arts
Interview
Mambo And Salsa The Perfect Tonic
From the North of England to South America, Orchestra Mambo International - el sonido del norte - has an authentic sound, as band leader Jonny Enright told Group Editor Andrew Palmer
I’m feeling the vibe: the rhythmic, lively, beat-driven, hip-moving, flirty, sensual club world of salsa that is as mesmerising as it is enticing.
Sitting down with band leader Jonny Enright, I am fascinated to hear about his forthcoming trip to Whitby for Musicport 2024. I’ve been listening to YouTube videos of Orchestra Mambo International, and it is, as Enright points out, “really exciting and welcoming music. You don't have to be a specialist dancer; you can come and dance if you know salsa, but why not just come and enjoy the music?"
Although, on the day of the interview, it was more sober due to a stinking cold I had developed and I didn’t feel I had the energy, but by the time we had finished chatting, I felt that a good dose of salsa would do me the world of good.
Sitting in his study surrounded by manuscript paper, piano and one of his trombones, Enright tells me that his good friend, UK salsa and Latin music DJ and promoter Lubi Jovanovic, aka DJ Lubi, teamed up for what they thought would be a one-off gig in the autumn of 2022 - a night of live salsa/mambo/Latin jazz in Manchester.
“We dedicated the show to ‘The Mambo King’, the legendary Tito Puente, the New York, Puerto Rican percussionist and band leader.
“It was classic salsa; we got a band together, and I arranged some tunes, and it went better than we could have hoped for,” Enright says.
Adding that he and the musicians were having the time of their lives. The popularity of the gig was the impetus the duo needed, leading to the creation of Orchestra Mambo International. They continued doing more gigs which were more than favourably received playing sell-out gigs at venues like the Brudenell Club in Leeds, Band on the Wall and the Blues Kitchen in Manchester and The Forge in the Camden area of London.
Enright also tells me that the musicians that make up the 12-piece salsa/mambo orchestra are based in the north of England, hence the tag line ‘el sonido del Norte’, but there are numerous influences from top instrumentalists and soloists from Spain, Cuba, Colombia and Venezuela.
That’s what adds to the appeal of the performances and why we “attract big crowds and mixes of age groups. All kinds of people are coming along, from salsa dancers to jazz fans.”
For Enright, who arranges a lot of the music and composes original scores, it’s all exciting.
Halifax-born Enright moved from the West Yorkshire town to study orchestral trombone at the Royal College of Music, and it was while he was there that he developed his skills in jazz, Latin and salsa.
“I met a friend a bit older than me, the pianist Roberto Pla, who was in one of the premiere London-based Latin bands.
“He introduced me to the Latin scene, which I didn’t know much about but was excited to hear. I managed a gig in my second year at college, and one of the other bands on the scene, La Clave, needed a second trombone and, more importantly, someone who would be available for the various gigs.
“I got the gig, which meant that as well as being at college, I was busy gigging up to three or four times a week in London and going around Europe. That’s where I learnt so much about the music.
“I was given this cassette with new songs to learn, and I started to live with it for weeks, listening until I understood the style of the music.”
As we chat, I note that the success has been phenomenal for a relatively new ensemble, which Enright, naturally modest, acknowledges.
He’s been busy writing a couple of tunes in different styles, which, in November last year, they recorded in the legendary ATA Studios in Leeds. It was in the analogue recording studios that the band recorded two of their first original tunes. The recording session went so well that Neil Innes, who set ATA Studios up, decided he would like to release it on his label.
“It's a great-sounding studio with all analogue gear. The single was almost sold out before it was released. It got swept up within a couple of weeks due to loads of radio play.
“People just seem to like it because of the particular analogue sound and the liveliness of the music as well, of course, as the old-fashioned mambo sound,” Enright says.
Naturally, with salsa music, because of the jazz influences, there's lots of improvised material. As Enright points out, a lot of it's written down, and the band sticks to the charts and plays what’s written, but there’s always a lot of space for soloing and improvisation in the music. “That's what I like about it because it has the structure of classical music and is quite rule-based.
"Everybody has a role within the band, but when it gets to certain points in the music, there's a bit of freedom to improvise and express yourself.”
“Everybody has an equal role within the band.”
It is, without a doubt, happy music with a lot of depth that has been described to me accurately as uplifting and exciting to listen to, with many layers. There are many thrilling moments created by lots of percussion, five horns, three trumpets, a trombone and baritone Sax, a piano and a base. It all sounds very punchy.
Venezuelan singer Carlos Peña, a salsa veteran who lives in Britain, joins the band to add his unique and authentic voice.
There’s also some young guns in their 20s just starting; “it's great for me, Enright says. “I particularly like bringing all the young people into the band because I was once in that position, and so I feel it's kind of my duty to encourage the youngsters to come through.”
By the time of Musicport 2024, Enright tells me that the Orchestra’s new single should be released. The A side is called
Baila mi cha-cha. He’s also working on an album planned for release next spring.
In the meantime, I think some spice-induced Cuban staccato rhythmic movement through the body might be a homoeopathic remedy for my cold. It will certainly lift my spirits.
To book tickets for Orchestra Mambo International click here