Rumbankete at San Jose Jazz Summer Fest at Plaza De César Chávez

Rumbankete is one of the very rare stateside exponents of Timba, which SJZ Latin and world coordinator Betto Arcos describes as a “…coming together of funk, jazz, improvisation and traditional Cuban musical styles like Rumba.” The well known website www.timba.com declared that the band “reigns supreme in the greater Los Angeles area.”

Founded in 2004, the Los Angeles-based large format band (10 plus members) features two veterans of the original Timba scene, which emerged from Cuba in the late 80s. Co-lead vocalists and composers Gonzalo “Chalo” Chomat and Iris Cepeda grew up in Havana and the central Cuban province of Sancti Spíritus, respectively, before relocating to Southern California. In Los Angeles, they were able to connect with like-minded musicians and shared their first-hand knowledge of Timba and the pioneering musical scene that it developed in....

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Rumbankete is one of the very rare stateside exponents of Timba, which SJZ Latin and world coordinator Betto Arcos describes as a “…coming together of funk, jazz, improvisation and traditional Cuban musical styles like Rumba.” The well known website www.timba.com declared that the band “reigns supreme in the greater Los Angeles area.”

Founded in 2004, the Los Angeles-based large format band (10 plus members) features two veterans of the original Timba scene, which emerged from Cuba in the late 80s. Co-lead vocalists and composers Gonzalo “Chalo” Chomat and Iris Cepeda grew up in Havana and the central Cuban province of Sancti Spíritus, respectively, before relocating to Southern California. In Los Angeles, they were able to connect with like-minded musicians and shared their first-hand knowledge of Timba and the pioneering musical scene that it developed in.

The group’s two albums, Que No Pare La Fiesta (2011) and Arcoíris (2017), both available via Belú Music, have received airplay domestically as well as in South America, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. With a rich sound consisting of multiple vocalists, trombone, violin, piano, bass, drums and several percussionists, Rumbankete lays down a sound that’s both powerful and kinetic.

Members of the celebrated collective have shared the bandstand with the likes of Celia Cruz, Cachao and Gustavo Dudamel among many others and will bring an undeniably contagious sense of jubilation and an irresistible groove to the dancers at Summer Fest 2018.

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