Analysis: Fulaso At Club Subrosa

I went to see the group called Fulaso at Club Subrosa in the Meat Packing District.I was

interested in specifically seeing Fulaso because it was engaging in a section of the Latin music

genre that I have not encountered often. Fulaso was comprised of lead singer (Erica

Ramos),musical director and vocalist (David Frankel),on percussion and vocals (Hector

Torres), on the tenor sax (Matt Thomas) ,baritone sax (Jonathan) ,trombone (Patrick Vaughn)

keys (Juan Rodriguez),on bass (Mario Padron),on the trumpet( Mike Irwin).Being Latino and

growing up in America my goal has been to engage with my culture on a different level .I want to

expand my understanding of the roots of the music I grew up listening to and new music that
The song “Worked Hard” opens with a lick from the tenor sax,that continues in the intro

into the coro. The song uses the mix of samba with 1960’s rhythm and blues with heavy bass

and keys to syncopate the rhythm and introduce the influence of jazz into the composition.The

second vocalist David Frankel initiates a call and response and then call out Latin-American

countries to create a sense of pan-latismo.

The next song “I Like it Like That “ is one of my favorite that I have fond memories of as

a child.At first the composition wasn't familiar to me because it started out with the instruments

that you normally associate with jazz music,the bass,trumpet,and the sax.A minute into the song

the recognizable refrain of “I like it Like That” was readily heard introduced by the tenor sax.The

minutes into the song, even though recognizable still had the feel of more of jazz song than one

inspired purely by latin music.The conga’s eventually come into the song giving it a more afro-

latin influence giving it the feel of son
The last song that I heard during my excursion to Subrosa was fittingly was a cover of

Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good”.It started with a heavy bass ,keys and trumpet leading from the

intro into the canto giving it a traditional jazz feeling.Mathew Thomas on the baritone sax then

took center stage and led the song into to its quick transition.The song then changed

which immediately brought a smile to my face,and the crowd to its feet and dancing to what was

now a mambo song.

For this concert report I decided to also focus on how the music made me feel in the

moment and what emotions they inspired.The group elicited both joy and made me forget about

what was going on outside of the walls of Subbrosa and gave me a feeling of transcendence.

Music for me has always played an important part in my life culturally and spiritually Fulaso

along with its lead singer Erica Ramos gave a wonderful performance that both informed and

thrilled.The night ended with a new understanding of boogaloo and the fusion of jazz,rhythm

and blues,and the latin music genre and how they intersect.I am looking forward to exploring the

genre of boogaloo and Fulaso in the