¡Oir Salseros! London’s salsa sensation Orquesta Mambarito sets the Sidmouth International Jazz & Blues Festival 2024 alight!
Burning up red-hot classics from 70s New York, Colombia, Puerto Rico and beyond, they should be arrested for arson! Get ready for that infectious Latin Caribbean groove, big fat horns and killer vocals! The 12-strong group has a classic salsa line-up of trumpets, trombones, baritone sax and full Afro-Cuban rhythm section, fronted by three fabulous singers Victor Mastrangioli (Venezuela) and Diego Abril (Colombia), and Nestor Pedrales (Venezuela). ¡A gozar!
Bandleader David Strahan (baritone sax) brought the group together during dark days of Covid lockdown to make online video recordings of salsa classics like Ray Barretto’s Indestructible. Since unlockdown they have been gigging hard and building up an enthusiastic following in London’s Latino and salsa-dancing communities. The band’s name is fashioned from the words ‘mambo’ and ‘baritono’ – the Spanish for baritone.
The band’s first single, The Mambarito Mambo, written and produced by Colombian vibes player and bandleader Dorance Lorza, is now available on all the main streaming platforms.
“Orquesta Mambarito, without a doubt, is one of the best live bands on the salsa scene at the moment, great sound, great vibe, great energy, I’ve never seen so many dancers on the floor when they play. If you don’t get up and dance to Orquesta Mambarito, you don’t like salsa!”
Tony Harrison, Salsasmile, Romford
“There are few full-time ‘large’ (read : 9 or more members) AfroLatin orchestras in the UK and Europe, but Mambarito are up there with the very best, these cats satisfy music aficionados and dance party animals alike. Always a massive hit at my weekly Saturday afternoon Latin Jazz Brunch sessions, they just seem to get tighter and funkier each show.”
John Armstrong, DJ, CLF Art Lounge
Singers: Victor Mastrangioli, Diego Abril; Trumpets: Lindsey Lowe, Vito La Sala; Trombones: Lotte Cutts, Janine Swan; Baritone: David Strahan; Piano: Simon Jackson; Bass: Alexander Rawlinson; Bongo: Andres Hernandes; Conga: Sarah Wackett; Timbale: Graeme Evelyn.
