas and timbales, along with electric bass, make this one bubble up and simmer—as a party getting underway. Herrera establishes a bright montuno in partnership with bassist Rodríguez, his solo displaying his trademark majestic, two-fisted chords and slides across the keyboard. But it is the percussion section that makes this one crackle and pop. Trumpeter Lara gets his moment in the sun in the closing bars.

"Capullito De Aleli" (arranged by Herrera, based on the work of Rafael Hernandez) is a guaracha, a lively dance in which the pianist's tour de force solo infuses classical elements - Rachmaninoff in Havana? All his chops seem on display simultaneously—speed, power, melodicism, arpeggios spanning the entire keyboard, shifting rhythms as if morphing from one dance form to another. "Llegaron Los Millionarios" (Herrera's arrangement based on the music of Antonio Arcano) is a danzón with distinctly European influences, including the overture from Tchaikovksy's "Nutcracker"; the background strings (courtesy of the Minneapolis Philharmonic Orchestra) add a regal quality—one can imagine a company of ballerinas on stage. But the clavé is ever-present, and the "stage" is clearly a Cuban thoroughfare.

"Guaguanco Para Ochún," composed by Jesus Díaz, highlights the percussion team and Diaz' vocals in a traditional call and response form, while trumpeter Lara struts his high register artistry. "Potpourri de Cha-Cha-Chá" provides another opportunity for Lara to show off his facility in the trumpet's upper register, and the piece is infused with big band energy—can you not tap your feet to this track? "Estás en mi Corazón" (based on the work of Ernesto Lecuona) is an orchestral bolero, the brass providing energetic support for Herrera's melodic piano. "Ritmo Caliente" (based on the work of Mercedita Valdez) closes out the recording as an appropriate finale to a grand party, and features the effective vocals of young Mirdalys Herrera, a singer of far greater maturity than her mere fourteen years.

The Bembé
Bembé en si Casa was released locally last February at the Dakota, with the Cuban All-Stars on stage, so hot that they challenged the Dakota's "no smoking" policy. Now set for national distribution, Nachito and the Bembe Band will be on the road, starting out in the Midwest at the Latin Music Festival in Milwaukee (September 17) and the World Music Fest in Chicago (September 18).Where classical structures merge with native Cuban rhythms, where dexterity and fluidity merge with passion and joy, this is the intersection that is home to Nachito Herrera.

Bembé en mi Casa is available at www.CD Baby.com. For more information about Nachito Herrera, see www.nachito.net.