Luisito Rosario
Mambo City

By Ben Ohmart (more articles from this author) 2002-04-18

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Artist: Luisito Rosario (www.luisitorosario.com)
Title: Luisito Rosario
Label: Mambo City (www.mambocity.com)
Genre: Latin

Born and raised in Frank Sinatra's own Hoboken, NJ, Luisito Rosario has put a completely different spin on Frankie's big band town, because this guy has the same amount of musical exuberance as the Chairman, but with a Latin spin. All the songs are in Spanish, which I would think would be difficult to push, living and working in Allentown, PA as he does now. But regardless of difficulties or my wrongness, the possessive excitement that comes from these 37 minutes is impressive for what seems to be a self-titled debut.

But Rosario has lent his smooth, loud lead vocals to other projects before. On Grupo Hechizo's Sin Limites album he can be heard spewing the salsa, which charted high in NY. Before that he lent his voice to the collaborative project Sofrito! with story teller David Gonzalez.

Here we have Luisito fronting a huge Latin sound full of piano, trumpets, trombones, timbales, congas, bongos, sax and the million other percussion traits we've come to expect in the best of the current trend. Don't forget the male backing vocals. Most of these instrument goodies come out on the very first track, 'Jurame' with the romance and high horns really starting with 'Ella No Es Culpable,' one of the showiest for Luisito's vocal abilities.

Rosario's album is traditional fare that is quite pleasing to both sets of Latin fans. The romance and the HOT. Most tracks combine the two, definitely favoring neither style, but using the brass to its fullest possibilities. The voice he shouts into the studio pulls together a tough but likeable quality into the music as a whole. Slick, but not so that you fall off the edge. Good, good stuff.

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