PMO = Pacific Mambo Orchestra - the III side CD, 2020 release van dit sterke big-band salsa/latin-jazz orkest.
The debut recording (2012) of the Pacific Mambo Orchestra was a surprising Grammy award winner. Its mainly live, second album proved that the Latin Jazz Big Band is both hot and innovative, with its adaptations of the classic Japanese tune Sakura and Mancini`s Pink Panther theme. This third opus brings us, beyond original compositions, Mambo Rachmaninoff [Piano Concert #2] and Copland`s Fanfare for The Common Man. Moreover, like Tito Puente, who Latinized jazz standards, the band honors Latin Jazz pioneer Dizzy Gillespie in arrangements of A Night in Tunisia, with guest trumpeter Jon Faddis, and Birks Works, with the electric guitar of Alex Britti. This outing of PMO includes 30 musicians (7 percussionists and three vocalists). A string quintet guests on one track. Other guests are drummer Dafnis Prieto and vocalist Herman Olivera. Co-Directors Steffen Kuehn, trumpet and fugelhorn, and keyboardist Christian Tumalan have helped make the orchestra a Bay Area favorite. The dance floor is filled wherever they perform. The III Side is bright, brassy, bold, and blazing. The tempo slows several times for sweetly sung ballads. A delightful choice for Latin Jazz + salsa fans,.