Yunior Terry y Son de Altura: Mi Bajo Danzón

Bassist, violinist Yunior Terry is an artist for all seasons. He hails from Camagüey, Cuba where he is the youngest son of a musical dynasty known as “Los Terry’s.” In addition to being a highly regarded and sought after musician, Yunior Terry is the leader of “Son de Altura,” a dance band that has been gigging around New York City since 2007 and whose mission is to preserve the legacy of Cuban music and inspire the dancers. “Mi Bajo Danzón” is the band’s first recording.

According to writer Ned Sublette, “Son de Altura has three trumpets, but Yunior’s a violinist who grew up a charanguero, and the band collapses the two classic lineups of Cuban dance bands (trumpet-driven conjunto vs. flute-and-violins charanga) into one while maintaining the nuances of each.”

In addition to leading the band, Yunior composed and arranged all the material and chose his comrades based on their ability to “cultivate the cadence” of authentic Cuban son. Joining Yunior on his journey is vocalists David Oquendo, Igor Arias and Pepito Gomez, vocalist and tres player Yuniel Jimenez “El Poeta,” trumpeters Dennis “El Huevo” Hernandez and Guido Gonzalez, pianist Osmany Paredes, percussionists Mauricio Herrera and Victor Sanchez, saxophonist (and brother) Yosvany Terry and keyboardist Manuel Valera.

Yunior is a stickler for authenticity however he is also a New Yorker, which explains his innate ability to create authentic Cuban music with a New York attitude. Or as he puts it, “My bass likes to dance! It’s one more dancer, out there on the dance floor.”

Standout tracks include: “Tumba Randy”, “Traigo Cha-Cha-Chá”, “Canta Mi Bajo un Danzón”, “Mambo No. 7” and “Dr. de Madrugada.”

Suggested Listening:
2008 Venissa Santi, Bienvenida, Solo record
2008 Dafnis Prieto, Taking the Soul for a Walk, Dafnison Music
2008 Yosvany Terry, Ye-de-gbe, Bennett Studio, NJ
2008 Janet Bunnett, Embracing Voices, Blue Note/ EMI

Track Listing: 1. Son De Altura; 2. Astronauta; 3. Dime, Por Qué; 4. Tumba Randy; 5. Traigo Cha-Cha-Chá; 6. Canta Mi Bajo Un Danzón7. Mambo No. 7; 8. Fiesta Maria; 9. Dr. De Madrugada.

Personnel: David Oquendo Vocals; Yuniel Jiménez “El Poeta:” Vocals, Cuban tres; Igor Arias: Vocals; Albert “Agudo” Leusink, Dennis “El Huevo” Hernández, Guido González: Trumpet; Osmany Paredes: Piano; Vicente Sánchez: Congas; Mauricio Herrera: Timbal, bongo, güiro; Yunior Terry: Compositions, bass, violins, vocals; Special Guests: Pepito Gómez, Gerardo Contino, Rolando De Los Reyes: Lead vocals; Itai Kriss: Flute; Yosvany Terry: Sax, chekere; Reut Regev, Andy Hunter: Trombone; Manuel Valera: Organ; Yusnier Bustamante: Tambourine; Keith Robinson: Guitar; Yayo Serka: Drums.

Label: Palo Santo Music/Ascap
Release date: December 2012
Website: yuniorterry.com
Buy Music on: amazon