Hot Havana Nights Afro-Cuban Dance Party Jesus Diaz & QBA September 25, 2010

Diaz and the QBA family have worked hard to cultivate a contemporary garden of
Afro-Cuban swing. One of the first purveyors of Timba in the US, the ensemble broke ground in 1999 at La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley and is now one of the top salsa bands in the San Francisco Bay Area. Original songs, potent coros, Jesus’ suave low-key vocals distinguish the overall ensemble sound but drums are at the heart of this tropical cornucopia.

His songs are the blossom of his creativity and sings about life with the lyrical wisdom of the Cuban son. Sharing recollections of his neighborhood in La Habana to his Oakland realities, his words ride on a percolating bed of dance hall virtuosity that provoke you to move and gyrate those "shaky, shaky" hip movements that characterize the generational Cuban phenomenon called Timba.
Timba has roots in the Songo movement of Juan Formell y Los Van Van, a fusion of son changüi and American pop. Timberos updated these ideas in the ‘90 with US funk and rap. But the essence of Timba is the exchange it creates between band and audience. The engagement and participation makes the experience memorable and it is obvious on "Jardinero" that Jesus Diaz y sú QBA possess the youthful magnetism to ignite those electrifying vibrations.

Official Website: http://www.murphyproductions.com/