Christmas for a New Age in Bloomington, MN

Blending '60s soul with '70s salsa and the more laid-back flair of the '90s
Buena Vista
sound,
Five Degrees of Soul
also prove themselves an intriguing band on their own merits. Quoting from bop pioneers and
James Brown
funk almost as much as salsa stalwarts like
Tito Puente
or
Mongo Santamaria
, the group works well together on almost every track, including the highlight, a
Santana
-ized cover of
's
"Sofrito."
Trumpeter
Larry Solak
, saxophonist
Tommy O.
, and percussionists
Cesar Ventura
and
Billy Rojas
take some excellent solos on
"9th Floor,"
and the band's transformation of
Average White Band
"Pick Up the Pieces"
(here named
"Pick Up the Bebop"
) into a bop standard as no one could've dreamed it is an amazing performance. Another standard of a far different sort,
Charlie Parker
"Scrapple From the Apple,"
is given a more traditional slant, though it still sounds more like
Malo
or one of the other great Latin bands around Los Angeles during the '70s than any 52nd St. bopper of the '50s. ~ John Bush